Parents Switching Gyms...Making the decision and how to leave

[gymjourneymom]

I can't believe how similar your situation seems to be to ours. HC & my DD just don't work well together. Oil & water. Personality clash. His 'style' of coaching consists mostly of yelling, "Just do it!". It does work with some of the girls, but not all. We've lost many more girls than ever since he's become HC.

But there are other coaches at the gym that do work very well with my DD. So when the HC leaves her alone & she works with the other coaches she thrives. The other coaches actually give her corrections, spots & will work her up to feeling comfortable to go for it. HC just yells, like that really helps anything. DD is very "coachable" when given actual directions, help and her confidence is built up. Sounds a lot like your son & his back tuck, huh?

If you stay would HC be the only coach working with your son??? Sounds like he might need someone to fill that 'supportive coach' role for him. Doesn't sound like HC clicks with your son in that way. Will they be hiring to fill the spot of the assistant coach? If you have no glaring reasons to leave(bascially happy) you could just wait it out & see how it all plays out for a bit. Maybe the best coach for your son is yet to walk through the gym doors, that's what happened for us. Sorry, just another perspective to really confuse you more. Good luck!

 

[momofagymmie]

I don't think i could offer an opinion on your situation but here is the way we worked a gym switch... My dd had outgrown the program at her old gym. I had no idea how other gyms or coaches worked. That summer I took my dd to one really well known gym for a week long camp. It was way too far away for us to ever join but it gave me an insight to what went into the higher levels and their training techniques etc. It was a day camp so I stayed during the training times and observed. After that I had a better understanding of the kinds of things to look for in a gym. I scouted out a few in our area. DD did not want it at all. She liked her friends and she liked her coach. I found one gym I liked and sent DD there for their week of summer camp. I remember coming to pick her up and for the first time in a long time she asked me to come into the gym and see the things she'd been working on. Back was the excitement and the fun of the sport. ( If the other gyms allow it I'd have your DS try them out for at least 2 or 3 days...) I knew immediately we had to switch gyms. I talked our coach. I thanked her for all the years she'd worked with my dd and told her how sorry I was but that for my dd a change was needed. She understood. She was sad and I was too. One thing I didn't do that I should have was discuss progression and where my dd fit into their progression scheme. It became a huge issue for us. Almost switched again but then she'd made new friends and was willing to stick it out even though it was a bum deal, So I guess you should also remember there will be problems no matter what gym you go to.
That was much longer than I expected to be.....

 

[bookworm]

I can't agree with nw ohio gymmom's post more...when you feel you need to leave, then leave. From what you've said about the current gym, I can't imagine you'd stay there ...if I thought it would be detrimental to my child, I would leave , even over his protests.

A lot of posters have talked about involving your son in the decision...well I would involve him to a point but then the decision should be yours..as the parent, you know what's best for him. We left our old gym over 2 years ago and it wasn't pretty but we still see our old friends and go to their meets on occasion. My daughter has absolutely thrived at the new gym...make the switch and don't look back!!!

 

[hannahsmom]

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of advise to give because we are in the exact situation right now. We're considering a move and I know the agonizing that you're going through. What I can say is that we did a lot of what has been mentioned. We visited other gyms, she spent one class session in each of the two gyms. I took her to another gym and she immediately said "no." Instinct, I guess! haha I looked at how competitive each gym was compared to how the kids are treated. I want a good balance between a competitive gym and one that stresses strong self-esteem, so with that in mind, I eliminated a couple of gyms......one was WAY too competitive and one was too "soft" for dd's personality. As far as I'm considered, I've found the perfect gym for her, but she is also balking at a move right now because her best friend is in her class. Keep in mind, she is 7, so it's all about friends. However, she did tell me that if I let her switch schools to her BF's school, she'd be okay with the gym move. So, we're still figuring it out.

Best of luck and again, I know exactly what you're going through.