Gymmomtoo, I understand. And for the record, I don't even mind coaches talking to each other about these things. It seems like a professional curtesy. What *would* bother me very much is to be asked to leave a team or preteam just for looking around. That seems a little extreme. My point in the last post was just that I understand why it is important to try to make team at the same gym you want to end at. It sounds very complicated to change after you've started at one place. I still don't think we're in any situation like that right now. In fact, this is probably my one good chance to really do some anonymous digging...not that I really even know where to start.
It would help if I actually knew people who had kids on the teams in my area. I don't know any at all, and websites are not too informative. So that leaves calling or visiting gyms in person to try and get a feel for each one. I mean, I can find out who has elites or a good record of college scholarships pretty easily online. What I can't seem to find is how the coaches interact with the gymnasts. Who yells? Who is patient? Who makes them work through illnesses, and who doesn't? Who uptrains, and who works only on level skills? Stuff like that is elusive when you don't know insiders, and the rec coaches are almost never the same as team coaches. I doubt the office staff will give me the lowdown on their coaches if they are really tough, you know? Everyone wants to sell you on their program.
Anyway, I seem to be rambling. All of this could very well be moot. It's just stuff I've been mulling over the past few days while reading through this thread.
