Potential gym hopper

[lannamavity]

You might also consider talking to the HC or owner of your current gym and sticking it out. I think the mat always looks bluer at the other gym, but no place is perfect. Whatever problems you're leaving behind, you're sure to encounter similar ones at the new gym. I was just talking with a gym mom who left our gym recently. She was finding it funny how she was hearing the same complaints from the parents at the new gym as at our gym. In then end, I suppose you have to go with your gut, but I guess my preference would be to stick with the devil you know.

If I may...and I usually do...

Coaches come and go. Families come and go. Some training groups are strong, and others are not. Every gym goes through cycles. It's also an Olympic year, which messes everything up (though no owner would dare complain about too many kids, especially with the economy the way it is).

If a gymnast leaves a gym every time things change, no one would ever stay anywhere more than a year. Often, the most important thing is consistency in management and philosophy. All of the rest will most certainly change, for better or worse.

You may want to convey your concerns in a general, non-accusatory (my own word) way to the head coach and see if there is a plan to deal with the situation.
I have had a number of parents come to me years after I coached their child who have said that they wish they had never left and that they were too quick to move on.

Good luck.

 

[Billy]

Our gym is a little "zoo-y" right now but we were warned about a month ago. The owners posted a notice saying that every Olympic year it gets insane for a couple months. DD goes 2 days a week and both days there is rec classes, team practice, and tumbling going on. The gym is rather small size wise but they split it in a way that accomodates everyone. It actually amazes me how much they fit, we have two sets of bars, a small low bar area for the rec classes, 6 balance beams, two vault strips, a tumble track, and full size floor.
Hopefully after the novelty wears off your gym stop being so insane

Liz
:nurse:

Thank you. That makes me feel better to know that we're not the only zoo in the business right now. I wish our owner would have given us similar information.

If I may...and I usually do...

Coaches come and go. Families come and go. Some training groups are strong, and others are not. Every gym goes through cycles. It's also an Olympic year, which messes everything up (though no owner would dare complain about too many kids, especially with the economy the way it is).

If a gymnast leaves a gym every time things change, no one would ever stay anywhere more than a year. Often, the most important thing is consistency in management and philosophy. All of the rest will most certainly change, for better or worse.

You may want to convey your concerns in a general, non-accusatory (my own word) way to the head coach and see if there is a plan to deal with the situation.
I have had a number of parents come to me years after I coached their child who have said that they wish they had never left and that they were too quick to move on.

Good luck.

You are so funny! But thanks for your post. I do understand that we need to try to weather the rough times, which is why this situation has been so hard. Neither I nor my daughter really want to leave the gym. She likes the girls and the coaches. But even she is getting impatient with how crowded things are. At this point, though, we're just going to have to stick it out and hope things improve. I don't want to talk to the owner (again). I'm already one of "those" moms at the gym from trying to talk to her about my dd's progress and her gym goals. I'm not going to her again with something else.

 

[flippymonkeysmom]

I am a firm believer in things happen the way they are supposed to for a reason. Your dd is obviously progressing very nicely where she is - a gym move could have very likely disrupted that for a number of reasons. I tend to be a little 'type A' and like to control everything and micromanage situations - I'm thinking you might be kinda the same way. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is just take a deep breath, step back, have faith and let things unfold the way they will. Hang in there - it will work out exactly the way it is supposed to.

 

[MdGymMom01]

Our gym is a little "zoo-y" right now but we were warned about a month ago. The owners posted a notice saying that every Olympic year it gets insane for a couple months. DD goes 2 days a week and both days there is rec classes, team practice, and tumbling going on. The gym is rather small size wise but they split it in a way that accomodates everyone. It actually amazes me how much they fit, we have two sets of bars, a small low bar area for the rec classes, 6 balance beams, two vault strips, a tumble track, and full size floor.
Hopefully after the novelty wears off your gym stop being so insane

Liz
:nurse:

I agree--I have seen a HUGE jump in the enrollent at our gym-especially the rec kids. I haven't seen an issue with space/accomodations negatively affecting dd's training, but it does get awfully crowded in there. I do think that the novelty will wear off for a lot of these kids after a few months.

Just hang in there and be very watchful--safety is number one. Like you said things may readjust come Dec/Jan.

Good luck!!

 

[ZJsMom]

There is a flip side to the crowds too. All those rec kids keep the gym solvent and can fund more space/equipment. In these tough financial times, we probably shouldn't take anything for granted. A gym in our area just filed for bankruptcy and abruptly closed its doors leaving its team kids adrift right at the beginning of their season.

 

[gym law mom]

Possibly having more kids in the gym may force the owner to buy an extra beam or so. Many gyms only have 1 vault table(not exactly cheap) and when new vaults are worked on they do many progressions on whale mats or porta-tables before actually working on the "real" vault. It still never hurts to just mention the increased number of kids to dd's coach or owner. They may be looking at changing schedules for some classes or working on other ideas to deal with this. I know our gym has seemed a lot "busier" during the late afternoons lately. Coaches can adapt---for instance if not enough beams have some of the girls practice skills on the floor and rotate how many are on the beam and floor.

See how it all goes for this season and keep in touch with Gym A. At least they know you might be interested at some time.

 

[Billy]

Thanks, everybody! I appreciate the support and suggestions.

 

[TuesdayPillow]

This could be a for a good reason. Always talk things over with the current gym. Also, talk with her coach specifically. Why are the girls only getting 5 or so vaults? Is it because they are busy working drills and body awareness stations or are they just standing in line forever to wait for vault? Why is this coach dropping kids? Does the owner know and what can he do about it?

 

[Billy]

This could be a for a good reason. Always talk things over with the current gym. Also, talk with her coach specifically. Why are the girls only getting 5 or so vaults? Is it because they are busy working drills and body awareness stations or are they just standing in line forever to wait for vault? Why is this coach dropping kids? Does the owner know and what can he do about it?

The girls are divided into two groups (usually) on vault. One group will do vaults and the other group will work handstands or back handsprings or something on the side. So I guess the answers to both your questions about vault is yes. Yes, they do stations, but yes, they also wait in line for turns.

And yes, the head coach knows about the girls being dropped. The first time she was told. The second time she was there.

 

[vmom]

Hey, Shawn. I feel your pain (sorry about the Bill CLinton quote). Even if you may have been labled one of "those moms"; don't give up on looking out for your child's best interest,especially if safety is a concern. Since your options have been limited, I guess the only advice I have is to try to make the best of the current situation. Does your gym do open gym on weekends? Are cooaches there during open gym? Can dd attend? Sometimes these sessions are a little less crowded.

 

[Blackie6]

Shawn,
I have no advice in moving gyms, but some of the suggestions sound good. From your posts your DD sounds like she is progressing well right now. probably much quicker than my DD. I would probably leave her right where she is for now. Things change very quickly in the gym. Last year my DD's L4 team was HUGE and often it was hard for the coaches to work with the younger ones and pay closer attention to the details. This year as half the group moved up and our team is smaller, the "younger" group has been really getting some great coaching. Sometimes you have to ride out the storm...our gym isn't always perfect either, there are times when I've been mad or upset at things going on, but for the most part these things resolve themselves. If the safety/spotting is a concern (and I would be too) I would bring this to owners attention or at least the coaches. there was a time last year, and i posted about it here, that my DD was doing ROBHS poorly without spotting, over and over again. I thought she would break her neck. I spoke to coach afterwards, and it was just a case of a coach not being at the station mix-up and it never happened again. I think that some coaches have eyes in the back of their heads, but not all the time, LOL

But, you do pay a lot of money for gymnastics and you & DD should be happy with the results. If DD is really unhappy with coaching, team mates, program, then I would continue the search. But just an FYI, gymnastics is a smaller community than you think. I just learned this recently when some team mates left our gym for others. Many coaches and owners from area gyms know each other and discuss and consult. Sometimes they are even aware ahead of time if you are trying out other gyms, LOL, so make sure this is what you really want to do!

 

[Billy]

Thanks, Vmom. And no, we don't have open gym. DD would love it if we did. Part of the problem is that our L5s and L6s are in meet season right now. That means that the two main coaches are working with those teams a lot. Also, one of our new coaches was gone on vacation last week, which is part of what made things worse. Thursday and Friday this week were better and I'm hoping when the other coach is back next week, things will get back to normal.