not happy

noisy · Member

not happy

Tamara · cheergyms.com Master Poster

What has happened that makes you think you made the wrong choice?

Pixie · Senior Member

Noisy,
Does the contract have a buy-out clause? It may seem expensive but worth it rather than sticking with a place that truly doesn't fit.

Since you didn't state why this is the "wrong" gym, we can only speculate. Perhaps if you meet with the director and express your concerns something can be worked out.

Best of luck to you!

cheermom · Veteran Member

Noisy - I totally agree with Pixie. Life is too short to stay somewhere that you are unhappy. Most contracts have some way out and even if it is $100 - $200 isn't that worth your happiness.

I am sorry to hear that you landed in the wrong gym, but it is stil VERY early in the season, plenty of time to make a switch or work it out if you can.

Bladezmom · Senior Member

It is early in the season and most gyms will let you out of the contract if you're not happy. Don't stay and be miserable, talk it over with the gym owner.

cheerwatcher · GURU

Oh no, I am so sorry that you are upset with your choice of gym. I agree, most places should let you out of that contract. Make sure you talk to the gym owner asap. Dont just settle, cheerleading is an expensive sport, you surely dont want to be throwing that money away. Good Luck, Hopefully you find a great gym. There are several gyms in that area or even slightly further if you like to travel. Power in Sacramento (powercheerallstars.com), which I think is Rocklin? Royals (sacramentoroyalallstars.org), UCF (universitycheerforce.com), Starz (cheerstarz.com)in roseville, and club spirit(clubspirit.net) just to name a few. I believe all of them are still accepting members!! Hope this helps!

UCFMom · Veteran Member

We are still accepting members and are already off to a great start! We just competed in our local parade and won first place. THe girls had a blast and it was cool because our whole gym participated in the routine.

We have quite a few new girls - some from 720 - which we are thrilled to have and are so excited for the new season.

Looking forward to another great season and to finally meeting some of you posters :)

OC mom - are you going to keep the title since you aren't with OC - I guess it can just stand for orange county mom?

noisy · Member

we tried to talk with the director, but they will not let us out of the contract. They made us sign the contract even before we tried out. Now I know why.

cheermom · Veteran Member

Nosiy,
Sorry - but that is crap. I would have someone else look at the contract, there has to be a way out. What if you moved or something like that. Most contracts have a way out, some type of release clause.

I am sorry that you are haivng to go through all the drama, sounds like you had a little warning sign by having to sign a contract before try out... SCARY!

Lastly, why the heck would a gym owner try to keep you in a contract when you have expressed that you are not happy and want out. It seems like to me that if they know someone is REALLY unhappy that they would allow them to leave.. even if they do charge a fee to release you from the contract. How lame will that make the season.

I would tell the owner that I am taking the contract to my lawyer to look over.. see if that scares them into letting you out of it furious

-- Edited by cheermom at 11:45, 2007-05-09

-- Edited by cheermom at 11:45, 2007-05-09

OC Mom · GURU

-- Edited by OC Mom at 13:41, 2007-05-09

Tamara · cheergyms.com Master Poster

Well, since Noisy doesn't seem to want to state what could possibly have happened so soon in the season to know this is the wrong gym, I'm going to assume that Noisy thought he/she were walking into one gym when it was actually a different gym. ;)

Under normal circumstances, I feel that if you signed a contract you should live up to your responsibilities. However, since it is really early in the season, I think that it would be acceptable for you to let the gym know what your concerns are and if you are still not satisfied, I guess leaving wouldn't be horrible.

I don't want to know what gym it is, but I would like a little insight into what happened. I just can't imagine what occured in such a short period of time. Did you find out you're not going to be one the team you wanted? Are there illegal activities going on? Does the coach have a different process than you feel is better?

-- Edited by Tamara at 13:25, 2007-05-09

maddiekate · Veteran Member

I heard there could be a new gym in elk grove late in the season. They have hit a few obsticles. most likely half-year teams only this season.

-- Edited by maddiekate at 16:37, 2007-05-09

-- Edited by maddiekate at 16:27, 2007-05-10

Cheer411 · Senior Member

What??? I find this interesting. There isn't a SINGLE contract, out there, that is Iron-clad. I would think that all it takes is one contradiction, typo, etc. and the contract is void. I would definitely take this contract to an attorney and have them check it out.

Is there more families, like you, that are having the same issues? If so, now you have numbers and can establish a pattern of "just bad business" practices. It takes guts but you may start asking the other families if they are running into the same type of issues. In addition, you may want to ask some people that may have left this gym last season to help you out with your case.

I still cannot believe the gym owner wouldn't let you go. What type of money have you already invested into this season? Has your cheerleader been sized for a uniform yet? If not, there really hasn't been a whole lot of expenses that have been paid out by this gym. I would be hard pressed to believe that all the competition fees have been completely paid for at this time.

So what is the reason they are telling you not allow you to leave? Are they just waving the contract at you? I really think this is a form of bullying and unjustifiable at this time of the year.

Look for a way out and find a better place for your daughter to cheer. It will save you a full year of frustration.

Cheer411 · Senior Member

maddiekate wrote:

I heard there might be a new gym in elk grove a little late in the season. They have hit a few obsticles. most likely half-year teams only this season.

-- Edited by maddiekate at 16:37, 2007-05-09

This is a recent development. Please tell us more

cheerwatcher · GURU

Wow, Im so sorry for this, I have NEVER heard of a contract like that. I say take it to an attorney.

xpressjag · Senior Member

Are the only 2 programs in Elk Grove Royals and UCF? I know Club Spirit is in Rancho Cordova.

superstar · Member

I believe UCF is in Elk Grove and the Royals are in Sacramento.

noisy · Member

Thanks for all your help. I really don't want to bad mouth anyone, but the gym's coaches seem to be learning as they go. I won't go into detail, but if you were there I'm sure you would argee. If I give you examples I'm sure the coaches will know it's me.

UCFMom · Veteran Member

superstar wrote:

I believe UCF is in Elk Grove and the Royals are in Sacramento.

YES! UCF is located in Elk Grove.

And YES, the Royal's gym resides in Sacramento (just outside of Elk Grove), but they say they are an Elk Grove gym. So, I guess you could say they are "claiming" Elk Grove as their territory. (We even saw their entry in the Elk Grove Parade.)

There you go! There are two gyms in Elk Grove!

UCF staff is amazing and so considerate that I know they would never hold people to a year long contract if someone was unhappy.

Everyone that is apart of UCF loves our gym.

Tamara · cheergyms.com Master Poster

Noisy, I see your point. I didn't expect you to go into details (although you've probably already given enough for the coach/owner to figure out it's they're gym and narrowed it down to a few parents), for the exact reason you stated. I was just wondering about generalities, like my examples. My brain can't get around the fact that you are already this unhappy...it seems soooo early for me.

Although, the gym telling you you're stuck here because you signed a contract doesn't give good feelings. Most gyms I've heard about gives you a short period of time to truly decide (while paying monthly tuition, of course) and/or you can "buy-out" of your contract.

I hope it all works out for you.

-- Edited by Tamara at 10:51, 2007-05-10