staying overnight

[Panda-girl's Mom]

I just booked a room the 3rd time this year because daughter has a 8am meet again. It is only 1hour and a half a way but I get so nervous about getting there. All of the meets that we previously had at 8am were at least 3 hours away so I had no choice. I was just curious what other people gym families and coaches do. Daughter likes to be early so getting there just in time I feel would throw her off and also since it is winter we are in PA you never know what the weather will be like. The only problem that I have run into is her gym will not let them leave practice early so we often get to the hotel intime to go to bed and get up and rush to the meet in the AM it seems like a waste. Daughters headcoach and I have gotten into arguments about this and I have basically given up on trying to convince her to let daughter leave practice early to travel to the meets? What is your gym policies on this do they let gymnasts leave early to travel?

 

[Optionals United]

Well normaly the day before the meet we do a one-touch. Which is where you go to each event warm up comp style then move on to the next event. Which takes up about 2 or 3 hours depending, then you go home. That is usally on a friday,but sometimes when you compete on a sunday it is a little different. You will come in on friday do the same thing as everyone else maybe spend a little extra time going through some details,mnimal conditioning, light stretch and then you go home.That is usally 3 hours or so. Saturday you just lay low and rest, go see a movie,bake cookies,stuff like that.

This season we havent had any really early and far meets so we havent needed to stay in a hotel. Last year when we did, practice was a one touch and then everyone left. Very rarley do we have a full practice before a meet that we would need to leave early to get to a hotel. Normally,say if we had a 8am start time on saturday and you needed to stay in a hotel friday night at least 3 hours away. Thursday would be a full practice like normal,light conditioning and stretching. Then friday say you have to leave at 5 to get to the hotel at a decent hour(10 w/traffic) then we would have no practice. You had a full practice the day before so you should be set to go, not needing that extra practice.

I dont see why your DD's coach wont let you leave early to get to the hotel at a decent hour. The last practice before a meet should be pretty laid back and not needing to be really intense. You should go run through routines and move on. It is not like you are learning new skills or doing a lot of reps. I know my coach would much rather have me get a good amount of sleep rather than, do a whole practice and then get to the hotel really late. For this meet I wouldnt see it as a problem.If practice would end at 8 and it is an hour and a half away it would be around 9:30 when you get there. So you would still get a good amount of sleep. If it was a least 3 hours away and you left at 8 then it would be 11:00. My coach in that situation would probably end practice at 5:30-6:00 and then leave.
That is how we do it on my team and what my coach belives is best for us.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I just booked a room the 3rd time this year because daughter has a 8am meet again. It is only 1hour and a half a way but I get so nervous about getting there. All of the meets that we previously had at 8am were at least 3 hours away so I had no choice. I was just curious what other people gym families and coaches do. Daughter likes to be early so getting there just in time I feel would throw her off and also since it is winter we are in PA you never know what the weather will be like. The only problem that I have run into is her gym will not let them leave practice early so we often get to the hotel intime to go to bed and get up and rush to the meet in the AM it seems like a waste. Daughters headcoach and I have gotten into arguments about this and I have basically given up on trying to convince her to let daughter leave practice early to travel to the meets? What is your gym policies on this do they let gymnasts leave early to travel?

the coach is unreasonable. athletes should not be working out the night before a competition if the competition begins at 8 the next morning. the body needs rest and recovery from a previous practice and that could take as long as 16 hours. has to do with lactic acid, rehydration, etc; these kinds of training/competition issues should be worked out in advance by the coaching staff and done with a planner.

even if they're compulsories... the same discretion should be practiced. even little ones expend a ton of excercise/energy in a practice. you'll have to trust me on this...working out the night before with an 8 a.m. start the next morning will not bring your kids a bigger score. only a bigger sore...body!

 

[Optionals United]

Wanted to add to mine but I was one minute late from the 60 minute time limit to edit......
Yes at our practices if you have a 8am start time they will get you out of their in less than an hour. You do bare minimum of what is needed you warm up go move on no extra this and that. Also my post is based off my optional years not compulsaries, and most of our optional meets are around 3 in the afternoon.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I too would not be happy to allow a child to leave training early to get to a hotel early, unless it meant it would affect the comp the next day. If there was a very long drive and she would be arriving at the hotel very late and going to bed later than usual the night before a meet I would allow it. But to experience the hotel I would not be as happy.

The problem is going to the meet should be about going to the meet, kids should enjoy that experience. But I think many kids see it as the extras like going to the hotel and swimming in the pool as what it is all about. Going to a hotel should be for the purpose of getting to the meet on time, well rested and ready to go.

It does not sound like you are a parent who would make it all about the hotels stays and the eating out and then have to do this every time you could. It sounds like you have a very good reasonable reason to stay in the hotel and they do cost a lot of money, but so many parents are the other way that I would not be surprised if the coaches had a blanket policy like this.

 

[bogwoppit]

The coach is a control freak. Leaving gym early the night before, or not going to that practice will not affect the competitions outcome. You should be able to stay at the hotel whenever you feel a need, and there is no reason why you shouldn't enjoy it too. Frankly most of our kids are not going to the Olympics and the whole "too tired for the meet" thing is irritating. Your kid has one childhood, they can have fun too!

When my girls talk about the meets they have done, they also talk about all the fun stuf they did the night before at the various hotels. Some coaches need to lighten up, this is compulsories, not L10!

 

[MissBear]

One of the reason none of our teams train on friday is so there is no problem about getting wherever or being worn out the next day, or if there are competition training days.
We have a competition this weekend. The gymnasts competing on saturday will do what optionals rocks called a one-touch, what we normally call a whizz-round! On thursday, usually takes about 1 1/2 hours. The gymnasts competing on sunday will train thursday as normal, being careful that the conditioning is light. They will whizz round on saturday lunchtime.

It seems to work well.

 

[Galadriel]

We usually end up having to travel and stay in hotels due to our location unfortunately(!)

We have one coach who stays home, travelling up the next morning, and the girls can go in and train (routines) the night before, but for the parents who want to travel and stay that night in the hotel, for whatever reason, but say because they are on early the next day, there is no pressure to come to that practice the day before.

The senior coach usually travels that night too, and then usually everyone is in the same hotel, and the girls and parents and coaches relax together that evening, and breakfast together in the morning! The coach can tell the girls - right - early night!

 

[Bajanswife]

We don't ever get to practice the day before a meet - we are too busy getting on a plane and flying to our meet destination! We always allow enough travel time for delays etc., so sometimes we don't even get to practice 2 days before. I don't know if that affects how we do at meets or not, but we really have no choice. Also, we pay big bucks for every meet, so we always build in some relaxing enjoyment time to the trip. I really think that there is room for a little flexibility in the coach's attitude!

 

[Ingwe]

My DD has an 8:00 am start time next Friday and it too is only an 1.5 half hours away, but we will also spend the night there. It just makes it easier and so much less stressful.

Our Gym does not practice the night before a meet so we have no issues there.

 

[Megley]

Hmmm, interesting about the night before a meet practice. We have an 8 am session this Saturday and the girls are practicing Friday night, though ending early so they can get home and get to bed. The meet is local, though, so no driving. We have a meet that is two hours away and I always stay the night before if we have an 8 am session. It's too far to get up and go in the morning and risk not getting there on time.

 

[coachmolly]

I don't think asking to be let out of practice a little early the night before should be a big deal, an extra hour or two the night before is really not going to make that much of a difference. At one gym I attended the pre-meet practice was similar to what another poster described, just go in, run through your routines, and get out so you have time to get home or to the hotel, get to sleep, whatever.
However, another gym I trained at would have practices the night before, or even the day of if the meet was on a Saturday evening/afternoon and within driving distance. It was a pain to get up for 9am practice, workout for 3ish hours, go home, and head off to a meet 2 hours away. Not a fun experience. On one situation I had Saturday morning practice, an afternoon practice at another local gym to use the new vault so we could compete on it the next day (this was many years ago haha), a high school meet that night (my club coach was also my high school coach, so everything I did for hs gym was arranged by her), and a club meet the next morning. Needless to say, it wasn't the best experience. I think a little extra rest the next day, whether at home or at the hotel, is a much more productive way to spend time.
As far as away meets where you want to make a vacation or weekend getaway out of it, let them have fun. Don't go overboard and let them stay out way too late or eat something ridiculous right before, but no need to pay for a hotel or expensive trip and not enjoy it. That way if the gym meet doesn't go so well, they at least have good memories of the experience.

 

[Gymnasticgrandkids]

We are due to be in Ohio tomorrow evening for a meet...we have gym tonight for those who will not be leaving until tomorrow morning....but our coaches are respectable enough to let the girls go if they are doing an overnight, even if it is only an hour away. They do want them to come to gym the night before, if possible, but they don't expect them to be there any longer than the one touch ruling...and having said that...most of our girls have already left for Ohio.

 

[UnoMas]

Our gym doesn't have a set policy, it changes with every meet. Missing practice or leaving early...or arriving late...for any reason whatsoever, however, is generally a no-no, especially during "meet weeks". A couple weeks ago the girls had an 8am start time at a meet that was 4 hrs away and they were expected at practice the night before but got out early. Still, we got to the hotel after 10pm and it was a very early morning the next day for my very sleepy DD. It was a bummer! We have another 8am start this weekend, it's on Sunday and we are staying the night...again...but no practice Saturday to worry about so that is good. Anytime we have am 8am start anywhere but a local meet we always spend the night. I would never sleep being so worried about getting up early and getting there on time. Of course, I really don't sleep that well in a hotel either! Oh well, can't win!
Good luck to DD at her meet!

 

[cher062]

I just booked a room the 3rd time this year because daughter has a 8am meet again. It is only 1hour and a half a way but I get so nervous about getting there. All of the meets that we previously had at 8am were at least 3 hours away so I had no choice. I was just curious what other people gym families and coaches do. Daughter likes to be early so getting there just in time I feel would throw her off and also since it is winter we are in PA you never know what the weather will be like. The only problem that I have run into is her gym will not let them leave practice early so we often get to the hotel intime to go to bed and get up and rush to the meet in the AM it seems like a waste. Daughters headcoach and I have gotten into arguments about this and I have basically given up on trying to convince her to let daughter leave practice early to travel to the meets? What is your gym policies on this do they let gymnasts leave early to travel?

it depends on how far away the meet is. usually anything 1.5 hours or less practice happens on Friday but we are out at 6:30 so we get there really no later than 8pm, get pizza and a quick swim before bed. If its more than that usually practice on Fri is cancelled to allow travel time. This year 90% of our meets were over 2 hours away so we only had the one in the state we live in and one in the next state (we are on the boarder of the state) that had practice. This weekend sectionals is 1 hour away but we still have practice on Fri.

I think its normal for what you are experiencing. We also have a rule if you aren't at the practice on that last practice you won't be allowed to participate in the meet.

We are in NH where we get lots of snow and I've driven in blizzards before to get to the meet.

 

[Aussie_coach]

One of the reasons coaches will discourage the meet being "all about the hotel experience" is because kids these days often associate these events with getting special things if you know what I mean. There are kids in our once a week classes who get McDonalds on the way home from training every gymnastics day. I have seen kids stay in gymnastics not because they love it but because they realize they won't get McDonalds every week if they stop.

Other parents buy their child a new leotard every time they go to a meet, so to say you get something new every time. Other parents who buy their child a leo when they win unconsciously rewarding winning rather than effort. Other parents who buy their child a new leo when they don't win, teaching kids that buying new stuff when they feel bad makes it better.

I have also heard many kids talk about gymnastics saying they don't enjoy the sport so much, they enjoy the medals and trophies and staying in hotels.

Again as I said before, I don't believe you parent like that and I don't believe your child thinks like that. But I do believe your coach has certain rules to avoid that sort of behavior and is not going to make an exception.

 

[coachmolly]

Other parents buy their child a new leotard every time they go to a meet, so to say you get something new every time. Other parents who buy their child a leo when they win unconsciously rewarding winning rather than effort. Other parents who buy their child a new leo when they don't win, teaching kids that buying new stuff when they feel bad makes it better.

I have also heard many kids talk about gymnastics saying they don't enjoy the sport so much, they enjoy the medals and trophies and staying in hotels.

Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't even think of it that way. The gyms I trained at only went to meets within reasonable driving distance and my parents are morning people, so I think I only stayed in a hotel before a meet twice in all of my competitive years. But I can see some parents going over the top and attempting to make every meet an extravagant and special experience for things not relating to gymnastics. Good thing I loved gymnastics by itself!

 

[gymcoach34]

This is a very gray area- and I dont know how a gym could have a policy bc every meet (level/distance, etc) is different. I think every situation should be evaluated and the decision made for the best interest of the gymnasts. There are also 2 sides to every story- my gym is small, and we are slaves to the schedule- to bring kids in early Fri or on another night bc they have an early sat meet is almost impossible as the gym is always packed and there isnt space for another group. We also do not do a lot of hours- so its hard to lose the time we do have in the gym. We do lighter practices the day before the meet- and we can often get kids out early by just doing a quick assignment & rotating events quickly-but even this is difficult as sometimes there is no where to go when a class is on the event we need.

There is also a balance between making sure there is a good "meet experience" with hotel, pool, etc and making sure the kids understand why they are there- to compete. Most of the time you can have the best of both worlds-but not always.

I would have a problem w someone asking to leave workout early for every early am meet- in compulsories there are a lot of them. If there is a real need we make accomidations to get them out early. I can also see how you can be stuck between a rock & a hard place as a head coach- for every person who wants to get out early to experience a hotel, there are those who want their "money's worth" of practice time! If I canceled every Fri night practice every time the compulsories have an 8 am Sat meet, there would be problems! I think its a personal choice to stay over for a meet that is just over an hour away (not really necessary), and I dont think anyone should expect the gym to make changes because of that.
On a seperate note, most hotels will let you come back and use the pool after the meet if you ask. If you tell them u are there for a gym meet, I have never had a hotel say no when people ask to come back and swim after the meet.

 

[bogwoppit]

For me it is not about experiencing a hotel so much as wanting two hours more sleep and not having to deal with bad weather or getting lost first thing. Some people do not live close to their gyms and therefore may live even further from the meets than other team members. I know I live an hour further from meets than most of our team, so hotels are essential. But if I am going to pay the money for a hotel, HOTWIRE is my friend, I am going to make sure it is fun for my kids. We do three meets a year and so that's three hotel rooms and three things to look forward to.

Our head coach and I are going in a road trip to qualifiers, six hours away. We are looking for fun hotels and nice things to do with the kids. AS she said it's like a mini vacation for her too. My girls aren't even in the gym anymore and we are looking forward to it.

This maybe is the coaches vocation, profession or job, but for parents it is their holidays, time off work, fun time with the kids. For the kids it is their childhood, and why on earth can't they enjoy it? Are coaches seriously concerned they might have to much fun where gym is concerned?

I find the whole "it's bribing the kids" thing to be ridiculous. Are people suggesting that travel of any kind is harmful to a childs emotional development?? No, of course not, that would be silly. But it is just as silly to suggest that missing an hour of gym to get the kid to a hotel early enough to have dinner and go to bed it going to ruin them is odd.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

that^^^^^^^