The St. James facility upkeep & safety

[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.

[Anonymous]

The Club Hockey program is really good. Great coaches and pretty nice families. A much better hockey program than some of the others in the area. They really focus on player development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve only ever been for swim practice and meets as part of a non-St. James club, so there’s always a parent there the whole time, but the security thing seems major to me. If I were the parent of a teen girl athlete in particular, I’d be really uncomfortable with random adult men being able to watch, say, her gymnastics or volleyball practice at close range.

I don't get this. What stops anyone from watching any practices on fields in the middle of cities? Which is where most practices occur, right? Why the outsized fear of sexual predators?

[Anonymous]

The Academy charges $35k for online public school with a couple hours of training. Like someone said, there is nothing special about it. They may say they are trying to be like an IMG, trying being the key word. Not to mention anyone could walk in and mix in with the students in bathrooms, locker rooms, public areas.

[Anonymous]

the academy is not my thing but I see why it appeals to families- it is not like FCPS or FCPS coaches are worth anything. if you have a talented athlete in FCPS- you have a whole system working against you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve only ever been for swim practice and meets as part of a non-St. James club, so there’s always a parent there the whole time, but the security thing seems major to me. If I were the parent of a teen girl athlete in particular, I’d be really uncomfortable with random adult men being able to watch, say, her gymnastics or volleyball practice at close range.

I don't get this. What stops anyone from watching any practices on fields in the middle of cities? Which is where most practices occur, right? Why the outsized fear of sexual predators?

Yeah I grew up doing my sport at a large university rec center building. The way all these big buildings are set up there are basically observation areas overlooking where kids practice, because that’s the setup you need when there are competitions where spectators come watch. You can’t really prevent someone who is a creep from taking advantage of that setup unfortunately. Even if only members are allowed/need to sign in at a front desk, one of the members can just as easily be a creep as some random non member.