Agree.   If cheer is interfering with school it is our business, not the gym's.  These are private gyms, not school sanctioned activities.  You just gave a great example of how important it is to read through a contract before signing.

the gym i used to cheer at had us sign a contract the begining of the season saying if we quit we still had to pay for the rest of the season. my friends dad got relocated 3 months into the season so they had to quit and the gym made the family pay for the rest of the season for all 4 kids. i understand that that was in the contract but these kids have been part of the gym since the very first day it opened they were there 6 years and their family was really good friends with the owner and she still made them pay. I get a bill every month from that gym for $100 because after our last cheer comp i didnt go back to practice for the last month. I hope they dont think they are getting it.

Anonymous wrote:

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all the gyms i have been to have always had contracts. I however, did not sign the contract this season and have not been asked by anyone about it. Interesting to me but im not going to walk up to the desk and be like-hey do we  have to have those contracts? nope, if they want it they will ask me for it.

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It's this attitude I can't stand. Parents who know they are not paying, no signed contract so they won't really be held accountable for something and just the attitude that the world owes them something. Whatever, your probably the parent that gets on all the owners nerves anyways.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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all the gyms i have been to have always had contracts. I however, did not sign the contract this season and have not been asked by anyone about it. Interesting to me but im not going to walk up to the desk and be like-hey do we  have to have those contracts? nope, if they want it they will ask me for it.

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It's this attitude I can't stand. Parents who know they are not paying, no signed contract so they won't really be held accountable for something and just the attitude that the world owes them something. Whatever, your probably the parent that gets on all the owners nerves anyways.

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I'm not spoiled, just a cheer parent from H-E-L-L

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whoa. i am the one who originally responded and i can assure you that my parents pay for everything. i know i walk into the gym about twice a month with a check either for tuition or cap clothes or whatever.I guess i had an attitude about it but i dont considerate to be that big of a deal if they dont considerate that big of a deal. also, my parents have only stepped foot in the actual gym 1 time.

-- Edited by TheirCheerMom at 19:16, 2008-07-03

TheirCheerMom wrote:

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My children tumble there and we are considering allstar with them. I am new to California and do not know of other good cheer gyms in this area. Mind sharing? I am formilar with this gym and its owners from where I use to live 3500 miles away. Is their anothe gym that I could compare them too

As for the Contract . . .

I have signed contracts with the other gym we belonged to (in another state). Most large gyms do require signing. To me it was not about them trying to get over on me or them not being a good gym. Just with any contract it is to make sure both parties keep their commitment. If a child drops out, they are leaving the team one person less and they are taking money from the gym which pays for equipment, trainers, coaches, etc. . .

That is just my POV, thank you for listening. God Bless

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WHAT AREA ARE YOU IN? MAYBE WE CAN GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS OF GYMS IN THE AREA.

Solano County

They are at Pyramids. I do not mind the commute. I was just reading this site and was wondering if there were another gym in the area. When I used to coach 3500 miles away Morton use to teach my coaches clinics. So I trust them 100%. I just want to make sure my girls are in a great place. but one of my concerns is the leaving ie; (military) and having to still pay for the unused season.

Anonymous wrote:

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Recently I was thinking of trying a gym closer to me due to the high rise in the cost of gas. I was looking at the try out info and their was thier contract that they were asking you to sign. In the contract they have eligiblity standards with having an average gpa and satisfactory marks for school and abide all laws rules and regulations in the gym community and school. There is even a alternate clause in this clause they can make you an alternate not having a required skill, mental blocks or anything that the coaching deems necessary.
And if there are 23 on a team 3 can be alternates and will be changed through out the season. There was even a clause on the uniforms and stating that no modifications can be made to team apparel or may not be designed without owners consent. Would you sign this kind of contract if your paying for your son or daughter to cheer? Is not your decision and business in regards to childs grades and behavior and would you want to pay all that money and then be told that your daughter is alternate? I understand on some parts of education clause but you are paying the money you are giving them business so what would you do?

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Our gym has agreements, not contracts. Some of the same provisions are in ours that you mention. If someone relocates as long as they arecurrenton their payments, everything else is waived. Same if someone chooses to go to another gym. We don't punish them for leaving, but we do want to make sure those debts are current. There is no early termination fee. We try to work with people if they choose to leave because (quite honestly) we do not want people who are not committed to our vision or belief to remain with us any longer than they want to.

Grades - It is requested that all children and parents wrok together to make good grades (as defined by the parents) so that the parents will not pull the child off of teams or away from practices to for bad grades as punishment. That affects the teams as well because they can not practice full out routines, or certain stunt sections if one child is not there.  Every child has a role on the team and if they are not there it hurst the team. We are also setting up free tutoring this year so kids will have no excuse as well...another project to work on...lol.

Good Citizen in the Community - i think that is self explanatory. if children are getting in trouble with the law on a regular basis, maybe they have other things to be working on besides cheer? If they have been enrolled in cheer (as some have been) to keep them off the streets and out of trouble then they are expected to maintain a good behavior policy.

Uniform Modifcations and Usuage - Usually the owners design the uniforms and property. It is technically their property. Buying it allows you to use it in a manner that they feel best represents them. What gym would sell you a cheerleading uniform so someone could wear it to the local strip club? Would they want their uniform used like that? Not at all. While that may be an extreme example, what happens more often is people who leave gyms defacing uniforms, giving them to rival gyms, etc. That may be what they are alluding to. As a parent I have a hard time with this one because uniforms are expensive but I also realize why i buy them...to represent my gym.

Alternate rule - this has got to be the most difficult one. Small teams are capped at 20 members, large teams at 36. Having alternates can prepare a team for injuries, loss of skill or if a teammate relocates or quits. It ensures you always have your best 20 or 36 on the floor at all tiems. it gives the coaches and teams a cushion just in case something does not work out.

As a parent you want more than anything that you child has no mental blocks, loss of skills, etc for this ever to happen to you. But it can happen. Be it from an injury or a crazy circumstance, mental blocks happen. (I had a kid go to camp Woodward this past week to hurry up and get her tuck so she could move up on the team she wanted to be on and came back not even doing standing BHS or running Roundoff BHS)

You do not pay all this money for a child not to compete.  I get this compeltely.
But this is also a team sport and coaches must do what is in the best interest of the team.

How can the coaches keep a position open without causing dissension for a child that is not throwing the skills they tried out with? Especially if they have people who can step in and do those skills? I have seen the kids on teams turn on their own teammates if they felt they were milking injuries or not really trying to come out from a mental block. Coaches can't catch everyone of these little skirmishes. It can tear teams up from the inside out.

Is it fair to tell a child who has the skills but may have joined a program late we are keeping you off this team in favor of someone we are squatting in the back of the mat at the next couple of competitions until they snap out of it? (Which always hurts the teams scores) Is it fair to tell the kid who has prgressed faster than anyone expected because they wanted to be on that team, that they can not be on it when it is obvious there are people on it not throwing the skills necessary to be on it? Is it fair to punish a team like that by not putting the best team possible on the floor at competition time?

The answer is is never easy for coaches, parents, owners or kids. It is a problem I wish I never had to deal with but sadly I do. We make sure they always have one team to compete on no matter what happens, but it may not be the team they want to be on. In some cases like a large squad maybe we can sqaut them but it will hurt scores. Or they may want to be on a level 5 team but may have to compete level 4 until they get their skills back. I am not one that subscribes to the belief that you pay for a position on a certain team. You pay for instruction, leadership, guidance and placement on age and skill appropiate teams. part of that is our responsibility, but some of it falls sqaurely on the athlete.

One poster always says that cheerleading is a sport where there is no bench. Alternates are the closest thing to a bench. Think about it this way. An alternate practices with the team, learns the routines, does the conditioning and still may not compete the routine come competition day.

I am open to suggestions on how to handle this unpleasant task better.