Parents New trend in gym ownership? (The Business Side Of Gymnastics / Powers Gymnastics)

[JBS]

Not sure if I've linked this in here yet... but it definitely pertains to this thread...

WAG - Creating a Level 10+ Focused Team Program (Finances / Coaching / Athlete Selection / Facility / Etc)

This is a split from another conversation to help people (parents primarily... I guess) understand the difficulties of running a high level (Level 10+ / Hopes / Elite) gymnastics team. This team would be one that can consistently put athletes at Level 10 Nationals and understand the Hopes /...

chalkbucket.com

 

[CuriousCate]

Wondering if those of you at gyms bought by Powers that then had the team eliminated can help those of us still stuck in the mix with some advice. Hopefully something beyond "leave now" although I realize that might ultimately be the only answer.

• How long did Powers own your gym before eliminating the team?
• 
  
• Did they eliminate the team in some sort of step-wise fashion? Ie optionals first, then compulsories, then XCEL, etc? Or like what was said about Bull City - eliminating the evening program first, then anticipate more to come?
• 
  
• With the great benefit of hindsight, were there any warning signs? Anything those of us currently in Powers gyms should keep our eye on?
• 
  
• Any idea if the coaches have been in the know about team closures in advance of the parents/athletes? If so, is there something there to tap into for a warning sign? Coaches selling their home, etc?

My daughter's gym is one of the ones mentioned above. We have been there since she started gym at age 2 and it is under 10 minutes from our home, so we don't take leaving lightly. We have seen some concerning changes for sure (loss of a few coaches, significant team schedule changes, increase in tuition and meet fees), but also some good ones in terms of new amazing coaches coming onboard. I am a parent who rarely goes inside the gym to hang out and I'm worried that I will miss whatever signs I should be looking for that could clue me in that it might be time to make a move.

 

[moogacat]

*shrug* it's not some nefarious plot, it's capitalism greed and profit motive doing what they always do: taking good things and destroying them to squeeze out a few extra dollars.

Exactly. Occam's razor. The simple explanation of greed is almost always the right one.

 

[moogacat]

I spoke with my DH who has a good bit of experience with no competes. He said that it is likely that the ones they had to sign would be not enforced by a court of law. There are some guidelines with them that they seem to be overstepping at first glance.

Different states have different rules, so it's hard to say. I've fought some pretty egregious non-competes for clients and lost. What is 100% easy to say is when you are an individual facing the prospect of litigation from a well-funded company intent on enforcing the non-compete, it's hard to find the resources to fight and get a court to invalidate it, even if the non-compete is ridiculously unenforceable. That's what these companies depend on-- the fact that even if it's not enforceable, the ex-employee won't have the money to fight back.

 

[CuriousCate]

BULL CITY only had 4 optional kids training in the evening group, so with or without Powers, it didn’t make sense to keep it. Almost all the elite and optional team kids already train starting at 7:30 or 12, and both of those groups are still training then.

So not necessarily a sign of bad things to come for them, I guess. Just a business decision based on sheer numbers.

I am just trying to get a sense of what to keep my eyes open for to let me know that we might need to start looking elsewhere. I just do not want to miss the boat for my kid and I think that because I'm rarely at the gym, I tend to miss a lot of the info that the parents "in the know" share with one another with hushed voices. I always felt that this was a good thing since it felt like most of what was shared was unverified info, until now! I literally just learned that our gym was owned by Powers a few weeks ago when this has been going on for a year.

 

[Gymmom237]

So not necessarily a sign of bad things to come for them, I guess. Just a business decision based on sheer numbers.

I am just trying to get a sense of what to keep my eyes open for to let me know that we might need to start looking elsewhere. I just do not want to miss the boat for my kid and I think that because I'm rarely at the gym, I tend to miss a lot of the info that the parents "in the know" share with one another with hushed voices. I always felt that this was a good thing since it felt like most of what was shared was unverified info, until now! I literally just learned that our gym was owned by Powers a few weeks ago when this has been going on for a year.

Yeah they won’t announce anything or introduce themselves. They fly under the radar. I am a mom who is always at the gym. I would say the fact they now own the gym is red flag number 1. Coaches/instructors quitting or being fired is the next one. If you aren’t in the gym much, everything else will *seem* to be the same. From the date of purchase, it was 3 months later when we received the email and they eliminated the entire JO program. Oh and it doesn’t matter to them if the girls are currently competing. They did it right in the middle of the optional comp season.

Oh and no they don’t even tell the coaches what they’re planning or when it’s coming. Our coaches and head directors were completely in the dark until the day or 2 before it happened. They’re literally awful. I know it’s hard if you’ve been at the gym for so long. Many of our girls had been at this gym for 10 years and it was incredibly hard on them and all the families. But I would 100% at least be window shopping other gyms.

 

[gymparent42675]

Wondering if those of you at gyms bought by Powers that then had the team eliminated can help those of us still stuck in the mix with some advice. Hopefully something beyond "leave now" although I realize that might ultimately be the only answer.

• How long did Powers own your gym before eliminating the team?
• 
  
• Did they eliminate the team in some sort of step-wise fashion? Ie optionals first, then compulsories, then XCEL, etc? Or like what was said about Bull City - eliminating the evening program first, then anticipate more to come?
• 
  
• With the great benefit of hindsight, were there any warning signs? Anything those of us currently in Powers gyms should keep our eye on?
• 
  
• Any idea if the coaches have been in the know about team closures in advance of the parents/athletes? If so, is there something there to tap into for a warning sign? Coaches selling their home, etc?

My daughter's gym is one of the ones mentioned above. We have been there since she started gym at age 2 and it is under 10 minutes from our home, so we don't take leaving lightly. We have seen some concerning changes for sure (loss of a few coaches, significant team schedule changes, increase in tuition and meet fees), but also some good ones in terms of new amazing coaches coming onboard. I am a parent who rarely goes inside the gym to hang out and I'm worried that I will miss whatever signs I should be looking for that could clue me in that it might be time to make a move.

The process was not as quick as at others, but follows the same general plan. We were promised no significant changes and then JO was eliminated citing not enough coaches. Fast forward one year and Xcel was eliminated for the same reason. I don't think many parents recognized any warning signs, but having read others' stories after the fact, it's clear that there's a distinct pattern and plan. I have no reason to believe the coaches knew in advance. If your gym has been purchased, you really should consider your options elsewhere.

 

[gymgal]

Different states have different rules, so it's hard to say. I've fought some pretty egregious non-competes for clients and lost. What is 100% easy to say is when you are an individual facing the prospect of litigation from a well-funded company intent on enforcing the non-compete, it's hard to find the resources to fight and get a court to invalidate it, even if the non-compete is ridiculously unenforceable. That's what these companies depend on-- the fact that even if it's not enforceable, the ex-employee won't have the money to fight back.

This still holds if the employee was let go? Wouldn't it then be null and void? Makes no sense to me that someone would sign a noncompete that didn't have this stipulation

 

[moogacat]

This still holds if the employee was let go? Wouldn't it then be null and void? Makes no sense to me that someone would sign a noncompete that didn't have this stipulation

Depending on the state, you can be terminated or laid off and still have to abide by a noncompete.

 

[Redpiper]

View attachment 8659

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Has anyone had experience with Powers Gymnastics? I am curious to hear about it and if it was positive or negative.

It sounds like Jill Powers owns this company and is buying up quite a few gyms in Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina. She appears to be shutting down quite a few of the compulsory and optional programs after purchasing the gyms because those programs are not profitable. The gymnasts are then left having to find another gym, sometimes increasing their commute by an hour, or more.

Powers Gymnastics Secures $16.8 Million Series A Led By Relevance Ventures to Scale its Multi-Vertical Approach

/PRNewswire/ -- Powers Gymnastics ("Powers"), the youth sports, facilities, equipment and gymnastics program provider, announced today $16.8 million in Series...

www.prnewswire.com

EDIT: Image added by ChalkBucket

I worked for a gym that was “managed” by Powers. These people are bad news. They promise that jobs won’t change and programs won’t change and then start firing good employees, myself included and deleting programs. I would not trust this company to want any good for anybody except someone who is holding the $$.

 

[JBS]

Some posts in this thread have been removed as requested by a member.

Please remember that you can stay anonymous on ChalkBucket and it is recommended. Also remember that many people read this site.

 

[jaxgymns]

Anyone know if Powers may have anything to do with NFGC (North Florida Gymnastics and Cheerleading https://www.nfgymcheer.com/ )?
A head coach was either fired or quit (Rayner Williams) and parents were told they are ending the compulsory program, but will apparently continue optionals and Xcel. Dd attends another gym in Jacksonville, but her best friend will be level 8 at NFGC this year. I imagine the few optionals that are left won't have a program much longer.
Side note- they cut their boys JO program October 2021.
Thanks!

 

[CuriousCate]

Anyone know if Powers may have anything to do with NFGC (North Florida Gymnastics and Cheerleading https://www.nfgymcheer.com/ )?

Honestly, I still can't figure out how anyone has been able to determine if/when this group takes over...I had no idea for nearly a year and still cannot find official documentation stating that Powers owns our gym.

 

[jamieintexas]

From the date of purchase, it was 3 months later when we received the email and they eliminated the entire JO program. Oh and it doesn’t matter to them if the girls are currently competing. They did it right in the middle of the optional comp season.

Did they refund any of the competition fees? That seems like a case for theft if kept the money.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Honestly, I still can't figure out how anyone has been able to determine if/when this group takes over

We had an in person parent meeting after they took over, but not sure they ever mentioned “Powers”. However the coaches got an email specifically stating it was the Powers group. Since some of the teenagers are also rec coaches, the info / email was forwarded and copied to parents too.

 

[Gymmom237]

Did they refund any of the competition fees? That seems like a case for theft if kept the money.

My daughter is compulsory, so it didn’t affect our fees, so I’m not sure. I do not know any of the optional parents to ask either. However, when they sent the email out that they cut the program I did call and request a refund for the last half of the month of practice she didn’t get and they did end up refunding me for that. So I would definitely call and ask if this happens to anyone else!

 

[MuggleMom]

Did they refund any of the competition fees? That seems like a case for theft if kept the money.

If they were in the middle of the comp season I am sure the entry fees had already been paid so you are just out the money. Entry fees get paid months in advance and are difficult to get back (you must cancel before the cut off date which is also usually months in advance) So they probably didn't "keep" this money but i bet all those families were out that money all the same which is sad.

 

[jamieintexas]

If they were in the middle of the comp season I am sure the entry fees had already been paid so you are just out the money. Entry fees get paid months in advance and are difficult to get back (you must cancel before the cut off date which is also usually months in advance) So they probably didn't "keep" this money but i bet all those families were out that money all the same which is sad.

But part of competition fees are coaches expenses. If they fired the coaches and canceled the season, what happened to that money?

 

[CuriousCate]

But part of competition fees are coaches expenses. If they fired the coaches and canceled the season, what happened to that money?

Exactly. Our meet fees for the exact same meets we have done in the past went up by $100-150 per meet this season and clearly the portion paid to the meet itself is much lower, so a large portion should be refunded I'd hope.

I am just keeping my fingers crossed that all of this horror does not happen to us during the season or school year. Our family honestly would not know what to do logistically, outside of gymnastics. Our child goes to a hybrid school that we chose specifically for gym where she does part of the day in person and part of it online. She rides back and forth with other gym families. If our gym got rid of the team, we would have nowhere for her to be for half the day while we are at work, and no transportation home mid-day as none of the families in our carpool live near us. We'd have to find some sort of emergency childcare plan even just to keep her in school. I'm going to have nightmares about all the awful possibilities now.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

They just cut the boys team at Capital, and gave the coaches that are left 20% raises. Xcel/DP seem safe, for now.