Why do you love your gym?

[Coacharella]

Hi everyone

I was wondering what makes you love your gym or your kid's coach? What are wonderful things they do/have that make you love the gym you're at or the coach you have? Any special programs they do or have in place that you love?

Just curious...

 

[All Chalked Up]

I love my gym because it's my favourite place in the world. Love my teamates, love my coaches, love gymnastics.

 

[Dezi]

I love dd's gym because the team is small and she gets a ton of of attention, since the team is small we do not have to do a ton of hours! Plus her coaches are great at dealing with fears and getting them through it in a positive way

 

[jdf]

I love my dd's gym because they watch very carefully and are always making suggestions for improvement. I love that the owners are very open and communicative. I love that the current crop of booster club parents aren't crazy.

 

[busymomof4]

We love our gym because our coach hand picks who she wants to work with and so my DD gets lots of attention during morning practice times when the gym is not busy(she has 4 girls on her homeschool team), the gym is only 5 minutes from my house, and everyone that works there is like family and the parents in our group are supportive and close. Of course it's not perfect by far...but what gym is?!

 

[Terpsikhore]

I love my gym because everyone is up for a laugh. When I totally missed the end of the runway on my punch-front and went face-first into the pit instead, the coach nearly wet herself laughing. And in return, we take the mickey out of her - when she runs, she flaps her hands in the air like an over-excited pre-schooler, so we've started doing it too. We threatened to do it at the Christmas display, and in retaliation she told us she'd make us all wear matching scrunchies and t-shirts with her name on in sparkly letters.

It'd be nice to have more than one class a week, and it'd be nice to have a few more coaches so we got a bit more attention, but I'm looking at other gyms in the area for those things. This class is just my Friday night fun time, and I couldn't miss it for anything.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

My dd's gym trains smart, not long. They are careful with the young gymmies that have talent. They also know how to teach gymnastics well.

 

[gymjourneymom]

Can't say that I "love" it...but it is the best fit for my DD at this point in her gymnastics journey. Hey, sometimes "just ok" is good enough. The mats aren't always bluer someplace else.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I love dd's gym because it is a great balance in all aspects. It is very close to our home (about a 10 minute drive), small but with compulsory, optionals and the MDL programs, and great coaches. I love dd's coach because she knows how to push and challenge the kids and knows how to work with fear. She also has a lot of fun with the kids and knows when to mix the training up to re-motivate the kids. I personally believe that there is no "perfect" gym, but when you find one that has a little of everything, then it becomes "your perfect" gym.

 

[flipper's fan]

I feel like gymjourneymom- I don't love it, but it works for us now. DD chose it, she trusts the coach, and actually, all of the girls and the parents are nice- that's my favorite part.

 

[mariposa]

I love my DD's gym because I truly feel like her coaches know her (emotionally and physically) and that they really care about her and making gymnastics a good experience for her all around. I also love that they focus on good form and safe progressions, doing well at meets, but also keeping them challenged by uptraining, strength/conditioning, etc.

 

[LizzieLac]

For us...it is a reasonable distance to drive, the coaches' personalities fit ours, the coaching is good, most of the gymnasts and families seem nice/friendly. Most of all, DD feels like she fits in.

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

There are lots of reasons why I love daughter's gym. She has some really good coaches not just only technical skillwise but really good at motivating her and giving her the emotional suppport she needs for this sport. I have over the past 4 years grown to really trust them so I do not feel a need to get involved with worrying about her getting skills and stuff, I can truely just be the parent. The program is very organized and the parent association is very well run. They was treat each teammember as an individual by placing them where they need to be. The other parents are all really supportive and there is not a lot of competitveness amongest them. I think this is due to the way our HC runs the gym she does not really focus on scores although they tend to do better than average, there is no posting of scores. She also does not seem to focus on needing certain skills for each level although I could be wrong so the girls do not seem like they are stuck in a rut like they need this to get to the next level she decides individually and focuses more on the longterm goal of making them a better gymnast. Also the cost of the programs and meets has stayed fairly consistent . There are also a lot of problems such as lack of communication but the good far outweighs the bad.

 

[CoachAngela]

I love my gym because the kids that I coach make my day
They work hard and improve and it makes me so happy!!!!

 

[tumblerK]

My gym is relaxed but motivated. If we have a soccer or softball game at the same time and miss practice, that's fine because it's our choice. We don't train excessive hours. We get a snack break in the middle of practice. Our team camp has both gymnastics and fun activities such as making shirts, going rock climbing and to Dairy Queen.

There are 3 different gyms in my area. One has a couple level 9-10s but is way expensive and psycho, my gym is relaxed, and the third is part way in between but tends to have a very superior attitude. Because of this, every single one of the girls on the team as always gotten along with everyone really well. Anyone who comes in and doesn't get along with the team usually ends up switching gyms pretty quick.

The price I paid for level 7 was about the same as preteam at the nearby psycho gym.

The gym tries hard to keep costs down. For example, our gym buys and owns our competition leos and we rent them from the gym. That way when we out grow our leos we don't have to buy new ones. We only get new warmups ever 3 years or so.

 

[momof5]

I love my DD gym because of the positive attitude with both the coaches and the girls. The girls cheer each other on even in practice.

 

[lilgymmie7]

DD's gym is knowledgeable about all aspects of gymnastics. All team coaches and owner are very well respected in the gym community, and therefore networking is a benefit here. The gym hosts a huge and very well known meet that helps team parents absorb costs such as meet fees and gym leos, etc. The coaches are very careful to spot talent and do a considerably great job nurturing it. The girls are a big, happy, extended family. Every compulsory gymnast has two optional 'Big' sisters who watch out for them throughout every practice.

Most important, DD leaves home with a smile for practice and bounds out of every practice with a smile!

 

[Emma's mom]

I love my dd's gym for many reasons. The coaches are awesome and totally invested in the girls! Our coaches are very knowledgeable and approachable. The facility is awesome, the girls are wonderful to each other and it's only a 7 minute drive from our house!!!! I know....pinch me!

 

[gymnastjess]

I love my gym because we have great coaches who know what they are doing, we train short hours because thats all we need, we know that when we come in to gym we don't have long so we should train hard, we have coaches who are good at the coreographing and dance part and then we have big man coaches who can spot anything, our coaches arent just coaches they are friends, my coach is like my best friend, i love my team mates, i love how my gym is so bright and colourful, we have lots of equipment, the high level girls are really nice and encouraging not mean like everyone would think, they often randomly hand out leotards and t-shirts ect. that havent gotten sold for free , they ask you what you want and arrange training times to suit the gymnasts needs, they recognize talent not by the skills but by the work ethic, they ask the gymnasts what apparatus they want to start on first, they give high fives and praise you alot, at the end of every practice they give you a hug, they show sympathy when your hurt, they produce good athletes, they really care about the gymnasts and they know how to make things fun.
they= the coaches because i think the people is what makes a gym not the centre itself

 

[Blackie6]

Because they took an entire L5 team that had to leave another gym abruptly & welcomed them w/open arms. Coaches often spend every practice working with my daughter on things they have gone over a million times, someday she will get it, but they are patient. I can walk in and see pictures and results of meets posted proudly in the lobby for all to see, they are proud of all the girls and it is a family-like atmosphere. It is affordable for my family and my daughter can continue to do what she loves to do!