Phenom Gymnastics Team Outline
Mission Statement:
Phenom Gymnastics is a small, private team dedicated to providing a challenging, yet positive gymnastics environment in which the gymnasts not only learn the basic and advanced skills of the sport, but develop a strong work ethic, goal setting skills, self-discipline and dedication, while continually building self-esteem.
Workout Schedule:
•Level 4s train 2-2.5 hours a day, 2-3 days a week.
•Levels 5-6 train 4 hours a day, 4 days a week.
•Level 7-10’s train a minimum of 4 hours a day, 4-5 days a week.
•Please keep in mind that this is the minimum required training time in order to be safe, as well as successful. If the gymnast is consistently missing practice, she is no longer training the minimum amount necessary. This puts her at greater risk for injury, as well as greatly hinders their abilities to meet their goals & improve.
Rest & Recovery:
•One of the most important, and greatly underestimated, aspects to training (in any sport) is adequate rest & recovery time. One of the reasons our upper levels do not train 25-35 hours as some of the other top gymnastics teams in our region/country, is because we strongly believe that rest is extremely important in terms of building strength & keeping the gymnasts as injury free as possible through their entire season. Phenom had the highest number of girls qualify to Level 9 & 10 Nationals this season out of all the teams in Region V—Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, & Ohio and the COUNTRY! We feel the hours and training we have set up help the girls to improve gymnastically, as well as stay as healthy as possible.
Muscles need time to repair & grow. Gymnasts who are doing sports 6-7 days a week run a significantly greater chance of developing an overuse injury than do gymnasts who do not. The purpose in giving the gymnast a day of rest in between practices—i.e. train 2 days on, one day off—is to allow the body to mend itself & prepare for the demands of the next practice. One of the sayings in the coaching world (you especially hear this as level 10 Nationals approaches) is that it’s far greater to have an “under trained” gymnast than an “over trained” gymnast. The under trained gymnast has more energy, physical & mental strength, as well as power. The over trained gymnast is fighting an injury & in some cases isn’t even healthy enough to compete. Our priority is for all the girls who start the season to remain healthy enough to finish the season. In addition, in our years of coaching experience, we've found that gymnasts who participate in other sports during their competitive gymnastics season, are not as successful as gymnasts whose main focus is gymnastics. Our goal is to set these girls up to succeed and achieve the goals they set.
•It is for the above mentioned reasons that level 9 & 10 gymnasts may not participate in any other sport during the gymnastics competitive season, September-Nationals. Level 8’s are strongly discouraged from participating in other sports during the gymnastics season. Again, bodies need rest in order to stay healthy & strong. Kids who are running & exercising vigorously nearly every day of the week spread themselves thin, again, risking injury from being physically &/or mentally exhausted, as well as disappointment & frustration in not being able to achieve their goals and perform to the best of their abilities.
Monthly Tuition Fees
•Tuition is due by the 1st of each month. If received after the 1st, your credit card will be charged your tuition amount plus a 3% convenience fee on the 2nd of the month. Should the 1st of the month fall on a day when the gym is not open-- i.e. on a Sunday or holiday, payment would need to be received before the 1st (on a Saturday). If tuition is not received by the 1st, and your credit card is declined, your gymnast will not be allowed to practice until her tuition is current and there are no balances due on your account.
•It should be understood that the competitive gymnastics team is a year round program and commitment. Our competitive season is from October through May. By paying monthly tuition, you receive 4 weeks of practices per month, regardless of the number of days in that month. Since there are 12 months in a year, parents pay for a total of 48 weeks of gymnastics instruction per year. This allows for 4 weeks worth of unpaid vacation days, sick days, or cancelled workouts. It is for this reason that there will be no pro-rating for holidays, vacations, illness or injury. If a practice is cancelled, and a make-up day is offered to replace it, that day will not count towards the 4 weeks of free days (time off).
•Should a team/ pre-team gymnast decide she will no longer be participating at Phenom gymnastics, we must receive written notification of the departure 30 days in advance. You will be financially responsible for paying all tuition up until the departure date, as well as any outstanding balances on your account. If you leave an still owe money to Phenom Gymnastics, after 30 days from your departure date, your information will be sent to a collection agency and reported to the credit bureaus. For example, Suzie decides she wants to quit. On October 1st, she sends in a written note stating that October 31st will be her final day. She will be responsible for paying all of October's tuition, but not November's. If there is any money she's put into her meet fee account that is eligible to be refunded, that will be refunded at the end of the season (May). Should the final day not fall on the last day of a month, that entire month's tuition must be paid for--i.e. she decides to quit on Nov. 15th, all of November's tuition must be paid.
Attendance:
•Regular and consistent attendance to practice is critical in not only helping the gymnast acquire new skills, perfect & maintain current skills, increase & maintain strength, flexibility, endurance, & but most importantly, regular attendance to practice will help prevent injury & strengthen the gymnast’s confidence in her own ability to safely perform the skills. *Gymnasts who are inconsistent in their attendance to practice run the risk of not moving up levels (in the summer), or not being able to compete (during season).
Each gymnast’s safety is our number one concern.
•Attendance will be taken at each practice, and a monthly attendance record will be e-mailed to you.
•Each season, a great deal of effort is put forth into designing a workout schedule (for the school year & summer) for each gymnast that is based on her individual needs & goals for that season. Every effort is made to ensure that each gymnast can attend the required amount of days (4 or 5), as well as each gymnast has transportation to practices (i.e. carpool). For this reason, switching days or making up because of other sports’ practices will not be granted.
Make-Up Policy
•Allowing gymnasts to make up practices they’ve missed is something extra that we may do for the girls. Depending on the number of girls on team at the time (group size), as well as the number of days practice is offered, we may allow her to come in to make up a missed practice. Gymnasts must make up the days missed in any given month within that month—that is—make-ups will not carry over from month to month. There will be, however, times they cannot make-up any workouts at all. It just depends on the circumstances (mentioned above). Again, make-ups are not something that the girls are entitled to, as no other gyms in the area ever allow team girls to do make-ups either. It’s just something we like to offer the girls when it’s possible. If make-ups are available at the time, please call/e-mail ahead to schedule one.
Injured Gymnast Participation
•Injured gymnasts are still expected to participate, to the best of their ability, in normal practices and activities. They will, of course, have an individual training program based on the limitations of their injury and will spend extra time improving their flexibility and strengthening the areas of their body not affected by the injury. The participation in day to day practices will not only help her continue to feel part of the team (social aspect), but will greatly improve and quicken her transition back into full workouts, once she is healed.
Overall Parent Involvement:
•In order for a gymnast to be successful & happy in gymnastics, the gymnast, parents & coaches must all work together. It is important that parents play a supportive role in their gymnast’s career. Most of these girls are very tough on themselves & tend to be perfectionists by nature. As a parent, the greatest thing you can do for your gymnast is give her lots of positive encouragement, love & support—through the good times & more importantly, the challenging times. As the coaches, our role is to provide gymnastics instruction & feedback, emotionally support, as well as motivation. The gymnast’s role is to give her best effort, keep a good attitude, set goals & work with the coach to achieve those goals. Oftentimes it can be tempting for parents to give feedback or gymnastics opinions about performances, etc. to their daughter , but we've found that those gymnasts who are the most successful, happy, self motivated, & who are involved in gymnastics long term, are those whose parents leave the coaching to the coach & are there at the end of each day with a big hug & smiles for their gymnast.
•We are very pro-active in communicating with parents when there is a concern or gymnastics challenge. You can always count on us to let you know when your assistance (psychological, motivational or otherwise) is needed & when your daughter is doing a great job. Should we call upon your assistance, we will set up a plan so that all of us know our roles & goals in overcoming an obstacle or reaching a solution to a problem. The parents, gymnast & coaches must work as a united team in order to achieve success.
•It is for the above mentioned reasons that consistent, regular parent observation is not permitted. Gymnasts whose parents watch on a regular basis are less self motivated & more distracted during practice, which hinders their growth in gymnastics & developmentally in terms of learning to work independently & for intrinsic reasons, rather than working out of fear of what the parent is thinking or will say. In addition, distracted gymnasts run a much greater risk of being injured because they are not focused and concentrating on what they're doing, but instead looking over to see their parent/s. An occasional stop in to practice to watch what the gymnast has learned or is working, or coming to practice a few minutes early is just fine. It’s the day to day, regular, consistent practice that is not permitted.
Level Mobility
•Mobility between levels will be based on previous year’s event and All-Around scores, the skills check-off sheet, attendance to workouts, work ethic and attitude during practices, as well as confidence/desire by each gymnast to compete at that particular level. It is possible for a gymnast to start the season as one level and then move up to a higher level within that same season. However, we do not do the reverse—that is—move a gymnast down within a season unless there is illness or agreement between her and the coaches that success will not be possible at the higher level.
Annual Team Fee
•There is an annual team fee that is required to become a member of the Phenom Gymnastics Team. The cost is $135/year due in June for current members levels 5-10. Level 4's membership is $80. New members will pay a different amount the 1st year because of all the additional work involved in putting you into our systems. Please see Coach Jess for that specific amount. A reminder note will be sent to you, via e-mail, when your annual fee is due.
Competitions
• Level 4-7 gymnasts can expect to compete between 5-7 meets per season. One or two of these are typically ‘big’ meets (like the IGI Navy Pier meet or Bravo Invitational).
•Level 8-10 gymnasts can expect to compete between 5-9 meets per season. One to three of the meets is out- of –state, and is mandatory because of the invaluable experience it provides that will better prepare the girls for major competitions like Regionals and Nationals-- which are typically out-of-state.
• You will receive a tentative meet schedule at the beginning of each season which will list the anticipated meets we will be attending, the dates the meets will take place, as well as the estimated cost of the meet.
All gymnasts are expected & required to attend all meets listed on the meet schedule with exceptions being made only for injury or extenuating circumstances. Because the entry fees for the meets are calculated & costs divided by the number of girls at that level, should a gymnast miss a meet, she is still responsible for paying the coach’s fee/travel fees, & team entry fee for that meet. It isn’t fair to the group, when competing at all meets is mandatory, that should you miss a meet, their costs are raised to make up for your absence.
•Girls must attend 2 full week’s worth of practices in order to compete at any State, Regional, or National competition. For invitational meets (non-state, etc.), girls must attend 1 full week’s worth of practices in order to compete. This will help the gymnast to not only be physically prepared for the major competition, but more importantly, mentally prepared. The key to competing confidently is having done many successful repetitions of the routines & skills beforehand. If the gymnast is not at practice, it is impossible for her to do the appropriate amount of repetitions to safely & successfully compete. Please check the meet schedule ahead of time to make sure that vacations or trips will not conflict. *
Meet Fees
•Meet fees will be paid in advance of the meet. Each individual meet's fee will be deducted from you meet deposit account (4 installments see below). Again, all gymnasts are expected & required to attend all meets listed on the meet schedule and will be entered unless we are informed, in writing, by a pre-determined due date, which will be e-mailed to you.
•Meet fees are non-refundable & non-transferable. Gyms used to refund fees for injuries, but because most of the meets are held in large venues & deposits & payments are due by the gym far in advance, it’s not financially possible for them to refund for ANY reason.
•Regardless of the number of sessions at the meet—with the exception of out of state meets, State, Regional, & National competitions (to be determined)—there will be a specific coach’s fee for each competition.
•Team entry fees (for team competitions) will be divided by the number of girls at that Level.
•Because the entry fees for the meets are calculated & costs divided by the number of girls at that level, should a gymnast miss a meet, she is still responsible for paying the coach’s fee/travel fees, & the team entry fee for that meet. It isn’t fair to the group, when competing at all meets is mandatory, that should you miss a meet, their costs are raised to make up for your absence.
Meet Deposit--Meet Entry Deposit & Coaches Expense Deposit
•At the beginning of each season, each family will be required to pay a meet deposit (usually around September) for the upcoming season. This deposit will pay for all upcoming Meet entries, Team entries, & Coaches' expenses.
•For the 2009/10 season we will be asking for 3 installments of $466.66 for level 9/10, $433.33 for level 8, & $400 for level 5-7. Level 4's will be paying for each individual meets & will not have meet deposits. Any meet deposit payments received after the due date will incur a $10 late fee.
•The way this works is that you will pay for each meet's entry and team entry fee from your meet deposit account (Phenom Gymnastics actually handles the accounting and actual payment of money from your account to the host of the meet). In addition, any coaches' expenses incurred for the meet (hotel, travel, etc.) will also be paid from that account. The meet deposit amount is just an estimate of what we think expenses will be. So, as we near the end of the season, you may need to contribute more, or at the end of the season, you may get a credit towards your tuition if there is extra money left in the account.
For instance, Family X puts $900 into their meet deposit account in September. In November, December, January, & February the following meet fees are due:
IGI $150, St. Jude $75, & Valentines Classic $100. We will deduct $150, then $75, then $100 from their original deposit of $900. In addition, it's determined that each gymnast will contribute $100 towards coaches' expenses for those 3 meets. This would leave $475 to be used for additional meet fees/coaches' expenses.
•The total cost of the coaches' fees for the year is divided among the girls on the team for that season.
•Once the meet deposits are paid to Phenom Gymnastics, there will be no refunds. At the end of the season, based on the total expenses, money may be credited back to you in the form of tuition credit, provided you are still a current member of the team.
Meet Attire
•Girls will wear the required team leotard which will be ordered in July/August. It usually costs between $150-200. We may order a team workout leotard. That could cost between $50-75. Level 4s will wear a short sleeved team leotard ($50-75) in order to keep costs down since this is an introductory level.
•Our warm-up jackets and pants are black. This way, no matter what color our leotard may be at the time, this warm-up can be used. The idea is to be able to wear the warm-up for at least 3-6 years in order to help keep cost down. Jacket and pants are typically ordered in late July. The cost for these are usually around $100-$150.
•On average, we change the style of the competitive team leotard every 2-3 years, and the warm ups every 5-7 years.
Bravo Meet
•Each year, the team hosts a major competition called the Bravo Meet.
•Parents are required each year to work a specific amount of sessions at this meet as part of your membership on the team. The number of sessions parents will work will be based on the total number of sessions offered and how many girls are on the team. Typically, parents work 2-3 sessions per gymnast on the team.
•Proceeds from the meet will be used to offset costs incurred by parents at Phenom Gymnastics and to benefit all the girls on the team. The various benefits will be based on the profit the meet generates each year. You must be a current member of the Phenom Gymnastics team in order to receive that benefit at the time the benefit is being issued. For example, if you quit the team in July and USAG memberships are paid for in August, you will not receive that benefit, as you are no longer qualified to receive the benefit. This year, Phenom Gymnastics paid for each gymnast's USAG registration, entry into the team banquet, DJ for banquet, entry fee for the Bravo meet, new/updated equipment for the team gymnasts, as well as coaches expenses to National training camps, the All Star International trip, and Olympic Training Center clinic/camp.
Communication
•Communication between the gymnast, the coaches and the parents is crucial. We must all work together to help the gymnast be successful. If you ever have a complaint, question, or compliment, I would appreciate if you would call or e-mail the coach directly so all those involved can discuss it. Problems or dissatisfaction that goes unsaid or is not communicated directly to me may create a bigger problem down the road, if we do not address it in the beginning. Please talk to the coaches when you have a concern or are not clear about anything. We welcome communication—the negative, positive, or just a question. If your question is specifically about your daughter's gymnastics skills, please contact her individual coaches.
Marco--marcomidwest@hotmail.com Sharon--smbarbato@comcast.net or Jessica--gymphenom@sbcglobal.net
If, for any reason, these guidelines change, these updates will be made to the online copy of the Outline, which you can access at any time.
gymphenom@sbcglobal.com (630 375-0055)