Anon Owner searching bags for cell phones

[CuriousCate]

I am seeking guidance because I feel like I am perhaps overreacting but maybe not?

Our gym owner recently shared with the girls that she doesn't like cell phones. In a matter of weeks, it's gone from "phones rot your brains" to phones not being allowed out to film new skills or at breaks. Ok - I can deal with this as many times our coaches are the ones who will film new skills/text the videos to the parents. And I would rather my daughter use her short break to eat vs. scroll. I think most parents are okay with this.

However, earlier this week, she announced that phones were not allowed to be brought to practice at all. This is obviously not realistic - many girls come straight from school, have varying ride situations, etc. I told my daughter she needed to be sure to leave her phone in her bag from the minute she leaves the car. This so far, has been fine.

Yesterday, the owner announced the girls must put give their phones to the front desk and if they need to reach their parent, they can use the single phone at the gym. This is not okay with me. I do not believe there should be a "gatekeeper" for a child to reach out to their parent, especially when they are at the gym for as many hours as our girls are. Additionally, my kiddo is not going to go ask the 18-year old front desk guy if she can use the phone if she's feeling uncomfortable (for any reason). It just feels icky to me that my daughter is essentially prevented from reaching out to me if she needs me. Not to mention in a true emergency situation - the girls are supposed to line up and wait for their turn on the phone? Or wait until the front desk can sort out whose phone is whose? Nope.

Anyway, yesterday at practice the gym owner WENT THROUGH THE BACKPACKS of the team to see who still had phones while the girls were warming up. The girls cannot see the team lounge from the main part of the gym so this was done without their knowledge. She kicked every girl out of practice who had a phone she could find. There were a few girls whose phones she did not find.

Is this out of line? I feel like this is such a red flag. I am so upset.

Woah! This is a way too intense IMO. I'd not be okay with someone searching my kid's bag without prior warning. What an invasion of privacy. I'm totally fine with saying no phones out during practice or even during breaks, but to say that they will limit your physical access to it is insane. We've had a few times we had to get our girls during hurricanes or tornadoes and it would have been NUTS if they each had to go retrieve their phones from the front.

Our old gym did have a policy that if you were sick or injured and needed to go home that the manager/coach/other adult employee had to call from the gym land line, the kid couldn't call from their phone. I was actually okay with that.