Summer is approaching, and you know what that means. Class enrollment at Gymnastix is going to drop. Ok, maybe that isn’t what you had at the front of your mind. But it’s true. That isn’t a slight against us. That is just a statistical reality in the world of gymnastics. It’s not just true for us, it is a truth for just about every gymnastics club across the country. People just don’t sign up for as many gymnastics classes in the summer.
That’s just the way it is. Gymnastics owners and coaches have come to expect it. Over the years businesses learned how to cope with it and work around it. So don’t cry for us Argentina. And in ways, it makes sense. We are talking about signing up for classes…in the summer. Even as adults the words classes and summer just don’t seem to fit together. Why would you sign up for a class during the summer? Summers are for enjoyment. Right? Summer is for taking vacations. Summer is for unwinding from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind of life. Why add more hustle and bustle?
This is the conventional wisdom, that unspoken understanding that seems to permeate the general population of parents, even ones that have already bought into the idea of signing up for gymnastics, whose children love gymnastics, and who see its positive benefits. And those are the people I’m addressing here. If you are not already sold on gymnastics, we will try to reach you another time. This message isn’t for you. It is for those of you who we have seen throughout the year, and will in all likelihood see again in the fall. I am talking to you.
That unspoken understanding that summer isn’t for gymnastics is a reality that confounds every person I’ve ever know that works in a gymnastics environment. Every summer anyone who teaches a gymnastics class turns to the heavens and shouts, “Why? Why don’t they sign up for summer?! Don’t they realize it’s the best time to take a class?! When will they learn?!”
At this point some of you are stopping and saying to yourself, “Well of course you’re going to try and convince us of that. You just want our money.” To which I say, we wanted you to spend your money with us during the school year too, and you didn’t hold it against us then. Calm down. Yes, we are a business. And we want to sell you on the idea that we have a good product. That doesn’t mean we are willing to sell you a cheap bill of goods, or even that we need to. We can simply do what we always strive for, convincing you that we have a quality product worthy of your consideration.
And it is a quality product at that. In fact, the reason why those coaches bang their heads against the wall starting in June is because in many ways the product we are selling is even better during the summer than the one we are selling the rest of the year. It is better not because we are really giving that extra effort to sell. It is better not because we are slacking off the rest of the year. (I mean come on…we are always giving 100%) It is better by the simple virtue that it is summer, and that gives us a lot more freedom than is usually afforded to us. Quite simply, during the school year we have a lot of kids that want to come to our gym, but only a finite number of hours during the day that they can be here. Once it is summer, we have a lot more scheduling options available to us to spread classes and practices out during the day.
During the summer our recreational classes are still primarily at night. But during the school year, they share the gym with about 150 team kids. We love our team kids. They’re a great group of dedicated kids. But they take up space, and they are always here. Some of them are here every day. We can’t get them to leave. One might think they would get enough of this place. But they actually bug us to come in more. I have a group on my case to have a lock-in here. They train here for several hours a day….And then they want to sleep here. It’s crazy!
In summer, most of those team kids are spread out through the morning and early afternoon hours. So by 3:00 and 4:00 when most of our recreational classes begin happening the gym is much more open than in the school year. With class enrollment down it feels even more open. But honestly even if we filled all our classes to capacity, to the same levels as during our busiest fall days right after the Olympics, the gym would still feel more open and peaceful. That hustle and bustle you’re worried about… there’s a lot less of it.
Now for those of you rushing home from work to get your kids to gymnastics, there’s nothing I can do about your commute. But even then there are less buses and parents on the road. And for you stay at home parents, would you rather rush to get your kids here after picking them up from school, or casually drive over after an afternoon at the park or playing in the yard?
And as far as classes not belonging in the summer, what kind of classes are we talking about here? We are going to teach your kids the correct way to swing on a bar, bounce on a trampoline, and roll backwards down a brightly colored wedge shaped mat, affectionally called a cheese mat. We aren’t going to make them multiply fractions. I think they can handle the “workload.” I think they will thank you for it.
Now the other big reason given is that we are going to be vacationing. Well, that is expected. Our gym itself is closed for the week of 4th of July. But that is why for summer classes we give you options. You can sign up for the entire summer session, or you can sign up for a mini-session of 4 or 5 weeks. If your plan is to spend the entire summer in Europe, well then bon voyage and send us a post card. But if you’re just going to Florida for a week and visiting the grandparents in New Jersey for another, well then pick a mini-session for your kids. You’ll see how right I am.
If after reading all of this and making it this far you are still skeptical, all I can say is try to find one of the families that has signed up for summer classes and see what they say. Go ahead. Go ask, I’ll wait. I know they will tell you the same thing I have told you…if you can find them that is They’ve been a rare breed so far.
Whatever you end up deciding to do, we hope you have a wonderful summer with your family. And if you choose to do other things, we hope to see you again in the fall. We will be here waiting. We won’t even guilt you for being away, like that one relative who waits until you show up at their doorstep to tell you that you don’t visit often enough. We won’t do that. Promise. We won’t say another word. We will just be here, waiting patiently, with arms wide open…when we aren’t banging our heads against the wall, turning to the heavens, and shouting when will they learn.