09-26-2020, 11:44 PM
So, the fencing club reopened under new county guidelines for youth sports about two weeks ago. Since this is supposed to be our new normal until a vaccine is found, we have been doing a lot or reorganizing.
Numbers are definitely down. Since we are a competitive club by design, when competitions are on hold, it gets a little tough to sell the big ticket program. For these kids, it is about getting national/international rankings, and making US Teams. Also, enough families in our club are multi-generational and they don’t want to risk grandma/grandpa, others are just worried about the kids health, can’t carpool anymore, etc.. Numbers are roughly 2/3rds of precovid/The Before Times.
Right before Covid hit, I asked Greg M, the head coach if I could cut my teaching days from 6 days to 5 days/week. My day job (Victory) had bounced back from our big move earlier than planned and I was getting my large ass kicked. We were on track to have one of our best years in our history, only I had almost no staff. Years previously it had been me full-time and 2 or even 3 part-timers. Now it was just me and my Henchman coming in on Saturdays. By last February, I was a wreck.
At the time, Greg M couldn’t give me the extra day off; we were that busy. Then Covid lockdown came along. From mid-March to mid-June, club was closed, then we had a super-intense 9-week Summer Camp until mid-August, then shut down again until mid-September.
And here we are. This week, Greg asked me about my schedule. I asked if he was looking to add more hours or fewer hours. He wanted to reduce the hours. Of the main coaches, i was the only one with another job. I said I’m still up for fewer hours. The rub is always how much less $. My healthcare is $1100/month these days, so I can’t let that number drop too far. Both parties negotiating in good faith made it easy to come to terms, though, so: For the first time in more than 20 years I’ll have two (2) entire days off/week. I’ll be teaching 4 evenings/week, running the shop 3 days/week. As business returns, I’ll add days back in.
It’s going to be a little weird for a while.
Numbers are definitely down. Since we are a competitive club by design, when competitions are on hold, it gets a little tough to sell the big ticket program. For these kids, it is about getting national/international rankings, and making US Teams. Also, enough families in our club are multi-generational and they don’t want to risk grandma/grandpa, others are just worried about the kids health, can’t carpool anymore, etc.. Numbers are roughly 2/3rds of precovid/The Before Times.
Right before Covid hit, I asked Greg M, the head coach if I could cut my teaching days from 6 days to 5 days/week. My day job (Victory) had bounced back from our big move earlier than planned and I was getting my large ass kicked. We were on track to have one of our best years in our history, only I had almost no staff. Years previously it had been me full-time and 2 or even 3 part-timers. Now it was just me and my Henchman coming in on Saturdays. By last February, I was a wreck.
At the time, Greg M couldn’t give me the extra day off; we were that busy. Then Covid lockdown came along. From mid-March to mid-June, club was closed, then we had a super-intense 9-week Summer Camp until mid-August, then shut down again until mid-September.
And here we are. This week, Greg asked me about my schedule. I asked if he was looking to add more hours or fewer hours. He wanted to reduce the hours. Of the main coaches, i was the only one with another job. I said I’m still up for fewer hours. The rub is always how much less $. My healthcare is $1100/month these days, so I can’t let that number drop too far. Both parties negotiating in good faith made it easy to come to terms, though, so: For the first time in more than 20 years I’ll have two (2) entire days off/week. I’ll be teaching 4 evenings/week, running the shop 3 days/week. As business returns, I’ll add days back in.
It’s going to be a little weird for a while.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.