Children’s fitness is one of the most promising businesses today for at least two reasons.
The results of the classes are immediately visible
The basis of children’s fitness is a focus on the process. A child should like what he is doing now. Then the result will come by itself. There is no race for seconds, centimeters, grades. At each lesson it is important for us to immerse the child in games by means of physical training. This approach makes kids fall in love with fitness forever.
Savings for parents
Let’s count: to take your child to two exercise classes, you’ll have to spend an hour on the way there and back. Another hour must be spent somewhere. But what if you go to a club where there is not one, but several, and there is an opportunity for you to practice while the child is training. In this context, the savings in time and effort, as well as new opportunities for parents, are obvious.
Personal and sectional formats are services for completely different tasks. It’s hard to compare them. Ideally, they should complement each other. The section gives the child the joy of interaction in a team, a collective, a joint experience of the result. Personal training is necessary for the realization of opportunities: someone needs to catch up with the group, someone needs to pick up individual exercises and help with the correct execution. But there are also those who have outgrown the group.
As far as directions are concerned, child development is a rather stable system that is reluctant to accept new trends. For a very long time, dancing, martial arts, swimming and languages are leading the way. Also, as a supplement for children of any age, parents choose yoga, Pilates and creativity. It’s understandable. Parents want to see their children healthy, successful and confident, so they choose programs that are best suited to realize these goals.
The most difficult thing for a business in children’s fitness is the child’s way.
Therefore, the problems begin at the level of construction – you need to think in advance about the layout of the premises where the children’s area will be. The next difficulty is choosing programs, scheduling, and determining the coaching staff. Often after the successful resolution of these problems, another one arises – there is no profit. A good product will bring a high profit, create an atmosphere of comfort and positivity in the club, do not require a constant influx of new customers (according to statistics, children have higher renewals than adults, and word of mouth works better than any other marketing tools). But it’s a “slow” product. It needs time to develop. Be patient and don’t quit halfway through.
Comparing the staffing situation 5 years ago and now, I can say with confidence that as children’s fitness evolves, so do the coaches.
More and more professionals are choosing children’s fitness as their profession. This is good to see. Few people now perceive children’s fitness as a career start. Now they come to us consciously and purposefully. Previously 70% of applicants considered children’s fitness as the first step to “adult” fitness. They reasoned something like this: I will work for six months, then I will have a closer look and go to the gym. Also, almost 90% of coaches combined work in 2-3 clubs/studios, considered children’s fitness part-time.
“THE SECTION GIVES THE CHILD THE JOY OF INTERACTION IN A TEAM, AND PERSONAL TRAINING IS NECESSARY TO REALIZE THE POSSIBILITIES.
But this field is evolving, salaries are rising and opportunities are expanding. I think it is a great achievement that out of 180 trainers (not only universal, but also narrow specialists) we have only 30 that work part time.
Good coaches are always appreciated, because the teacher is a key figure in the programs for children. A parent brings his or her child to a specific person, someone whom he or she considers a professional, someone whom he or she trusts.
The requirements for teachers in children’s fitness are many
I can tell you what requirements I have when looking for trainers. One of the priorities is higher education. It can be a sports, pedagogical or cultural institute – the main thing is that the diploma should specify the specialty that allows working with children. Equally important aspect is personal experience in the field in which the trainer will specialize. For example, a dance coach cannot teach if he/she himself/herself was engaged in dancing in the second grade of elementary school. The skill is transmitted only from the carrier, and the teacher must be a professional in what he teaches. Personal achievements are also important: victories in competitions, festivals, contests, sports titles and titles. This point will serve as a pledge of trust from parents.
A playroom is necessary, but it is important to understand its real value. A room used as a “parking lot” for children carries no profit, no value, and no extensions. Often there are children there with nowhere to leave them while parents go about their adult business. Now Territory Fitness has clubs ranging from 500 to 15,000 m2 . There is no game room in only one. The kids’ schedule is everywhere.
I treat the playroom as the heart of the kids’ club and its hearth. It’s a place that brings friends together. We teach the coaches to work with the kids to beautify the playroom. Our clubs always have lots of pictures from past events, and they are kept in the playroom on stands. We always insist that the kids gather in the kids club before and after class. It is 5 minutes of sincere communication with coaches and friends. After all, you can’t talk “heart to heart” during practice.
In my experience, I can say that such formats are of the utmost importance. The schedule is another story. It’s always the value and range of services. A “menu” for parents, if you will.
However, creating an effective schedule is never easy. The line between “much” and “little” is almost non-existent. I try to create a schedule so that parents have a sense of “relevance.” That is, there has to be a real and valid reason to bring their child to the fitness club.