Parents Question about meets

[MILgymFAM]

Does anyone on here have experience with, or knowledge of, what happens to gymnasts at a meet if their coach fails to show? This has been weighing on my mind, and I couldn't find anything about it here, or with a google search. Has anyone ever seen that happen? Does it matter what type of meet it is (in house, qualifying, states, regionals, etc)? Thanks for your knowledge.

 

[3LittleGymmies]

That actually happened at a meet we had last year. The coach drove to the same city name... but in the next state. Still scratching my head about it. Another team's coach took those girls on.

 

[kandkfunk]

There needs to be a qualified and approved coach on the floor with the team. If they do not have a coach, they will not be allowed to compete. However, coaches are sometimes willing to take on girls from another gym, especially if the two gyms have some type of relationship. In eight years of my DD competing, I've only seen this happen one time. Bad weather meant a coach could not make it to her session this past season. A fellow coach agreed to take on her girls. However, the meet rotation had to be adjusted to accommodate this since the girls were rotating differently. Easy to accommodate in this case because half the judges couldn't get to the meet due to the weather, so the rotation schedule had to be changed anyway. However, I'm not sure all meets would be that accommodating. I do not know what would happen at a state or higher level meet.

 

[Bess]

I know something happened at our State meet and our gym had another little team from the next town over warm up with our girls. And one of our 2 coaches there started the first rotation with this team until their coach arrived...not sure what happened. This was for lower level compulsory

 

[Aussie_coach]

The gymnasts can't compete without a coach on the floor.,

 

[MILgymFAM]

Ok, spinoff question. My DD's HC coach is flying in and supposed to show up to regionals right when the session starts- she cannot come any earlier, and DD's regular coach quit. I was wondering what would happen if her flight was delayed or cancelled, and now I know. My follow up is this: do you think it would be unfair to ask for the gym to credit our account for the fees and travel expenses if DD ends up unable to compete. I hate to sound cheap, but I would feel really put out that we drove eight hours each way and put out a lot of money. What do you think? My hubby feels I would be out of line. Thanks again.

 

[bookworm]

I would ask your coach to make a contingency plan should she be delayed...the coach should call a coach she is friendly (or even just knows) from a gym that is also going , explain her situation of arriving last minute and ask if this coach could fill in if she is delayed...

 

[bookworm]

And if the coach didn't show, and your daughter couldn't compete, you could ASK for your money back but I wouldn't plan on seeing it.

 

[MILgymFAM]

And if the coach didn't show, and your daughter couldn't compete, you could ASK for your money back but I wouldn't plan on seeing it.

I know I could ask. I could ask her to do my laundry too. Lol. I was wondering if it was considered in poor taste to do so. To me it's a no brainer- she wouldn't have fulfilled her obligation to the team, but DH says he would never complain.

 

[bookworm]

I think it's in poor taste for your coach not to have a better plan for showing up at your regional meet....I guess if I realistically thought she was not going to be there and it was a 16 hour round trip, I would be having a serious conversation about whether we should make the trip in the first place

 

[MILgymFAM]

My husband and I did have the conversation. After the coach quit, the girls mostly backed out, and now this- we had a long talk. Honestly, there are a few reasons I won't pull her. First, the meet fee and the hotel we booked are non-refundable. Second, this *may* be DD's only chance to experience something like this. It's not about her winning anything, she won't, but about her working hard and earning the chance to go, and then getting to do it. I am not certain I can find her a place when we move and this season may be it. Finally, I told her coach, and her, that she was going when we were told to make the decision. I do not go back on my word, and that is a lesson I want to be clear on to my kids at all times... But yeah, I can understand why other parents pulled, I guess.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Your daughter is xcel bronze or silver correct? At this level it is easy for another to step in. I have seen this happen many times. Either the coach who is delayed calls another coach she/he knows that is in the same session or the coach will call the meet director and the meet director will ask for volunteers. Meet director can often find someone in the same rotation who will take the girls under their wing.

 

[gymgal]

I would certainly request that the HC form a back up plan. It is the least he/she can do, knowing there is a relatively fair chance that there well be a delay.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Coach should definitely have a back-up plan. I would ask ahead of time if they have one. When my daughter competed at Westerns a few years back, her coaches nearly didn't make it--plane delayed, but they made arrangements for DD to have another local coach oversee her, if needed. Thankfully, it wasn't! But as everyone has said--you have to have a coach there (and has to be a coach with all USAG credentials up to date (safety cert, back ground check, etc).

 

[gracyomalley]

There was a meet this year with weather issues that led to a team having no coach but a handful of gymnast who made it. The HC who was stuck had a list of possible alternatives lined up and ready to take the girls...

 

[raenndrops]

What everyone else said.... but also - Make sure your daughter has a copy of her music with her. THe meet director should be able to find a coach to take on your daughter (and any of her teammates that are still going)... just remind HC that she needs to have the meet director / or a coach from another team on speed dial, lol.

 

[happychaos]

Awww...I don't have any advice, but just wanted to say that I'm sorry you are having to stress over this. We all know that meets, especially travel meets, are stressful enough without having to worry about the coach showing up. Good luck to your sweet DD!

 

[profmom]

No additional advice; just chiming in to say that this is really an unfortunate situation for your daughter, and I'm so sorry this happened. After all of her hard work to get to this point, I wish she could have her regular coach by her side as she competes in this milestone meet.