gymnastics instructor

instructor

gymnastics coach

director

fitness instructor

Little Gym

I worked at this gym during my college years and early 20s and some of my best memories come from this place. It is the perfect job for a college student looking to work 1 or 2 days a week. It wasn’t until I started working more hours did I realize the fundamental problems this place had. 

The management there is the real problem. The list of things management struggles with could go on: 
-They have horrible time management. They prioritize their personal lives, which I understand with being a parent, but management is in charge of the gym. The staff depends on them, the same way their families do, yet the team always got the short end of the stick
-The gym never had clear policies. They would make up rules that they expected you to follow even though they were never told to us or written in any type of contract. The policies we did have were often broken by long term staff members or management
-The training of new staff members is absolutely horrible. It’s completely chaotic. The “structure” of the training plans don’t allow for success of the new team members and because of that the older team members struggle to pick up the new team members slack. The lack of proper training also puts team members and children at risk; too many new staff members aren’t being trained to properly spot these gymnastics skills and this has resulted in people getting injured
-management will preach that this team is a family and that would be true if they were referring to a toxic family. Management has no sense of boundaries. They expect access to your personal life, and will integrate things about your personal life into your work life whether you want that or not. They will also share things about your personal life to other staff members without your permission. This causes a lack of trust between the team members and management. 
-the lack of professionalism from management will shock you. Because of the supposed “family-like team”, management thinks it’s acceptable to talk to you in any way they like. They gossip about you to other team members, they will disrespect you, and they will justify their actions by using their authority against you. 

This gym truly used to be the best of the best, but in the last 2 years it has plummeted so horribly. I really hope they take the necessary measures to get this gym back to the magical place that it used to be. 

I feel as though I would have enjoyed my time more here, and possibly stayed longer, if the management had been different. I can see how this could be a great job with the right owners, but unfortunately, my location had management issues. 

For starters, I felt completely unquantified due to a lack of training. The videos on TLG website were the only form of training I received in terms of teaching and spotting skills. This left me feeling stressed about possibly hurting a child while trying to spot. I received very little hands on training, and I feel that would have made a huge difference in my confidence at work.

Unfortunately, our owner did a poor job in enforcing covid-19 policies. Although we wore masks while teaching, we were not allowed to ask any of the parents in the lobby or the parent/child classes to wear masks. This made me very uncomfortable, but we were never allowed to ask parents to wear them.

Finally, I was payed minimum wage for an above-average job. At our location, we were not just teachers. In fact, I would say our main job was salesman. Our priority was not to teach great classes, but to enroll as many intro students as possible. This is also an extremely physical job, requiring you to be on your feet and moving constantly while teaching classes. We also set the gym and spot kids, requiring a fair amount of strength. Their computer system is extremely old and difficult to learn. It’s very frustrating. On my longer shifts (8+ hours), I was never given real “breaks”. When I was not teaching, I was expected to talk to parents at the desk, answer the phone, clean the lobby, enroll intro students, etc... Overall, I can’t believe I was only paid minimum wage. This is the type of the job where, if I had put in minimum effort, a child may have gotten hurt. 

Overall, I do not think TLG is a bad employer as a whole, but be sure to look into the management and owners of a gym location before accepting the position you are offered. Ask lots of questions and, please, do not let them pay you minimum wage!

This position would be good for someone entering the marketplace, who does not need to make a living and is willing to put in more work for less pay for the experience. The kiddos are wonderful and so are the parents. This is a $16-$18 an hour workload and a very inflexible schedule. The training is half hearted, inconsistent and there is favoritism in this workplace. Work Culture/Management is strongly co-dependent, dysfunctional and micro-managing. There is a 1.5 hour weekly requirement to study/memorize curriculum with no pay unless you are able do it during work hours. The curriculum itself does not always fit the group's abilities and many times, the children and parents would rather explore the gym on their own anyway and you are not encouraged to be creative in how you run the classes. Also, you are expected to understand and know how to perform the gymnastic skill demonstrations by only watching the online curriculum which can have holes and poor explanations, as well as memorize all songs to be sung. At times, the curriculum requires a "gym reset" where there is moving of the equipment in between classes which can be time consuming when it gets busy. There is lots of cleaning, which is good, however some is made into unnecessary additional work and still the gym is never totally clean. There are also repairs as well as upgrades to the building still needed to make sure the facility is run efficiently. Overall, teaching classes can be fun and good experience for those who are seeking a role working with children and working with large groups.

The Little Gym of Buford provides a great environment for children and their parents. However, with it being a new establishment there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to the corporate and ownership side. I noticed that the owners are not very present inside the gym which leaves their staff to make sure the establishment is up and running. Anything that goes wrong inside of the gym is always left to be blamed on the staff rather than looking at their own personal mistakes and looking for ways to better themselves. Upon hiring I was only trained on how to take care of classes. There was no mandatory training put in place on how to handle computer work, birthday parties, events, etc. The owners of this establishment seem to care more about the money that they make for themselves rather than the relationship they maintain with their staff. They have a lot of rotating staff as well as members, and to maintain a better work environment they need to create better relationships with their staff and members and be more present in their own establishment rather than taking care of their personal life more than the ownership of their gym. I recommend this place in the sense that it is a great opportunity to meet wonderful parents and children as well as staff members, but be mindful of the messy and uncoordinated ownership due to this being a new establishment.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with children and being able to watch them grow and progress their skills. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of this job was not being able to take days off, even well in advance because there was no one to cover shifts. Also if the director didn’t like the reason you needed off, they would say no. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment was poor, although they offer paid training the training is minimal, director was unprofessional, communication was poor and stressful and scheduling was difficult.
They advertise 17-21 an hour however only actually offer 17. Even with a year of experience. When it was communicated about raising from 17 to 19 an hour with a year of experience I was taken off the schedule and told they would get back to me and never heard back. 
Workers also took on responsibilities that would be considered a directors responsibility. 
On indeed they also advised paid time off which is not actually offered. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
They have classes for specific age groups, and you must be trained in each individual class. Director kept promising to train in a specific class but was either never their to train or would push it back and hire a new employee

This job was really great at first because you basically get paid to teach and play with kids. I loved the families and the relationships I made with them as well as coworkers. The teaching style is very different from what I’m used to but once you get the hang of it, it easy to mold and make the classes yours. On the other side of things, communication within the team is terrible. There’s no clear line of the hierarchy of positions in regards to who is responsible for what. Some things apply to some people but not to all and for some, rules only apply when it’s convenient for the directors. Within the management team, duties start to become very gray and it trickles down and takes a toll on the rest of the team. Training was not done effectively even with the change in management. People were thrown into classes and age groups when they weren’t ready just because “it was necessary.” Things started coming to the point of solely looking out for the business some and not the employees or even the kids and families. Again, this is a great first job especially if you’re young and no other responsibilities but definitely do not recommend for long term.

The training is extensive- knowing and learning everything from child development, parent education, gymnastic skills (progression, execution, spotting, etc), sales (and online training for an outline of selling the program with extensive practice), some marketing. Can be overwhelming, constantly learning new things and refining what you already know. Lots of team meetings- strong sense of team. New curriculum every week that you must know and implement precisely. Very fast paced and high energy, overall I LOVE the company. I love the little gym and what it is, loved working there. Mainly for the utter sense of accomplishment and achievement when you grow a skill, social, cognitive, or emotional aspect of a child you had been working with weekly the whole season or longer. Huge bonds are formed within the instructors and families. Warm, soft, and loving environment that doesn't always carry over behind the scenes.

Specific curriculum implementation in developmental gymnastics. All lesson plans are from The Little Gym International and integrate physical, cognitive, and social skills into fun gymnastics. Parents are great and are usually very receptive to learning about their child's development and participating in the activities. Most enjoyable part of the job is seeing the kids smile and laugh with us as instructors. Per type of instructor you are, you can teach anywhere from 2 to 5 classes per day. I have learned patience above all from the kids. As far as administrative tasks I have learned time management better than I did in college. I have learned about marketing, customer service, and new hire training. Co-workers are around the same age (20s). Schedule is very flexible usually, must ask for time off a month in advance which helps with planning. Some management is qualified but a degree is not required for this job. I have learned leadership skills as well.

The Little Gym is all about coordinated play through physical movement (basic gymnastics) allowing children to gain confidence, grow social skills, and mental skills.

The Little Gym is for you if: 
-You love Kids!
-You are confident enough to be silly!
-You are prepared to be very active, and vocal.
-You are confident in communicating with parents, as well as creating relationships with each family.
-You are ready to be outgrowing, engage kids in creative movement activities, by being the most excited, fun, entertaining, positive person in the room.

The Little Gym is NOT for you if:
-You’re a behind closed doors desk worker.
-You want to train Olympic athletes.

My biggest take away from working at The Little Gym is my confidence in classroom management. I learned how to manage a room of children without taking away from any of the fun. I learned how to be an authority figure, but also be the funnest person in the room.

The most enjoyable part of the job is the relationships I’ve created with the kids and their families. I’ve watched kids take their first steps, reach goals, and grow into amazing people.



What is the best part of working at the company?
Fun and nurturing team- working with kids, sometimes I forgot I was working

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not much- the day can fly by quickly as it is packed with families and classes, we need to remember to complete the smaller tasks

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fun, energized, and social.  There is a strong sense of family and belonging

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
When I come in, I will make sure that the gym is setup properly for the first class. I then check to see if there are any messages voice and via email. Greet the families that are coming in. Talk to anyone who is new and prepare them for the class. If I am teaching the first class, get the class started and go- 
We clean the gym and any equipment used between classes and then a full clean at the end if the day. 
When i am not teaching, i am talking to parents (and kids) answering questions if they are new, getting the enrolled into the next session, and also getting to know the families - building relationships. 
We will prep for the next day.

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