All-Star Gyms Banning Athletes??

[CheerBank]

That is so sad. A similar thing happened to us last year when we decided to leave our old gym. CP has a tumbling coach at our old gym who she adores and he is an excellent coach. However old gyms rules are that they will not allow you to tumble there if you are cheering at a competing gym. It is sad...


Mommy to CP and BP!
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On a business level I can understand that. They do not want to let you use their business that you otherwise want no part of to make their competitor's business better. On an emotional level, it stinks. We still miss and adore cp's tumbling coach from our first gym but as long as he is affiliated with them WE will not go to him for privates even though I think we would be allowed to (a little different twist there).

 

[tumbleyoda]

On a business level I can understand that. They do not want to let you use their business that you otherwise want no part of to make their competitor's business better. ....

This is so true. I don't always get why most parents don't acknowledge this or if they are just so wrapped up into what they want that this does not matter to them.

 

[CEA_ATC]

It's happened at our gym. A parent was completely blindsided by it. Her youth age CP has some mad skills and she felt the gym wasn't going to be able to field a competitive team that her daughter could utilize all her skills so her plan was to move to another gym temporarily while her daughter's age group caught up to her so to speak (that sounds far douchier than her intention was). She just wanted her daughter to be able to compete with ALL her skills. Anyway, when she told the gym owner it did not go well. Things got really ugly and emotions flared. She was "banned" but I suspect after a year or two with tempers calmed she would be welcomed back.


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I think I might actually know this kid... maybe (if it is the one I was thinking about). I remember a heated twitter/facebook exchange in the days after it all. If it is her, I feel sorry for her. That situation got ugly, and I dont think it falls on her shoulders at all... at least not from the impression that I got from her. BUT.. and it is a big one... If this IS the same girl, 5 gyms and 4 years is a bit much.

 

[maci alleman]

Our coaches have never "banned" and of our cheerleaders, however this past 2012 season was a little rough this season we only have 14 girls signed up, last season we had 34 girls and boys.. I think if those people ever came back they would be welcomed but there would probably be alot of tension..


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[L5cheermom]

I think I might actually know this kid... maybe (if it is the one I was thinking about). I remember a heated twitter/facebook exchange in the days after it all. If it is her, I feel sorry for her. That situation got ugly, and I dont think it falls on her shoulders at all... at least not from the impression that I got from her. BUT.. and it is a big one... If this IS the same girl, 5 gyms and 4 years is a bit much.

I'm sure it is, and on "paper" it seems outrageous, but she's kind of a special case in my opinion. She's got mad skills and her mom is willing and able to make sure she's where she needs to be to progress. If that means driving 2 hours then so be it. Moving? Ok. She's not your average kid either. She's very driven and serious. I could see both sides. Just sorry it ended that way. She would have been an asset to the program if she returned in a few years.


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[CEA_ATC]

I'm sure it is, and on "paper" it seems outrageous, but she's kind of a special case in my opinion. She's got mad skills and her mom is willing and able to make sure she's where she needs to be to progress. If that means driving 2 hours then so be it. Moving? Ok. She's not your average kid either. She's very driven and serious. I could see both sides. Just sorry it ended that way. She would have been an asset to the program if she returned in a few years.


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I gotcha... and understand the moving thing for abilities level, to a point. But if it is, I can't see how she could not have made it work in one of the other gyms she had been at.. right? The kid I am thinking of had been in Kernersville before, too... and is VERY skilled. But if you can't make it work at CEA or ACX in those younger age groups, you end up coming across very much like a "Susie's Mom".

That being said, I would do whatever I could for my CP to chase the dream... I just never got the feeling that the "push" to change gyms was from the kid,that's all.

 

[L5cheermom]

I gotcha... and understand the moving thing for abilities level, to a point. But if it is, I can't see how she could not have made it work in one of the other gyms she had been at.. right? The kid I am thinking of had been in Kernersville before, too... and is VERY skilled. But if you can't make it work at CEA or ACX in those younger age groups, you end up coming across very much like a "Susie's Mom".

That being said, I would do whatever I could for my CP to chase the dream... I just never got the feeling that the "push" to change gyms was from the kid,that's all.

Oh, she's a Suzie's Mom and I think she'd say so herself (if you're reading this I love ya), but at least her kid has the skills to back it up. I just don't think she thought it would go down like that. I think she was even planning to continue tumbling at ACX and keep those friendships, etc. I really think she thought this would be a temporary move. Heck, the owners CP has competed with CEA teams I'm pretty sure. Not a whole season or anything, but still. Unfortunately, as usually happens, the adults got personal and the kid pays the price.


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[CEA_ATC]

Oh, she's a Suzie's Mom and I think she'd say so herself (if you're reading this I love ya), but at least her kid has the skills to back it up. I just don't think she thought it would go down like that. I think she was even planning to continue tumbling at ACX and keep those friendships, etc. I really think she thought this would be a temporary move. Heck, the owners CP has competed with CEA teams I'm pretty sure. Not a whole season or anything, but still. Unfortunately, as usually happens, the adults got personal and the kid pays the price.


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Agreed. Whenever emotional parents/adults get involved, it can escalate quickly. We certainly enjoyed having her CP here. We did have one competition where we had a "familiar" fill in from ACX at a competition they were not competing at.

 

[Deleted member 11199]

I try to always remember that somebody everywhere knows somebody everywhere. You don't have to talk about, brag about, post or whatever. Parents text other parents, coaches text other coaches, kids take videos and pics and post them on social media before you know it. Sometimes innocently and sometimes to start trouble. I have flown across the country for job interviews in my other profession and met people that knew people/had relatives where I was working/living. I certainly never told anyone of my intentions but it got back just that quick that I was looking for a new position elsewhere. Which then strained things where I was, rightly or wrongly.

Is it right to ban an athlete? Definitely depends on the situation. Personally I have only banned one athlete in returning to a gym that I worked for. That was because they were openly and unashamedly trying to recruit the higher level kids to go to their gym to cheer. To the point she was pressuring the kids and slamming our gym's cheer program in the process. All while she was coming to our gym to tumble and stunt because we did that better than her cheer gym - according to her.

I would ban if it was a criminal act committed by the kid/parent. Especially if it was knowingly done. I also would potentially ban a kid if the parent was delinquent about paying their bill AND bragging about it/flaunting it to other parents.

If a kid moves on to follow their dream of cheering for a big name program, or they want to go to Worlds, etc. I wish them the best. I agree with @Nikaa on that one, even though that recognition that it was a smaller gym that helped that athlete get to that point to be on the floor at Worlds and do so well was not always recognized by that athlete/parent or the new gym. But that is a different thread for another day.

Now I have worked for gym owners in the past that have banned athletes for trying out at other gyms, being friends with kids at other gyms, going to other gyms Open gym which IMO is totally wrong.

...

 

[lv1212]

Our gym routinely welcomes back kids who have left in prior years. They are living proof to the rest of the gym's athletes that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

 

[12stepCheermom]

This is so true. I don't always get why most parents don't acknowledge this or if they are just so wrapped up into what they want that this does not matter to them.

It's one thing to not train other people's athletes. I'm okay with that. It's quite another to say, "if you walk out those doors you'll never be allowed to return. Ever."


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[MyDaughterCheers]

I don't understand the issue with someone taking tumbling classes at gym A but cheering for gym B. First of all, it is income. Second, what if they decide they love gym A and finish their commitment with gym B and join A next season? If you don't allow them in your gym, you can be sure they will never join your cheer program.

 

[AndrewSky]

It's one thing to not train other people's athletes. I'm okay with that. It's quite another to say, "if you walk out those doors you'll never be allowed to return. Ever."


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I completely agree. Why would you train someone so they can succeed at another program? That's like Starbucks providing Costa Coffee with a recipe for their drinks..

 

[mstealtoyou]

This thread is blowing my mind. How do people operate a business this way? I can tell you for sure that if I had a child cheering at a gym that banned athletes for leaving at the end of a season, my child would be leaving too. I wouldn't want my child looking up to adults who find it okay to act like that.

And PS: If you're banning someone who leaves your gym, it's because you're upset with yourself for not being able to retain them, not with the child for leaving. If it bothers you that much then figure out how you can improve your business to give those who are considering leaving whatever it is they're leaving for. Otherwise, that's life and you need to grow up and move on.[/quote]



THIS!!!!!

 

[fullpass]

[quote="All it takes is one parent and the next thing you know you have a whole team worth of kids leaving for another gym. Yes, the program might lose a kid or two, but it's better than losing 10 or 20[/quote]


I understand this point but does the business think that parents don't have each other's contact information? That they can't speak outside the gym? You're not going to prevent kids from leaving by banning one who has decided too. I'd argue that you're just showing the others your true colors and you're encouraging other families to move along.