watching practices

Date: Tue Aug 29 3:08 PM, 2006

RE: watching practices

Date: Tue Aug 29 9:57 PM, 2006

The only thing I see wrong is parents tend to be distractions and talk to their kids to much on breaks. The other kids who's parents are not there tend to handle situations better on their own. Parents also judge practices by their "observations" which are usually one sided and geared to their own thoughts. My thing, is let the kids practice and have some alone time with their friends.

Date: Wed Aug 30 4:06 AM, 2006

As a parent I agree that parents being there is a distraction. But what is nice is if there is a viewing room away from the main floor that parents can peek in on a practice without disrupting anyone. Most parents are not there to cause problems. Before a big competition it's nice to see the teams routine full out. Alot of gyms have rallies, or a parent viewing night. Hey don't get to brothered by us we are just proud and excited for our kids. Ya got to give us a chance once and awhile to gloat about how wonderful you all are.

Date: Wed Aug 30 7:14 AM, 2006

Agree wrote:

Alot of gyms have rallies, or a parent viewing night. Hey don't get to brothered by us we are just proud and excited for our kids. Ya got to give us a chance once and awhile to gloat about how wonderful you all are.

I Agree : )

Date: Wed Aug 30 9:11 AM, 2006

I agree 100%, its just those select parents who are there every practice and just seem to have some type of comment about everything. Seriously, my parents were to busy with other things going on to make a comment about everything. It was great when they came to watch, but it was more supportive and less critical.

Date: Wed Aug 30 9:30 AM, 2006

Our practices are open except for choreography. Even then, the parents can stay at the gym, but the windows are covered. As a parent that lives 65 miles away from the gym, staying is my only financially viable option. Don't have money to shop everyday and I hate window shopping. I get alot of reading done. Personally, I think the more successful programs are the ones that have alot of people traveling to be a part of their program (which means alot of parents hanging out). But, I think the coaches of those same successful programs usually know how to deal with parents, so I doubt if it is as big of deal for them to have parents watching, as it would be for a smaller, less successful program, struggling to keep everyone happy and prevent unhappy parents from taking their kids and leaving. Yes, I've experienced negativity in the viewing room, but I don't think it will disappear when parents are prevented from watching practices. These message boards are a prime example. The negativity exists, and isn't likely to go away anytime soon.

Date: Wed Aug 30 9:56 AM, 2006

I agree that there will always be those who choose to be negative. I also understand about traveling a long distance to get your child to practice. We had to make a decision this year to comute over an hour to one gym or choose a gym only 15 minutes away. We did choose the gym that was closer because the traffic was so bad that the hour could sometimes could turn in to two. If we had decided to go there, theres no way I could have driven her without staying. It's only a two hour practice. In cases like that the gyms need to make provisions for the parents. They want you bad enough to take your money they can at least give you a decent place to wait. As far as watching the practices I don't think there is any harm as long as you don't interfere. A parent viewing room with a glass window is the best way.

Date: Wed Aug 30 10:14 AM, 2006

As a parent that had a long drive time to the gym and stayed for the duration of practice I made it a point to "listen" to any negative talk and try and give a different perspective on the situation rather than just ignore the comments. I found it was very helpful to turn the "negative" talk into a positive and/or recommend the parent speak directly to the coach/owner before spreading the negative around to other parents or kids. I also found opportunities to counsel parents into letting their kids handle their own issues instead of the parent always jumping in. Most times the negative was because of lack of information and them not taking the time to talk with the right people or let their own child handle the situation.

Date: Wed Aug 30 11:10 AM, 2006

OK, I have one question on watching. My kid goes to California Allstars and I am quite sure there are some serious fire code violations going on in the parent viewing area. It is an upstairs facility and has room for around 20 people at the most. When you get to practice to watch there are more then 50 people shoved in there and there is no way to look through the windows due to the fact that the only way to view is if you are fortunate enough to get a front row seat. It takes away from being ALLOWED to view when you are shoved in a room like sardines.

Date: Wed Aug 30 11:59 AM, 2006

One of you many woes of being a cheer parent.... Being treated like sardines :)

Date: Wed Aug 30 12:18 PM, 2006

I have been at our gym for over 10 years.. We have been allowed to watch practices until some parents took advantage of this and forced the gym to set certain viewing times. One I do understand that parents come from many different areas.. I totally understand but one thing that parents have to understand that this.. This is a sport that your son or daughter has choosen to participate in. We as parents need to remember that it's THEIR sport we are just the parents. We can't live our lives through our kids and coach from the lobby or viewing area.

Date: Wed Aug 30 12:27 PM, 2006

I think the younger kids should be watched. I think the younger siblings shouldn't be in the viewing room unless they are well mannered. That never seems to be the case at our gym! I wanted to watch my daughter when she was in grade school. And then in middle school. After hearing some of what went on at our last gym when I wasn't there, I am even more nervous. To be fair, that was at club sleepovers. I am still not sure what to do about that......anyways, I know the days I should be close by my girl. It's a mom thing. Other times I try hard to stay away. I try to look at the parents as actors in a sit com. My favorite is the one who loudly tells everyone what is going on all the time, and is always wrong!

Date: Wed Aug 30 1:08 PM, 2006

Unfortunately it only takes a few parents to ruin it for everyone else. Every gyms has them... Every sport has them. I agree it is a sport and our children are the atheletes.... But, it is a sport that affects the whole family. We as parents participate by being the driver back in forth from practice. Providing the transportation to comps. We are the team parents who provide all those goodie bags and coordinate all the team events that promote team bonding. We are the cheer section that roots them on when they compete. Combined we help pay the rent on the building they practice in. We pay the salaries of the coaches. We buy the uniforms. I could go on and on Don't you think we could get a little respect out of this....

Date: Wed Aug 30 2:45 PM, 2006

A parent wrote
Unfortunately it only takes a few parents to ruin it for everyone else. Every gyms has them... Every sport has them. I agree it is a sport and our children are the atheletes.... But, it is a sport that affects the whole family. We as parents participate by being the driver back in forth from practice. Providing the transportation to comps. We are the team parents who provide all those goodie bags and coordinate all the team events that promote team bonding. We are the cheer section that roots them on when they compete. Combined we help pay the rent on the building they practice in. We pay the salaries of the coaches. We buy the uniforms. I could go on and on Don't you think we could get a little respect out of this....

I totally agree with you. To all of the ones that might not agree behind every champion is a parent and family that supports them and their dream.

Date: Wed Aug 30 3:15 PM, 2006

Not to mention that we are often REQUIRED to attend all the team performances and sit together to show our team sprit. I consider that participating!

Date: Wed Aug 30 7:30 PM, 2006

Our gym has a web cam so you can either go home and watch them or watch them on the lap top in the break room because the gym also has a wireless connection.
They also offer us a parent viewing room and a big screen tv to watch the practices on :) I LOVE MY GYM.

Date: Wed Aug 30 8:01 PM, 2006

That's our next step in our gym too......

OC

Date: Wed Aug 30 8:13 PM, 2006

Wow!!!!

Date: Wed Aug 30 9:51 PM, 2006

Personally, I don't get that at all ... a web cam at all practices?? It's like having a web cam in their classes at school; put yourself in your son and daughter's place, please ... picture yourself in a sport (any sport) -- would you really want someone watching your every move?? Sorry, there is something so not right about it.

Date: Wed Aug 30 9:54 PM, 2006

I am thinking this is all a joke. It seems too weird. If it's not a joke then what gym has this???