Private Lesson Supervision

[OMGitsMELANIE]

This is the rule at ACE. No phones inside the gym.

This is our general rule at Platinum too. What generally happens is we (coaches) have our phones with us while the athletes are stretching and we are taking attendance so we can call anyone we need to figure out where they are and if they are coming to practice. What I normally do after that is while they are finishing up stretching I will put my phone in my mailbox behind the front desk. If any cheerleaders call, they should call the gym's phone and then we will get the message. Nothing is too important to take my attention away from my athletes. This is what sometimes causes accidents and injuries and I don't want that to happen.

 

[drewpate]

My gym has a rule of no phones in the gym, however my day job does not allow us to not be by our phones (trust me i've been chewed out a couple of times for it) but I let it ring the and listen to the voicemail or text when I get a break, if its urgent, i excuse myself tell the parent i've got to make a call, and if it all possible, make up the time at the end of the lesson (its rare that its more than a simple question that someone needed answered etc so its not long drawn out convos) And i don't feel horrible, because most of the time my 30 minute privates turn in to a 40-45 minute anyway if I have time and the kid really needs the extra conditioning or is about to break through and get that new skill. (my hour privates are different becasue the kid is usually dead tired after 30 minutes anyway lol)

 

[CoachDerek]

To answer both sides of this...

Never ever be alone with an athlete, period. It is not appropriate and just shouldn't happen and there should be a rule stating that it can't happen for a lot of reasons. Same sex, different sex, gay, straight it does not matter. You get in to all kinds of area from misconduct to preferential treatment. There is no need for it and shouldn't ever happen.

Phone issue is a different one. I put my phone on to play music and I run a stopwatch on my iPhone. If I am in a lesson and it gets interrupted for any reason I can stop the timer so that I ensure the parent only pays for the time that was actually used. If someone has a 30 minute lesson, I believe they should get 30 minutes of instruction. I will check my phone on breaks occasionally, but if there is an emergency, people that need to know where I am know and they call the gym. Parents you pay a lot of money for your lessons and if you are unhappy in any way with the instructor you have the right and I would certainly expect you to take your money where you are getting the professionalism you expect.