Changing Programs: Is It Worth It?

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I wonder how the author of this article/blog feels when kids from other gyms come to their program. Do they shoo them out and say "no no, you should stay loyal to your previous gym." Do they not take their money?

Exactly!!! Don't b*tch and moan when Sam Supertumbler leaves your gym to go to another when you get excited when Suzie Superstar comes to yours. Loyalty is a two way street.

And, I don't see how you can regulate "hoppers" because you don't know why they are "hopping."
 
Something else I wanted to add:

Some coaches will say "but we're you're friends/family!" Or you as a parent may think "But they're our friends!"

You don't have to be at the same gym to be friends.

Unless you're moving far away, those kids and parents who are REALLY your friends as they say they are, will keep in touch.

This goes for coaches and owners, too. Being "family" shouldn't be contingent on people staying with your program.

It is a sign of a great, mature owner or coach if they can continue to view/treat you as family even if you're with That Gym Down The Street next season.

It bothers me when I hear about coaches or owners side-eyeing former athletes/parents at comps, not saying hi to them, trash talking them, etc. You are an adult. You have no business trash-talking a child to whoever will listen. You're a real Petty Ruxpin.

Are there kids/parents who are going to trash-talk you after they leave? Yeah. But that's likely the 1% of kids who leave gyms and you need not reciprocate it.
THIS.
This entire article ticks me off. Saw it on Facebook first. Over the course of ten years we've been at four gyms. Ex-cp left gym 1 to actually follow two of the coaches from there and grow her skills. Gym 1 also didn't allow boys to cheer so cp17 never could've started there (admittedly we didn't know he was interested when we moved). But we left to follow coaches she loved who were teaching her new skills.

We stayed at gym 2 until both cp's progressed past where they'd have a team for them and the writing on the wall was obvious. That gym was failing big time four years later and the flood gates were about to open. Two weeks after we left (at the end of the season) that gym got bought out for a program we had no interest in being a part of. So we would've had to go anyway.

But this is why I quoted your post, the hardest thing we ever did was say goodbye to two of our most beloved coaches (not the two we originally followed, but two we met while at gym 2). And guess what.....it wasn't really goodbye. Yes we were at different gyms the following year, but who do you think I texted videos to, or met us at competitions, or came over for dinner now and again? Who do you think cp17 called FIRST on the way home from practice when he suddenly decided gym 3 might not be where he wants to be? He called that coach because we were still friends. They still love my kids as much as we love them.

Gym 3 was fine for one cp, it was not a good fit for ex-cp. at the end of that one year she quit cheer for good. A "shiny new gym" opened 24 minutes from our house (NOT two hours which was the current drive) and those same two beloved coaches got jobs there.

So I guess you can say we "gym hopped" BECAUSE of loyalty to the coaches that taught cp17 every skill he has.

He went home.

Had that gym opened the year before I'm sure that's where we would've gone in the first place but it didn't exist when gym #2 died. And we got ex-cp back for a year and she finished her career on the strongest team she's ever been on, with her coach that loves her more than anything.

So yeah. I guess we're gym hoppers oh writer of the article, but we've always been loyal (with good reason) to the people who were loyal to us.

That's a two way street.


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