Privates and the Economy

[kayskate]

US Coaches:

Have any of you noticed a drop in privates this season that seems to be due to the econo? I am really struggling. Many ppl from last season took the summer off and did not come back, not just for me but for other pros at my rink. We are a rec rink, so many of our students are Basic levels and low FS. Those skaters tend to come and go, but w this econo, it seems fewer are signing up to take their places. The manager said no one is coming to the desk to ask about privates. This rink has an excellent grp program which is very affordable and probably meets the needs of many rec skaters.

Just wondering what is going on w other coaches.

Kay

[fsk8r]

Not US, but my coach in the UK has been saying that she's having parents stopping lessons because one of the parents has lost their job. Apparently after school activities are the first to be cut.
According to one of the pro shops they didn't have the usual christmas rush of recreational skaters getting new boots as Christmas presents. It will be interesting to see if we get the normal seasonal increase in public skaters when Dancing on Ice starts on television again as that normally increases the interest in skating lessons.

[CoachPA]

I've actually picked up more privates in the last few months (about three in the last two weeks) and I anticipate I'll hear back from a few inquiries after the new year begins.

I have, however, seen a drop in some of my students attending USFS test sessions and out-of-town competitions just before the holidays. Their parents said that between the economy and the approaching holiday season that they just couldn't afford the extra expense. From what they said, they'll pick up more heavily with the competitions and all, again, after 2009 begins and things settle down a bit.

As a coach, I'd really love to increase my rate a bit, but right now, I just can't bring myself to do it. Skating is such an expensive sport already; add to that the poor economy.

On the other hand, coaching is my primary income, so I know that I'll eventually need to increase if not just to keep up with the rising cost of things. I'm planning on waiting until the end of this year as by then I'll have passed my PSA Basic Accreditation Exam and will hopefully have my second USFS Gold Medal, which I feel warrants a bit of an increase since I've already been told by my fellow colleagues that I need to go up now. But like I said, I don't want to throw that at my skaters' parents just yet.

[w.w.west]

[QUOTE=CoachPA;381720]

As a coach, I'd really love to increase my rate a bit, but right now, I just can't bring myself to do it. Skating is such an expensive sport already; add to that the poor economy.

/QUOTE]

I feel the exact same way. This is what I have done. I have raised my rates for new students. I am keeping the same rate for current students and plan to keep them at that rate until at least the middle of the year. I have passed my PSA BA and Certified Sports Science so it is definitely warranted, but I just can't see raising rates for current students either.

[dbny]

I had a few students who have not come back after the summer off, and I think it's probably the economy. Surprisingly, I've picked up a lot of new students. I primarily teach beginners on the public sessions, and I can count on a few new "pick-ups" each weekend, and some of those become regulars. I actually have weekend scheduling problems. My mid-week students have dropped off, and I miss that. Overall, I'm making more money this season than last, which is great since I have oil heating at home.

[RachelSk8er]

It seems like things are going well at my rink. There are kids who I don't see around any more (not that it's all due to the economy--they always come and go) but there are always new kids and there are coaches doing privates pretty much all day, every day and a lot of them seem pretty busy.

I'm not coaching at the moment (although I have PSA ratings) because I'm way too busy with working full time and going to law school part-time. However, I've been asked to take a few students who have approached friends (coaches) who don't have time to take on new students...so they must be doing well. I've also been asked to take on a beginner synchro team that kind of evolved out of our LTS program...I'd love to and the extra cash would be great (I REALLY miss the extra $500-700/month of mostly disposable income I was pulling in coaching a few years ago and free ice time I got for my own skating b/c I was a coach), but given my schedule, I can't commit to the needs of students (because more privates arise out of coaching synchro), competitions, test sessions, etc without giving up most of my own very limited skating time.

Even if I had the time...given current economic conditions, I'd feel bad coming along as someone with a good full-time job just coaching for fun, taking away potential students from other coaches at my rink who depend on coaching alone for their income. I'm on the sub list for LTS (although the only time I'm asked to sub is Saturdays when I'm already skating on the other ice surface) and may do an evening session in the summer (when I don't have class) if I'm needed, but that's about it.

[teresa]

I'm not a coach so you can kick me out if I shouldn't be answering this thread. :P I'm a skater though. Here's my two cents. I like my coach and she's worth keeping. Great coach! However, things are tough right now. If my coach raised her fee I would need to cut back. I'm guessing she would rather make less per lesson than giving less lessons. As a student I've made a commitment to her and have been trying to keep it. I've cut everything else I can without changing things with her. Next step would be my skating and sadly my commitment to her. The economy really is nasty for all.

teresa

[sk8lady]

I typically have more adult than kid students but a lot of my students are quitting or cutting back, on both skating and lessons. One started working in addition to having a baby and has only come out to skate twice this year (after taking first place in the first competition she was ever in last year for freestyle pre-bronze program, so I'm very disappointed that she quit); one of them's husband lost his job and is now working extra hours to compensate and has only come to skate 3 times; one of them saw most of her retirement money vanish and asked to cut back to once a month, so I offered her a second lesson on a barter basis ("will work for cookies!"); and one of my kid students' found that they could not afford a weekly private lesson when the other student in a semi-private lesson moved into a class at the same time as the semi-private. I've picked up one new student and possibly a second, but clearly times are really tough.We hired a new coach this year who has really good solid credentials in dance, freestyle, and figures and she has only picked up one new student.
I have my B.A. and got my Registered Group rating over the summer but I don't dare raise my rates as I suspect I would lose more students--no one in this area knows what they mean anyway--I think I am one of only two or three coaches in the club who has any ratings at all and the teenager who teaches on the crowded weekend public skating session, who has no ratings and isn't allowed to coach on the figure skating ice, has no mentor, and isn't even taking lessons any more has almost as many students as I do! But she charges less than I do.

[slusher]

I'm lucky to have hung on to my group sessions but I'm doing two less than last year. I lost the two in the rink that's in an area hit hard by factory lay offs.

For privates, I'm down to one adult. Another coach picked up the rest of my adult privates, it was more convenient for them to go to another rink. (a paraphrasing of an unethical situation that I won't post). I have no interest from my current adult learn to skates to do any sort of privates. It's the economy in a different way, they're working more, under stress, and don't have the extra time.

Edit: I'd work for cookies! Actually I'm very careful, even though it might just be cookies it has to be recognized that it's a payment of sorts.

[sk8lady]

The cookies were sooooo good I might forgo cash altogether with this lady. I served them to my investment club last night as I didn't have time to bake and they were GONE in about 40 seconds (except for what my son ate when he got home from school).
The IRS does require that you include bartered payment on your taxes but hopefully they will not audit me over two dozen cookies!!!