This month has been busy. Like busy busy. I feel like I’m three days behind at any given time. Not only am I prioritizing family – with two kids in high school and one just two months from a mid-year graduation, but we took on a foreign exchange student, recently bought a new apartment complex, decided to go away for Thanksgiving, and…this season I coach three teams.

At the gym, my coaches and I are doing all the things to make sure our teams are ready for this season. We used those less chaotic summer months to register for competitions and prep as much as possible. Showcase ticket sales and planning happened a while ago, so we’re off to a great start, and our half-year teams look pretty good on registrations so far. In the midst of all this chaos, I’m going to take some time to do something new I haven’t done in previous years. I’m going to spend some time really nurturing our half-year parents new to cheer.

Each spring I do a focus group session with parents from each team, and the past two years, I’ve had half-year parents say they felt a little lost. They come in mid-season after we’ve done our welcome nights, All Star 101 presentations and relaxing summers of getting-to-kn0w one another. By fall, I’m far less available walking around the gym to just chit chat and answer questions. So, I can fully see how they feel thrown into the fire. So today, I’m going to give you a few things I do to make sure our half-year parents are going to be EXTRA prepared this season.

 

    1. I’m going to do a parent meeting the first week of half-year practice. During this meeting, I’ll introduce myself and have an info sheet. This info sheet will be similar to what I give out to our full-year parents in June when the season begins. I’ll introduce a few key parents in our gym (like the booster club president and a few veteran moms who are always super helpful with hair and make up) and make sure they’ve got some good connections right from the start.
    2. I’ll make sure they know who to talk to at the front desk if they need anything. For our rec parents, they learn this on the first day, but it can take them a few months to get comfortable. My half-year parents just don’t have time like that. I need them to get comfortable much, much sooner. So, I’ll make sure they know Lexi, our client success manager, and know what sorts of questions she’s able to answer (basically everything other than “why is my daughter not in jumps…”)
    3. I’ll send them the recording of my All Star 101 presentation. Yes! I was smart enough to hit record this year so I could send it to our half-year parents. That will save me so much time and those who choose to watch it will be so much better prepared than in years past when it wasn’t recorded or available after the initial parent meeting.
    4. I’ll make sure they know how to do the hair and make up early on, and that we have resources to help them. I’m sure you’ve got senior kids in your gym who would like to make a few bucks, and so do I. In previous years, I had a mom who did this professionally and had a full set up at competitions. She put out a price list and parent were extremely grateful for options. Her daughter aged out, so this year, I’m giving the task to any senior kids who are wanting to make a few extra bucks. Yes, we help one another, but if you want the peace of mind that you can show up at a certain time and be ready with the perfect hair and make up, you’ll have to book it with one of the teens I trust! This doesn’t go through the gym. I put out the disclaimer to their parents that it’s on them to claim the taxes, and it truly has nothing to do with the gym other than a referral, but gosh…it offers options, and my senior kids love it!
    5. About a month before the first competition, I’ll post a graphic with what to pack on competition day. We use a cute picture of our backpacks (which inevitably sells more backpacks) as well as what needs to be packed inside. This helps the parents know what to pack for the day of the event (and it helps the teenagers whose parents aren’t packing for them to be prepared). I also post it early enough that parents have time to order  things they may have otherwise forgotten about. I also post a checklist and reminder the day after the competition with a recommendation to repack that bag and reorganize uniform apparel. Years ago, I didn’t do this and spent half a day figuring out where my five-year-old stashed her uniform when we got home from competition. You don’t have to remember to post these things. Delegate it or schedule the posts in your groups! Here’s a template for my backpack graphic if you want to make one of your own!

Also remember – you don’t have to do ALL the things. You just have to make sure parents are prepared. If you have six new parents, reach out to them individually and see what questions they have. Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to be perfect. It has taken me 13 seasons to figure out what works best for me. 

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