watching practices

Date: Sat Aug 26 4:57 PM, 2006

watching practices

Date: Sat Aug 26 5:15 PM, 2006

I can't imagine my mom watching practices. She's not that obsessed and it would be a total waste of her time. She has better things to do.

Date: Sat Aug 26 5:43 PM, 2006

For those of us who travel to take our darlings to cheer, the only thing to do would be shop. After paying for cheer, that isn't always an option. I would LOVE to only see 1 a month, but my carpool duties dictate differently. I am NOT willing to wait 4 hours in the car, sorry. So once a week I am stuck watching unless I get a better offer.

Date: Sat Aug 26 7:37 PM, 2006

I HATE PARENTS WATCHING.... i know they pay for it all but they are not the ones who are cheerleading. alot of the time parents get a little too involved in the whole cheer thing and it doesnt work out... not a good thing

our lobby is RIGHT next to the floor... and parents watch alot

Date: Sat Aug 26 8:19 PM, 2006

I understand for those who live more than 15-20 minutes away. Especially in Northern California. Traffic is HORRIBLE now. We let our parents stay, but most of them only stay for a while. Most do their grocery shopping, run errands, go for a jog, and just accmplish other things. It's usually not a problem for the most part.

Date: Sun Aug 27 10:23 AM, 2006

What about those of us that travel 60 minutes each way three times a week... There is nothing else to do but sit and watch and visit with the other parents or read. Like you said with the costs of cheerleading I can't afford to go shopping 7 hours a week while my child is practicing. My weight can't afford me the luxury of going and sitting at a restaurant. Oh and by the way I keep my mouth shut and let the coaches coach and the cheerleaders cheer. I just sit and enjoy like its a good movie, tv show or athletic event.

Date: Sun Aug 27 11:53 AM, 2006

From my experience, negative attitudes in children start with the parents, and those attitudes tend to start in the lobby while parents sit together and watch practice. No one is perfect - no program, no team, no coach, no athlete - but it seems that when the parents all sit together out in the lobby watching practice, they certainly seem to think everything should be perfect. And then the questions start..."Why is Susie in the 2nd row in this dance and not the front?"..."Why is Susie not flying in this section?"..."Why is Annie working on her full but Susie is not?" and on and on.

Just as an observation in my 10 years of experience, the parents that sit and watch practices (and I'm not saying all of them, and I'm not saying necessarily the ones that sit and watch once a week, or a few times a month) are the ones that cause unrest within a program and wind up being problem parents later on.

I don't know why, but it's like when one parent has a poor attitude, it spreads like wildfire through the rest, and those who were perfectly happy the day before are now freaking out about every little thing.

Date: Sun Aug 27 12:53 PM, 2006

I know what you mean California Coach, I have seen that happen too. When I can, I try to find other things to do, just to avoid situations like that. There have been times when I've felt great about things, only to be brought down by the complaints of parents, over silly little things. I commute and sometimes it's not feasible, especially with traffic, to go home and back out again, so I do find myself wandering around stores, or reading a book outside when the weather is nice; but I can only do that for so long and I do catch the last half hour of practice typically. So I completely understand other parents not having anything else to do. Maybe the answer is for gyms to have a big sign in the lobby (maybe one of those inspirational posters, lol) about always being positive (because negativity does seem to spread fast).

Date: Sun Aug 27 1:52 PM, 2006

I think we , as gyms need to provide other things for these parents to do. I have seen some really nice gyms with TV's, internet ready areas, cafe's, exercie equipment, and just other things to work on.

California Coach you are so right, negative attitudes do spread. It just seems some parents have questions every single practice. Seriously its not rocket science. I think they feel their a bad a parent if there aren't many questions. It's really just about the kids.

Date: Sun Aug 27 3:49 PM, 2006

Yes, those are excellent ideas "Gyms"; it would help gyms draw more people from outside the immediate area too. It might be expensive to do ... it would take some investing (time and money) but it would be a nice perk that could pay off in the long run (it might attract new members, and you would have parents complaining less hopefully).

Date: Mon Aug 28 1:16 PM, 2006

I would love it if there were computers and exercise equipment in the gym. I could get some work done and work off those extra pounds. But I'm sure that would cost us more money in tuition. I guess it would be cheaper to find a fitness gym nearby.

Date: Mon Aug 28 3:53 PM, 2006

parents with poor attitudes that ruin it for parents who just plain like to watch practice. I am one of those who just really enjoys the sport and like watching. I too hate those nasty parents, but do believe they are the rare ones. I think it is fine to ban a parent from practice for poor behavior. Don't ruin it for the ones that play fair.

Date: Mon Aug 28 4:09 PM, 2006

to "gyms" that would be a great idea!! but yes it would cost a lot.
at the gym i go to, parents arent allowed to watch. but once a month, (usually the last weekday practice of the month,) there's a parent viewing day where parents get to watch the whole practice. i think it works really good.
it is a long commute from my house to my gym, but my mom usuaslly reads a magazine or goes to target or some place like that, or finds a nearby gym to work out at. as for what "gyms" suggested, that would be great for people with longer commutes.

Date: Tue Aug 29 6:59 AM, 2006

Some cheaper ways to get those things done is ask for donations. How many families have workout equipment they no longer use. Also ask for older computers to browse the internet on. Those 2 things alone can keep people busy. Fortunately our gym is near a mall, wal-mart, and restuarants, so we never get tons of people who have to stay around.

Date: Tue Aug 29 9:20 AM, 2006

OK, Lets get real, why would a cheer gym put in work out equipment for parents. First of all they would be liable for any injuries the parents may have during their work out and secondly THESE PLACES ARE FOR THE KIDS. I am a mother with kids in cheer and I do like to occasinally watch. Last year I watched alot and this year not so much. I agree that MOST of the negativity comes from parents watching practice. Some things I had never thought about were brought up, mothers were fighting, it was crazy and the more money they have the more they feel they are entitled to. I am taking more of a back seat presence this year. SO>>>If you have a long commute find a park or a library and leave the kids alone, they will be happier and you will be happier. If I do not know any other parents from the team to sit with at comps so be it, this way nobody will have to worry about the seat saving issue which is another problem parents bring. If you are truly paying for cheer for your kids and not yourself you have to let gyms decide things for themselves like if it is OK for you to watch or not. I am fairly certain if you asked gym owners what the most stressful thing about owning a gym is they would say it is the parents. SO find something to do during practice and trust me your kids little league or football coaches will not be sitting around trying to ENTERTAIN the parents while their kids are practicing.

Date: Tue Aug 29 10:31 AM, 2006

new subject wrote:

Just wondering how often parents watch their child practice? What is the policy at your gym, are you allowed to watch every practice if you want? My mom watches about twice a month, but I see some moms out there watching every single practice from beginning to end. My mom knows I don't want her there all the time because sometimes I get nervous if she's watching me, and I want her to be surprised when she sees the routine when it's done. I was just wonderin how it is at other gyms.

At our Gym practices are closed. Practices are open once a month for a little while. It is soo much easier when they are closed, that way you don't have parents complaining all the time on why isn't Susie tumbling or why isn't Jessie flying. Believe me when we do watch all the parents are getting pissed becasue they want things to be done there way. They just need to leave it up to the coaches. They know what they are doing. I think all practices should be closed

Date: Tue Aug 29 11:16 AM, 2006

I WISH there was someplace to go... In fact last year I started a thread here asking what parents do while there child was at practice for ideas. But I'm not going to hang out at a park 7-10 pm at night and there isn't a lot open at that time of night especially on Sundays. Spending 2+ hours in a car traveling to and from the gym. I'm not going to sit in my car another 3 hours while my child is at practice. Believe me I've gone and sat at Starbucks but other than fast food places there aren't many places open that time of night. For some of us there aren't a lot of options available. I am the only one that can drive my child to practice and unfortunately there isn't anyone in my area I can carpool with.

Date: Tue Aug 29 11:20 AM, 2006

Practices are closed at our gym also. When we pick the kids up we can watch the last 15 minutes. We are allowed to watch one practice a month. This is plenty for me. I enjoy watching but don't want to be there all the time. I like to be able to see how the team is doing and how my money is being put to use. And yes being a parent and a consumer I like to see if my money is being well spent. This may be a sport, but it's also a business thats the cold hard fact. I'm not one of the parents who complain, but it is good to see with my own eyes how it's going. My daughter is the cheerleader not me, but she is still my kid so I like that I can periodically check up on whats going on. Getting much out of a thirteen year old can be like pulling teeth..... How was your practice.... FINE... Did your team do good today.... FINE... etc... etc... Now if I ask do you like cheerleading and I get a definite I LOVE IT... I guess everything is ok...

Date: Tue Aug 29 11:46 AM, 2006

I don't like blanket comments that all the parents will do is sit and complain. I'm not going to appoligize for liking to watch my daughters team practice. I don't sit thru all the practices but when I'm the one picking her up I like to get there 15 minutes early so I can see how it's going. We also can attend one practice a month. Yes there are always going to be a couple parents that get to involved, but it's unfair to label everyone that way. I'm also lucky because we are only live 15 minutes from the gym, so I drop her off and go home until it's time to pick her up. Now if I had to commute an hour for a two hour practice I'd probally hang around also. At least have an area where parents can wait. You can only do so much shopping and I have better things to do then sit and have coffee at Strarbucks two nights a week.

Date: Tue Aug 29 1:57 PM, 2006

These are all great comments. I agree, not fair to say all parents who watch also complain. I agree, it's not the gym's responsibility to entertain parents, but at the least a nice waiting room, with or without a view of your kids, would be nice. I find myself wandering Target and Costco, and yeah, Starbucks. One time I saw another woman sitting alone and I thought maybe she was a cheer mom too. But it turned out she was waiting for her boyfriend to get off of work, lol. I know it's not the gym's responsibility to find stuff for me to do, so I'll deal with it. But once or twice a month I would like to stay longer (maybe an hour) and watch my child practice (parents do watch their child practice once in a while in football and little league as well). I'm not one to complain, and if others are, I take it all with a grain of salt (some are legitimate comments, others are quite petty).

So all I ask of my gym is to have a place for me to sit and watch on the rare occasions I want to stay for longer than the last 15 minutes. I don't think that's too much to ask.