I have been contemplating this for the last couple of months:
Is there a happy medium in the gym business? Do people want to be part of a program that has high level teams and is always attending the best comps out there or would they rather be part of a no pressure type of gym.
I have been trying to figure out what is best. I know it matter from one person to the next so I would love to get some input.
There seems to be families that are happy with a high pressure situation knowing that they will come out victorious in the end and then others that dont mind what place they get, thinking that they have recieved other victories by just being part of the correct gym.
I can't speak for anyone else, but for us it was a matter of what made our daughter happy. We checked out a number of gyms before deciding which one to join. Our daughter is not a level 5 cheerleader, and I don't know if she ever will be. She just loves to cheer. We picked our gym because of the coaching staff and the friendly atmosphere. Yes we are competitive, and like to win. Who doesn't it alot of money to be spending. Who likes to lose all the time. But there is more to it then just winning first place.
My daughter recently left a so called "family environment" gym to a gym that is more competitive. While we loved the gym and the people, she was bored and was not pushed in anyway. It was a hard decision, but she is thriving at her new gym. She has accomplished so many new skills and her self esteem is thorugh the roof. Yes the practices are sometimes super hard and she is coming home exhausted some days, but she loves it. I do miss the days where I could watch practice and they would play fun games, but it was not what my daughter wanted anymore. Good luck to everyone this weekend.
I think it is safe to say the there is not a one gym that is for everyone.
I love the gym we are at. No we don't have any level 5 teams, but hopefully one day. The girls work really hard and keeping working on building new skills. We don't always win, but when we do it's is awesome and they know they earned it by working really hard. The atmosphere is very friendly and the coaches are extremely professional, friendly and approachable. Most important the kids like them. Practices are taken very serious and goofing off is not acceptable. They don't play games, but there is a time to laugh and remember that it's suppose to be fun too. You just need to shop around and find the one that fits your needs.
I love our gym it is both very competitive and family oriented. Sometime you can get the best of both worlds. I know there are many gyms that offer them both.
My daughter recently left a so called "family environment" gym to a gym that is more competitive. While we loved the gym and the people, she was bored and was not pushed in anyway. It was a hard decision, but she is thriving at her new gym. She has accomplished so many new skills and her self esteem is thorugh the roof. Yes the practices are sometimes super hard and she is coming home exhausted some days, but she loves it. I do miss the days where I could watch practice and they would play fun games, but it was not what my daughter wanted anymore. Good luck to everyone this weekend.
I think it is safe to say the there is not a one gym that is for everyone.
Very going point. We left a gym in Norcal as well because the staff was always talking poorly about other gyms and encouraging my daughter to be negative. What i found interesting is our old gym used to say bad things about our new gym like they are not as good, or not as competitive etc. I found that my new gyms is way better than my old gym and the people at the old gym are really starting to look bad becuase they always talk about other gyms and people are starting to catch on and they are looking really bad in the industry. I think when you speak bad about others it really is a reflection of yourself. I love my new gym and my old gym is not thriving so I left just in time. So you are correct eveyone has their own gym they work well with.
Its kind of funny how you are talking so negatively about your old gym, complaining about how they are the ones bad mouthing others. Practice what you preach?
My daughter recently left a so called "family environment" gym to a gym that is more competitive. While we loved the gym and the people, she was bored and was not pushed in anyway. It was a hard decision, but she is thriving at her new gym. She has accomplished so many new skills and her self esteem is thorugh the roof. Yes the practices are sometimes super hard and she is coming home exhausted some days, but she loves it. I do miss the days where I could watch practice and they would play fun games, but it was not what my daughter wanted anymore. Good luck to everyone this weekend.
I think it is safe to say the there is not a one gym that is for everyone.
This sounds JUST like us - I would be willing to bet we left the same "old" gym for the same "new" gym!! Change is always hard, but sometimes in order to grow we all need to do it. As long as my child is happy and continues to love what she is learning and doing, I am happy too.
