Twisters Staff Handbook

About Us: Angie Fritsch and Danielle Johnston have been coaching more than 17 years. After several years teaching cheerleading, dance and tumbling at Whiteman Air Force Base Youth Center and Warrensburg Community Center, Angie and Danielle, along with their husbands, Dustin Fritsch and Justin Johnston, decided to open Twister Sports. We provide athletic and character education for more than 600 athletes representing approximately a 50-mile radius in the mid-Missouri area. In 2015, Twister Sports was named Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year, and the gym has been featured in many trade magazines for its innovative approach to tumbling and rapid expansion. Our systems and methods have allowed us to grow quickly while maintaining a solid customer base. 

Our Staff: Our staff is comprised of fitness educators with a variety of backgrounds, qualifications and certifications. Some have cheered and tumbled locally as competitive athletes while others have backgrounds in education, family counseling, corporate fitness and other after-school activities and sports. All of our coaches are required to constantly maintain and increase their education to provide safe, quality sports and character education to our clients. While no two children are alike, each of our staff members also provide a variety of experiences and coaches styles. Our clients have a very low turnover rate, and our programs are continuing to expand. Many of our coaches, now management, program directors or lead instructors, have been on staff for several years.

Staff Training: Every staff member will complete an Orientation sometime throughout his or her training. The orientation will go over history of the gym, organization chart and staff policies. An Introductory Shift will give the new staff member exposure to every area of the gym, to include: Front desk, door greeter, observation of every program in the gym, cleaning and sanitation, and introduction to coaching. During your Introductory Shift, you will also watch a series of in-house training videos that will show you what proper Beginner/Intermediate skills should look like. You will then accomplish approximately four Shadowing shifts to observe our style of teaching, time-management practices and flow of classes/lobby. You will be assigned a trainer during each shift, who will be responsible for explaining how the classes will run and what he or she is doing throughout the shift. At the end of your final shift of shadowing, you will complete a Written Pre-Test and go over the test with the training manager. The test will establish what you know, and what you will still need to learn to pass the final written and hands on tests. You will then complete up to four shift of Hands-On Training. During these shifts, you will use what you learned in shadowing, with a coach by your side to teach you how to run a class and spot skills. Following the fourth shift of hands on training, you will complete a Final Written Test. This test will encompass all of the knowledge you learned at orientation and throughout your training. You will not receive help on this test, and it must be passed in order to move on to the hands on test. The final step of your training will include a Hands On Spotting Test. During this test, you will work with the training manager to demonstrate and explain how you will spot each skill. By this point in your training, you should be able to run the entire class alone with excellent time management, organization, safety and class engagement.  

Reviews and Feedback:  You will receive an employee performance feedback report from the training manager at the end of your first 90 days. During this time, he or she will recommend additional training, potential certifications and set goals by which you can work toward pay increases. Trainees are paid minimum wage until their training is complete.