All Ears Blog

Ideas for Successful Registration

Jill Purdy — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:32:05 +0000

67 Creative and Effective Ways To Get Students to Register For Dance Class One of our most awesome friends, Suzanne Blake-Gerety, has posted a list on her website (www.DanceStudioOwner.com) that will help you fill your classes! The title – “67 Creative and Effective Ways To Get Students to Register For Dance Class” - doesn’t lie. There are 67 GREAT ideas provided in this list. Suzanne has wisely broken the list into categories to help you find the ones that will fit your studio best. Categories include: Gifts, Dancewear and Give Away Items , Open House Events, Community outreach, Registration Incentive: Waive Fees, Registration Incentive: Before the end of the season, Registration Incentive: Priority status, Recital ticket incentive, Online Registration, Tuition Discounts, Flyers, Postal Mail, Advertisements, Email and Phone Calls, Free Trial Classes, Bring/Refer a Friend and (the general but always necessary) Additional Ideas. Please read Suzanne’s article for the details, after all, nobody does dance studio owner ideas better!

Riptides: Dangerous but Escapable – Heidi Did It

John Kirk — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:09:53 +0000

The danger of riptides was proved over Easter holidays in Oahu, Hawaii. Supermodel Heidi Klum saved her 7-year-old son and two nannies from drowning in a riptide that had swept them out from the beach where they had been enjoying the surf. As soon as you get in the water, you can feel its current pulling at your body. Many swimmers love to swim with the current and “catch a wave” to body surf or ride a wave in from a surfboard. This same current can also be dangerous, even for those who know how to swim, when conditions converge to turn current into a riptide. It is important to encourage swimming lessons for children as early as six months from reputable swim instructors like those at Little Otter – where children can take lessons year-round. Knowing how to swim is not always enough to survive the power of the water when riptides occur. Understanding how riptides work and how to escape them can be life-saving! Exactly what are riptides? Riptides are powerful channeled sea currents that occur in oceans, lakes and other large bodies of water. They are formed by strong winds pushing water toward the shore and can move as fast as eight feet per second. Riptides flow away from the shore – pulling people within their reach out but not down with powerful force. Most riptides are no more than 100 feet wide and generally subside 50-100 yards from the shore. However, there are times when conditions can allow riptides emerge closer to the shore. Because they are formed by strong winds, riptides are often the first indicators of a hurricane’s approach. Even the strongest swimmer can be overpowered by the strength of a riptide. While avoiding the water during hurricanes and tropical storms is an obvious smart precaution, it is more difficult to tell when conditions are right for riptides. But there are a few signs that may point to more dangerous swimming conditions and they include:

Choppy water
Water that is a different color from other parts of the ocean/lake
A break in the wave patterns
A line of foam or debris

These and signs from lifeguards are good indications that riptides are occurring nearby. What should you do if you find yourself or see someone else caught in a riptide? 1. Don’t panic. Whether you are the swimmer or the observer, staying calm in a riptide is the most important thing you can do. 2. If you are shallow enough, simply stand up. Or try to lower your legs to try to interrupt the current’s ability to sweep you outward. Riptides pull away from shore, not under the water. The term undertow is misleading and causes many to think they cannot stand up when being pulled by the ocean’s current. 3. Raise your arms to alert someone you are in need of help. This is also beneficial to someone who may be trying to find the swimmer in distress. 4. Begin swimming parallel to the shore instead of toward it (which is against the current). Continuing to swim toward the shore and against the current risks exhaustion and drowning. Imagine the riptide is like a treadmill. You simply need to swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the riptide’s path and can “step off the treadmill.” 5. Should you become exhausted or are unable to swim for that long, remember floating on your back. This is a skill learned early in swim lessons, along with treading water, and is crucial in times like these. Floating takes little effort and can give you the break you need to restore your stamina. 6. Once you are out of the riptide’s path, you can begin swimming toward the shore. Riptides are not very wide, so you shouldn’t have to swim more than 150 yards to get to safety. But remaining calm will help you remember this in an otherwise stressful, panic-inducing situation. 7. Whatever you do, do not try to swim out to rescue someone who is caught in the riptide. This is one of the easiest ways people can become injured or risks getting caught in the riptide, as well. As an observer, always alert the lifeguards on duty or call 911 to help a swimmer in need. What other general water precautions should you keep in mind? Swim with a buddy. Know where lifeguards are. Bring a cell phone or have a record of your temporary address (if vacationing) in your bag. Never swim when “no swimming” flags are posted. Even for strong swimmers and children who have had swim lessons, there are elements – like riptides – that can be dangerous. Riptides should not diminish your excitement or love for the water. Understanding what dangers like riptides are all about and how they can be avoided or dealt with, can help you to enjoy swimming in bodies of water where riptides can occur. Always respect the power of water and learn to enjoy it safely.

Gymnastics is Good for You!

Jill Purdy — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:39:25 +0000

Gymnastics combines many areas that are important to child development: strength, flexibility, grace and discipline. On a fundamental level, gymnastics improves physical health and athletic discipline. Through consistent practice of the sport, children will build strength, improve flexibility, fine tune coordination, develop discipline and enhance your self-esteem. While any sort of sport is good for child development. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that partaking in organized sports provides a chance for young people to increase their activity and develop socially and physically. Gym.Net adds that gymnastics is one of the most comprehensive lifestyle exercise programs available to children, incorporating strength, flexibility, speed, balance, coordination, power, and discipline. There are general health and social benefits, lessons in commitment and discipline, improvements to motor skills, coordination, balance and strength building. Read more details. Learning coordination skills helps children to fine-tune their motor skills and develop a good sense of body awareness. Gymnastics requires that children develop focus and concentration. Simply keeping your mind on the move or routine you are executing while others are moving around your apparatus or other equipment on the floor is a great lesson for children. Working hard and accomplishing goals builds confidence and self-worth. Gymnastics encourages children to push themselves to do better and to work outside of their comfort zone. As you can see, gymnastics is a sport that helps children achieve healthy physical development. But it also gives them personal and social skills that will stay with them and help them for the rest of their lives. Learn the Top 10 Benefits of Gymnastics. Read more details.

Jackrabbit Coming To A City Near You!

Sara Beth Jones — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 02:08:33 +0000

We're all about learning at Jackrabbit and love helping you boost your business performance. The more customers we serve, the more we realize that Charlotte, North Carolina is a little farther away to get to for a training. So, we've decided to come to you! [Each month we have Jackrabbit training for two days in Charlotte. See here.] This year, we'll be all around the country helping Jackrabbit users - new and veteran users. Make some time to attend a training -- you won't regret it. We guarantee you'll learn something, no matter how long you have been using our system. Our development team is devoted to improving the system with enhancements and you do not want to miss these. Do you have questions? Do you want to know how to use one of our features? Do you want to know some shortcuts? Do you want to learn what you don't know about Jackrabbit? Most importantly, do you want to have fun? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to attend a training! Here is a list of the trainings we have this year. There is a full list on the website with a link to register to attend. [Pssst - we're giving away 4 tickets to each of the trainings - so sign up and you'll be entered to win!] Vancouver, BC - Best Practices Training- June 20 - 21 Washington D.C. - Mastermind - July 14 Scottsdale, AZ - Rhee Gold's DanceLife - July 31 Hartford, CT - USAG - August 14 Duluth, GA - UDMA - October 4 Secaucus, NJ - UDMA - October 11 Schaumburg, IL - UDMA - October 18 Las Vegas, NV - Jackrabbit User Conference - November 6-8

The New Facebook Rules

Sara Beth Jones — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:25:45 +0000

Have you heard about the new Facebook cover photo rules? The team released a few weeks ago that you can put calls to action or your website on your business' page. There are still text restrictions - the biggest being that cover photos may not contain more than 20% text. Clipped straight from Facebook's Page Guidelines: "All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can't be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else's copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines. Covers may not include images with more than 20% text." Since this rule is relatively new, most people have not changed their cover photos. Jump ahead of the competition now and start thinking of ways that you can change up your photo to boost your business. Keep in mind that this 20% rule applies to advertisements, promoted posts, and sponsored stories. Facebook provided an in depth explanation of this rule and included photos. Here is an example of a photo that is acceptable and one that is unacceptable:

So, how can you tell how much of your photo is text? This free tool - paavo!

How are you going to use this new rule to your advantage? Share here!

Enhancements Improve the Way You Work

Jill Purdy — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:03:21 +0000

Development has been working hard to enhance the system to make your work easier! Portal Future Drops Setting A new setting which affects the portal has been added called "Should Future Drops affect Openings". When set to "Yes", future drops will add the future drops to the class openings count. When set to "No", future drops will NOT be add to the class openings count. (See screen shot below) This setting has been set to the same value (yes/no) that you have for future enrollments. This can be changed if desired. To do this go to Tools>Web Registration>Settings Web Registration: Added Future Drops Setting A new web registration setting has been added called "Should Future Drops Affect Openings". When set to "Yes", future drops will add the future drops to the class openings count. When set to "No", future drops will NOT be add to the class openings count. This setting has been set to the same value (yes/no) that you have for future enrollments. You may change this setting, if you wish. Other improvements that you may notice:

Birth dates are now required for all students in Web Reg. Previously only the 1st student was required to show a birth date.
Email Families now uses the org drop-down list in the search criteria.
Event Questions & Answers have been added to the family merge process.
The Class Registration confirmation email's Contact Us link has been changed to use the same email as the From email address.
Mass drop will now affect the class count, the class page and all areas where class enrollment is displayed. The class shows as current until the drop date.
List Active Staff will now display the staff positions selected in the staff summary tab.
Quick Reg Merge Family will no longer create a duplicate student and will update the Membership Type for the family.
Dashboard "Portal enrollments last 7 days" will only include students that have completed enrollment.

Review all recent enhancements.

Funniest Pommel Horse Routine. Ever.

Sara Beth Jones — Tue, 28 May 2013 00:33:06 +0000

Just in case you're having trouble getting through the week, here is the funniest pommel horse routine. Enjoy!

Little Otter Swim School’s Safety Day

Sara Beth Jones — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:50 +0000

As children count the days until summer vacation, parents start planning fun summer activities. One thing the summer is sure to bring is heat. Lots of sunshine and high temperatures make swimming that much more fun, which is why so many summer activities involve water. For kids, the water is fun and exciting. They want to jump in, learn how to dive, and be the fastest shark to swim across the pool. For parents, the water means watching the children. Making sure the children are having fun is only half of the job - being proactive in teaching the children about safety is the other. At Little Otter Swim School, John and Lori have given their students and parents an opportunity to learn about safety at their school. Twice a year, Little Otter opens their doors to teach the Safer 3 Program. The program is based on principles that we can be safer around the water with safer kids, safer water and safer responses. Safety facts, rules and tips were shared during this portion of the session. The second portion was actually jumping into the pool - fully clothed. Jumping into a pool fully clothed helps swimmers understand what it feels like to accidentally fall in. Children can forget what they have learned in swimming lessons if they fall into a body of water. This exercise will teach children that if they fall in, they can swim just like they do in the Little Otter pool. Little Otter offers this event – separate from the child’s lesson schedule and at no extra charge – so both parents can attend and that it doesn’t consume any of their regular lesson time. Saturday, May 18 Little Otter taught 125 young swimmers about the Safer 3. Visit their blog or Facebook page for more information and pictures. What have you done for National Water Safety Month? Share your story here!

Body Language & Your Business

Jill Purdy — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:42:11 +0000

How non-verbal cues affect the meaning of your words. The old saying “It’s not what you say but how you say it” definitely applies here. In fact, research shows that only 7% of our communication involves actual words, while 55% of communication is visual (body language, eye contact) and 38% is vocal (pitch, speed, volume, tone of voice). The three Cs Strong and effective body language reflects confidence, competence, and charisma. It can help you establish an immediate rapport, invoke trust in your message and create an aura of reliability, optimism and power. Even seemingly trivial nuances can have a tremendous impact in the way you are perceived by everyone you communicate with - peers, employees, employers, students, parents and vendors. A positive professional image helps you sets yourself apart from your peers and excel in business by:

Elevating your self-confidence
Sharpening your negotiating skills
Helping you to quickly earn and maintain respect
Transforming you into a more focused leader

Body language reveals whether you’re bored and uninterested or interested and excited, regardless of the words you’re saying. Once you've learned how to use your body language to communicate more effectively in the workplace, you will notice a change in how others react to you. Make and maintain eye contact. Good eye contact shows that you are interested, connected and comfortable. Do this poorly and you’re anxious, unprepared, unorganized, and stressed. Control your facial expressions. Facial expressions can immediately change the mood of a conversation. Relaxed, pleasant expressions reveal warmth, positive engaging attitudes. Frowning creates the opposite atmosphere by making you appear tense and aloof. Check your posture. Good posture projects comfort with your situation. Slouching with arms folded across your chest conveys a tired, defensive and uninterested attitude. Be aware of your hand movements. Avoid deceptive movements such as scratching your nose, your ears or your eyes. Also avoid gestures that indicate distraction or nervousness such as pointing fingers, wringing hands, knuckle cracking, picking at fingernails, or playing with pocket change. If all else fails, keep your hands at your side or in your lap. Eliminate obstacles between you and your listeners. Crossed arms create the illusion of a barrier just as physical barriers (podiums, chairs, or computer monitors) do. A folder on a desk can even break your connection. Universal body language faux pas. Unfortunately, these faux pas are so commonplace that they are often referred to as just bad manners. Faux Pas How to Avoid It

Taking calls or texting while talking to others.	When engaged in a conversation, silence your cell phone. If you must take a call, excuse yourself to a quiet place.
Being distracted during conversations	Stay engaged when in your conversations. In person, always use direct eye contact. When on a call, do not check your email.
Making negative comments about others	This should really go without saying, but its frequency places it on the list.
Exhibiting poor punctuality	Tardiness tells others that you don’t value their time. Stay on schedule by setting reminders that give you plenty of time to avoid tardiness.
Making excuses for failing your commitments	Meeting your commitments earn you trust. Don’t embarrass yourself or create undue stress by taking on what you can’t possibly do.

Reading the body language of others. Body language can help you improve your response to potential employee issues, unhappy parents and problematic students. Reading body language can also help you make better choices in one of the ost important areas of your business: Hiring. Ask yourself these questions as you are interviewing each candidate:

How do they carry themselves?
Is their facial expression negative, tense, shifty or pleasant, engaging and relaxed?
How do they present their résumé to you?
Do they change their facial expression when they talk about past job experience?
Are they sitting erectly or slouching in their chair?
Do they fidget, play with their hands, hair or clothing?
Are they engaged in your conversation and maintaining eye contact with you?

You can’t make an accurate determination of their fit with your company by body language alone, but by combining your assessment of these details with their resume information, you can make better decisions in placing candidates in your available positions. Sending unintended signals. Body language can be deceiving. For example, keeping your hands stiffly by your side or stuck in your pockets can give the impression that you're insecure – but perhaps you aren’t. Avoiding looking at people simply because you're too busy consulting your notes or your résumé can lead people to think you're being less than honest with them – but you really aren’t. Slouching may be read it as a sign that you're not interested – but you’re just tired. But because body language impacts the all-important, irreversible “first impression” and provides signals that help you and those around you make judgment calls, it is critical that you learn to maximize its benefits to you and your business.

Helping Your Gymnast Develop Confidence

Jill Purdy — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:13:59 +0000

Students can be talented but not excel if they lack confidence. A lack of confidence in gymnastics can be frustrating and concerning. It’s difficult to see an athlete who has great talent be unable to compete at their full ability due to low confidence or fear of failure. Not only is it frustrating, but can even be dangerous. Without the confidence and focus- there is a greater risk of injury. The confidence building “team” includes coaches, parents/family and teammates (or classmates). What is confidence – really? It is the sum of all of the positive and negative input and experiences in the gymnast’s life that he or she relates (consciously or subconsciously) to performance. The gymnast must be able to control mental state, banishing negative mental images and reinforcing positive ones. “Coaching” isn’t just about physical development, but includes the ability to help gymnasts build the confidence they need to win in the face of competitive pressures, which are often much higher in gymnastics than in other sports. So when confidence is waning or lacking, what can you do? First, find the reason for low (or no) confidence. These are good questions to ask about your gymnast: Is there fear of injury? Or fear of failure? Or fear of letting someone down? Does she have too much pressure to perform perfectly? Is the lack of confidence associated with other aspects in her life, or specifically to gymnastics? The solution is directly dependent on the reason for the lack of confidence. A recent fall on a particular skill might lead to fear of another fall, pain or injury, but fear of letting someone down might stem from much larger issues that may relate to several members of the confidence building “team”. The Gymnastics Zone (one of the largest gymnastics information sites in the world) is chock full of great information. I found their 15 principals of building confidence valuable to add in developing your own confidence development “process”. What can be done to improve confidence? #1 – The “Team” Needs to Work to Build Each Gymnasts Confidence Sometimes that order is different in the case of individual gymnasts, but these are always the groups that have the most effect on any gymnast’s confidence. To build a gymnast’s confidence to the maximum degree, the entire “team” must be positively participating in programming gymnast confidence. #2 – The Gym is a Mirror for Gymnasts Gymnasts see themselves in the reflection of their gym environment. Different gym environments can cause different reflections. To a great extent a gymnast’s image of themselves is a result of the positive or negative responses of others around them in the gym. #3 – Parents Present Their Own Mirror for Their Gymnast The most important thing parents can provide for their gymnasts (and their gymnast’s success) is unconditional love. Unconditional love, in relation to gymnastics, means that gymnasts know and understand that their parents love them, regardless of how well they do in gymnastics. If gymnasts think their parents will love them less if they don’t “win” or do well, then, parents have failed to give gymnasts a needed basic, solid foundation of support. Unconditional love and support gives gymnasts a basic psychological base of confidence with which to face gymnastics. #4 – Team Status In the Gym To some degree, gym owners can positively or negatively affect the confidence of their team’s gymnasts. The status of the team and the members of the team in the gym is communicated rather effectively, either in a negative or a positive manner. While gymnastics teams may not be the source of the biggest profit for a gym, team member’s confidence may be directly affected by gym decisions such as: Equipment priority – How much equipment and area of the gym is available for team use during their practice times? Does the team have all of the latest training equipment and stations to allow them equal training footing with the other gymnasts against whom they compete? Team visibility in the gym – Are team pictures or posters, meet results, trophies, awards and other visible evidence of team status posted prominently in the gym? Do they have a team V.I.P. status in the gym? Training time – Are team gymnasts given the maximum amount of training time that is competitively necessary and beneficial for their success or is less time given with financial or other reasons used as an excuse. #5 – One on One Time with Gymnasts Parents should make sure that they spend one on one time with their gymnast – even if they have several children that are involved in several sports – they each deserve and need one on one time. This makes the child feel valued by the parent (s). This is an important concept in the gym, for coaches and trainers to give their gymnasts one on one time so that the same type respect and valued relationship that parents are conveying is also felt in the gym. #6 – Training Team Members/Classmates to Build Up the Confidence of Their Teammates Coaches and instructors should “coach” all gymnasts in the importance of positive reinforcement. Each team member or classmate should always get up, greet, congratulate, celebrate and occasionally commiserate with other gymnasts. They can do this in their own way with high fives, hugs, hand shakes … but do to it consistently with everyone all of the time. This is common practice with collegiate teams but rare in age group gymnastics programs. The repetition of this reinforcement during performances, meets, and practice is a huge confidence builder. #7 – Team Building There is a team building exercise where the members of a team or class pass around a sheet of paper, with each gymnast’s name on it, and write down something that they appreciate about that person. Usually, that is done once, or perhaps twice a year. The positive effects of this practice can be life altering and life-long. In one story about an elementary school teacher who had her students do this, she was surprised, at her retirement, of the stories about how much this had affected her student’s lives. Imagine what could be done if coaches/instructors and gymnasts were to verbally do that same thing – tell their teammates/classmates what they appreciate about them or what they have done – each and every day in practice. Soaring confidence might be just one of the major results. Require your gymnasts to do it for one month, check after each practice to see that everyone did it, and it will become a year-round habit that will work wonders for gymnast confidence, team bonding and unity. #8 – The Gym Where Everyone Knows Your Name This should apply to every gymnast (and parent) in your gym program, but coaches, instructors and staff members must know the name of every gymnast they work with. At the team level, coaches should know the gymnast’s first and last name, their nickname, both their parent’s names, etc. When kids are shown the respect of coaches and adults learning their names, their image of themselves improves and so does their confidence. #9 – Coaches/Instructors Must Pay Attention and Show an Interest in Their Gymnast’s Life Outside the Gym The smart coach/instructor will ask gymnasts about their family, their friends and their other interests and activities. Even more importantly, they will listen carefully and show gymnasts that they care enough to remember what gymnasts have talked about and what is important to them. Gymnasts who feel they are important enough for coaches to take interest in as a person and not just as a gymnast are more confident. #10 – Catch Your Gymnasts Doing Something Right Positive coaching is not just a scientifically valid training system, it is a system for developing great gymnasts. Behaviors that are reinforced (praised) tend to be repeated. By reinforcing behaviors, skills, traits, attitudes and other positive characteristics in gymnasts, gymnasts will repeat those behaviors – and they will be the gymnasts you want them to be. Criticism is more popular, as a coaching pattern, because it seems to deliver good results and improvements quickly. But it only works in the short-term. Over a longer period of time, the negative tone of criticism tilts the balance of the subconscious in a more negative direction, which can only result in a less confident gymnast. All negative communication from coaches, gymnasts and parents, whether verbal or non-verbal, has some degree of negative impact on gymnasts. Criticism, which is by definition, a predominantly negative communication format, has to have a noticeable negative impact on a gymnast’s confidence, when used over and over again for years. #11 – Positive Coaching In the long run, real gymnastics confidence is best built by positive reinforcement. Positive conditioning is well-researched, well proven psychological tool for modifying athletes’ behavior in a specific direction. It is, unfortunately, easier and more common for coaches/instructors to point out gymnasts’ mistakes. It should be just as easy for coaches/instructors to see what gymnasts are doing right. By praising gymnasts, coaches/instructors are able to select those things about their gymnastic habits and performance that you want them to keep and build upon. Coaching in a positive manner and building up gymnasts by praising what they do well, recognizing when they make a good effort, rewarding their good behavior and complimenting their good performances builds their confidence. If coaches spend more time catching and acknowledging what gymnasts do right, they will find gymnasts make even faster progress and have more confidence. #12 – Freedom to Make Mistakes Negative coaching puts too much emphasis on gymnasts trying to avoid making errors or mistakes. This can cause gymnasts to become frozen in one spot - afraid to move for fear of making some unknown mistake and then being severely criticized for it. Gymnasts need to know they are allowed to make mistakes and that making mistakes is a normal part of the learning process. Of course, gymnasts need to avoid making the same mistake over and over again. But progress can only result from change and gymnasts must feel free to make changes (and sometimes mistakes) so they can progress in the sport. #13 – Understanding Their True Place in the World and In the Sport Team gymnasts are the best gymnasts in their own gym and the best gymnasts in the sport. The best gymnasts in the world are on a gymnastics team somewhere. Just by virtue of having made the team or being chosen to be on the team, puts team gymnasts in the top one percent of gymnasts. Coaches should make sure their gymnasts understand how special they are, just to be talented enough to make the team. Any further gymnastics awards and accolades they win, just makes them that much more special. Knowing their true position in the sport should give team gymnasts confidence. #14 – Coaches Who Accept Responsibility Coaches who take responsibility for their gymnasts’ performance – and for the program that has produced them, are more highly respected and have more successful programs. Placing blame by calling gymnasts lazy after a performance that isn’t quite up to par or problems that arise in the gym is wrong and bad. All programs have sub-par performances – as do individual gymnasts – no one or no program is perfect. But the character of a coach who would pin blame of any sort of his gymnasts is just asking for trouble. This loses the coach/instructor any respect from the gymnasts that he may have earned and dashes their trust in him as someone who supports them emotionally. In addition, this type of behavior from their “leader” totally deflates their confidence in themselves, their group and the program that they belong to. #15 – Positive Expectations Psychological experimentation has proven that young children will rise (or fall) to the level of expectations of their instructors and coaches. Gymnasts are no different than the young children in the noted psychological experimentation. Prejudging gymnasts’ abilities or chances of success in any negative way, will result in gymnasts living down to those lower expectations.