Coaches parent/coach communication

[CalEliteCoach]

What are some of the ways you communicate with your athletes parents and or parent support group (booster club)? I want to inform them of progress and address issues when they arise without explaining every detail of my job.

My program has gone through several coaching changes in the last year. As a result we have lost some great athletes to other local clubs. One of the reasons stated, is the lack of information exchanged between the coaches and parents.

We finally have a good staff to begin a rebuild, I just want the parents to feel confident going into the years ahead.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

my DD's gym has a Facebook page for the Booster Club to keep everyone in the loop. emails are good but webfind more people just check FB.

 

[coachmolly]

You could do a monthly newsletter/general update to send home in gymnast folders (or however you get paperwork home). Include gym updates, news, notes, congratulations for good performances, whatever comes up at the time. It would require more work on the part of the coaches to compile the information, but could be helpful in the long-term. It could also be sent out via e-mail if you have that information, either way it gets rid of the problem of tracking down parents before/after practice.

 

[marie83]

We just send out letters with reply slips on the bottom if required! We try our hardest not to send out trees and trees worth of letters though!
We do a termly newsletter (3 months worth of news) and try to keep our website up to date. We also have a facebook page.
We tried a mailing list but that was useless, our parents are much better with a hard copy.
We also put A3 sized posters up with major information in the parents waiting room. They basically have very little reason not to know something is or isn't happening!

Oh, also, for any information regarding the children - informing parents of new skills learned or struggles, injuries, incidents etc we really do try to speak to the parents face to face or at least by way of a phone call!

 

[Faith]

I would quite like an information pack when invited to team. I know it's a bit clearer over there as there's only one path- through levels one to ten. But stuff like how often each level trains and when, cost etc. Also progression, do they move up when they have all the skills, when they've achieved a certain score, at the end of the season, that sort of thing. I like to know when stuff might happen, so I can plan other activities.

Policies on missing practice, expected attendance, how to approach coaches with any questions- set up an appointment, or after practice, that sort of thing.

 

[pattymello]

I would quite like an information pack when invited to team. I know it's a bit clearer over there as there's only one path- through levels one to ten. But stuff like how often each level trains and when, cost etc.

My gym does this whenever we invite someone into our program. The information pack includes things from projected training times, information about uniforms, how to correctly contact a coach and even information about flexibility training and diet. This has proved to be a very good way to introduce new kids into our competitive program.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i'm sorry that you have to ask this question in the 1st place.

 

[iwannacoach]

What are some of the ways you communicate with your athletes parents and or parent support group (booster club)? I want to inform them of progress and address issues when they arise without explaining every detail of my job.

My program has gone through several coaching changes in the last year. As a result we have lost some great athletes to other local clubs. One of the reasons stated, is the lack of information exchanged between the coaches and parents.

We finally have a good staff to begin a rebuild, I just want the parents to feel confident going into the years ahead.

It may not be possible to answer every question the parents come up with but that does not mean you can't benifit by trying. I find it easy to communicate with parents because I genuinly care about both the gymnast and parent. You might start this process by having parent education nights on a regular basis. This is a good forum to show you care by explaining some of the issues that the kids are dealing with like fatigue, diet, proper sleep, fear, and inadequate self image are a good start. They will at least have some of their questions answered before they even care to ask them, and you come out looking very engaged with them in their pursuit to raise a happy, healthy, goal oriented gymnast who also happens to be a junior adult in training.

I hope this helps!!!