The St. James facility upkeep & safety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty sexy. OP you’re a snob

Hah! Hardly. I’ll take bare-bones and affordable over $$$ “luxury” that smells like old grease and sweaty hockey gear 😂

[Anonymous]

It was a beautiful facility when it opened. They have those two gorgeous rinks and tried to start a high-level figure skating program, recruited well known coaches, etc. - and then promptly crushed everything with numerous bad decisions, even before COVID hit. I got the impression they did the same with their gymnastics and dance programs.

The founders were football players, and I am not convinced they knew anything about the other sports, or knew who to listen to to learn and make decisions about the other sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was a beautiful facility when it opened. They have those two gorgeous rinks and tried to start a high-level figure skating program, recruited well known coaches, etc. - and then promptly crushed everything with numerous bad decisions, even before COVID hit. I got the impression they did the same with their gymnastics and dance programs.

The founders were football players, and I am not convinced they knew anything about the other sports, or knew who to listen to to learn and make decisions about the other sports.

Didn't the founders recently create a sports-focused secondary school inspired by IMG in Florida? I believe it's also called St. James or St. James High School. Facilities would have to be in top-notch shape to compete with the likes of IMG Academy however.

[Anonymous]

My son ( older teen) plays squash at the St. James and I like the facility. They also just brought in a world renown squash coach.
I hear your concern regarding the safety issue but most departments within STJ have their own separate front desk. So while no one checks if we are members when we come in upstairs, the front desk at the squash / Golf house do. The gym also has front desk staff checking memberships at the entrance. Having said that, if I had a young daughter, I’d make sure she never goes to the bathroom alone , as anyone can get in to the common areas.

[Anonymous]

I love that facility. Except the parking. That sucks.

[Anonymous]

Yep, parking sucks. Wish they built a parking deck to accommodate everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was a beautiful facility when it opened. They have those two gorgeous rinks and tried to start a high-level figure skating program, recruited well known coaches, etc. - and then promptly crushed everything with numerous bad decisions, even before COVID hit. I got the impression they did the same with their gymnastics and dance programs.

The founders were football players, and I am not convinced they knew anything about the other sports, or knew who to listen to to learn and make decisions about the other sports.

Didn't the founders recently create a sports-focused secondary school inspired by IMG in Florida? I believe it's also called St. James or St. James High School. Facilities would have to be in top-notch shape to compete with the likes of IMG Academy however.

For their "academy" you basically do online classes at St. James and train there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone I know who left a neighborhood league or travel club for St. James ended up going back to an established organization. Maybe it was one travel team to another with St. James in between, maybe it was trying St. James for a house league or some sort and then moving to a youth club, but nobody in my area sticks with it.

I knew people who did their swim team for the drop-in, leave-whenever policy, but I hear they also got rid of that.

The only people I know who are happy with it are people coming in for a tournament indoors in the winter from a sport (ex: lacrosse) where they are on another team.

+1

We've been there for gymnastics meets that were hosted by a non-St James team and it was great. Trying out a few of their camps was the opposite, although that had more to do with the coaching and organization than the facility. Maybe I was just too annoyed to notice anything else though lol.

I hated that gymnastics meet. The parking oh you lowly non members park here lining the roadways.
The cost to watch my kid was way too high. The views of the equipment was terrible. My kids had to go to the bathroom, the time to get there, wait in line, and get back she almost missed an event.

Yeah, the views weren't great. I guess I was comparing it to some of the other venues we've been to, like the state fair grounds one year where you could still see bits of hay on the floor from the last cattle auction or whatever they'd held there last. Or the other time where there was a gun show going on in the same building and all the gymnasts were checking in on the other side of the lobby from the NRA members. lol Compared to those, The St. James is a palace!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone I know who left a neighborhood league or travel club for St. James ended up going back to an established organization. Maybe it was one travel team to another with St. James in between, maybe it was trying St. James for a house league or some sort and then moving to a youth club, but nobody in my area sticks with it.

I knew people who did their swim team for the drop-in, leave-whenever policy, but I hear they also got rid of that.

The only people I know who are happy with it are people coming in for a tournament indoors in the winter from a sport (ex: lacrosse) where they are on another team.

+1

We've been there for gymnastics meets that were hosted by a non-St James team and it was great. Trying out a few of their camps was the opposite, although that had more to do with the coaching and organization than the facility. Maybe I was just too annoyed to notice anything else though lol.

I hated that gymnastics meet. The parking oh you lowly non members park here lining the roadways.
The cost to watch my kid was way too high. The views of the equipment was terrible. My kids had to go to the bathroom, the time to get there, wait in line, and get back she almost missed an event.

Yeah, the views weren't great. I guess I was comparing it to some of the other venues we've been to, like the state fair grounds one year where you could still see bits of hay on the floor from the last cattle auction or whatever they'd held there last. Or the other time where there was a gun show going on in the same building and all the gymnasts were checking in on the other side of the lobby from the NRA members. lol Compared to those, The St. James is a palace!

I think we must go to alot of the same events 🤣. Minus all the trucks in the parking lot I really like the make a wish competition. But yes two years in a row gun show the same weekend. The hosts do a good job. It probably helps that my daughter has won a sweatshirt both times we went. I might be biased when we go to an in house comp with terrible views I'm not paying over 30 dollars to get in on top of the comp fee (which i recall being a little higher than others to begin with). So if I'm paying that much to attend I want a little better of an experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was a beautiful facility when it opened. They have those two gorgeous rinks and tried to start a high-level figure skating program, recruited well known coaches, etc. - and then promptly crushed everything with numerous bad decisions, even before COVID hit. I got the impression they did the same with their gymnastics and dance programs.

The founders were football players, and I am not convinced they knew anything about the other sports, or knew who to listen to to learn and make decisions about the other sports.

Didn't the founders recently create a sports-focused secondary school inspired by IMG in Florida? I believe it's also called St. James or St. James High School. Facilities would have to be in top-notch shape to compete with the likes of IMG Academy however.

Yes, the St. James Academy - but as PP mentioned, it's just doing Virginia's online high school curriculum from the St. James during the day. They've moved some offices (Sales, Member Support) to make space for Academy kids to work/gather but facility-wise, it's nowhere near an IMG.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I don't pay close enough attention but I have no issues with the facility other than the parking. I like it when we have swim meets or other sport practice there. We are not on any of the SJ teams, but other teams that rent the space.

I think it smells like McDonalds because everyone grabs McD on the way instead of paying for the over prices crappy food they sell on site.

I do think that some things like the overall management of programs is pretty horrendous. I emailed to ask about a sports program and never heard back. Filled out something else on-line and only received a marketing phone call but no info on the program i asked about. When I called to talk to someone they were useless. So i can see thy their teams don't do well or recruit decent kids.

I am not overly concerned about security or random people watching my kid practice. There could be a parent of another kid who is there to gawk at your kid. You really can't control that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I don't pay close enough attention but I have no issues with the facility other than the parking. I like it when we have swim meets or other sport practice there. We are not on any of the SJ teams, but other teams that rent the space.

I think it smells like McDonalds because everyone grabs McD on the way instead of paying for the over prices crappy food they sell on site.

I do think that some things like the overall management of programs is pretty horrendous. I emailed to ask about a sports program and never heard back. Filled out something else on-line and only received a marketing phone call but no info on the program i asked about. When I called to talk to someone they were useless. So i can see thy their teams don't do well or recruit decent kids.

I am not overly concerned about security or random people watching my kid practice. There could be a parent of another kid who is there to gawk at your kid. You really can't control that.

Buttocks why

[Anonymous]

Clearly a person who has zero experience with hockey designed the rinks/locker rooms. You have to walk a mile to get to the rink including down a large flight of stairs. This is absolutely ridiculous for players carrying large heavy bags. The locker rooms are narrow and tiny—very hard to fit a team of kids in there at the same time (especially if you have parents helping them dress) and next to impossible to fit a team of adults. The acoustics are awful and you can clearly hear the whistles from the other ice sheet. They did move the scoreboards from directly over the bench but it’s just not good. And yes, the parking is not enough to accommodate the number of people when there is a tournament happening (aka all the time).

[Anonymous]

We went last winter for the Shots Up basketball league and thought it was really nice. It’s much more comfortable than any other basketball facility we have been to. It does seem extremely expensive to maintain so I can see that it could get run down really quickly. I have no idea how they are making money if organizations like Shots Up can afford to regularly rent the facilities there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was a beautiful facility when it opened. They have those two gorgeous rinks and tried to start a high-level figure skating program, recruited well known coaches, etc. - and then promptly crushed everything with numerous bad decisions, even before COVID hit. I got the impression they did the same with their gymnastics and dance programs.

The founders were football players, and I am not convinced they knew anything about the other sports, or knew who to listen to to learn and make decisions about the other sports.

Didn't the founders recently create a sports-focused secondary school inspired by IMG in Florida? I believe it's also called St. James or St. James High School. Facilities would have to be in top-notch shape to compete with the likes of IMG Academy however.

Yes, the St. James Academy - but as PP mentioned, it's just doing Virginia's online high school curriculum from the St. James during the day. They've moved some offices (Sales, Member Support) to make space for Academy kids to work/gather but facility-wise, it's nowhere near an IMG.

What makes IMG special isn't just their facilities but things like their connections to top college football/basketball programs, etc.

But I think IMG just sold to private equity, so who knows if it will stay at the same level.