Top Five Ways to Build Trust with Parents of Your Athletes

I want to discuss how important it is to build trust in your athletes and their parents. I train only high school and college athletes, so I always deal with the parents. Your approach to your gym and training your athletes will have a huge effect on the parents and their decision making. You must build trust with the families to ensure them that they’re making the right decision by sending their child to train at your gym. I didn’t sit down and brainstorm this approach. This came through trial and error and discussions with other strength coaches.



Here is my typical approach with parents and a new athlete. This is based on an athlete who has passed the initial trial workout. 1. Set up a time for parents and athletes to visit the gym.

• Parents need to see what you offer and why you’re different.
• I typically leave a 30-minute window to meet with parents.
• Talk briefly about your gym and let parents ask questions.

  2. Display your packet (I show my Daman’s Strength Training packet).

• The packet should include a waiver, weekly expectations, diet plan, and a copy of the warm up.
• I always have the athlete’s name on the folder.
• I briefly discuss everything in the folder to the parents.
• Discuss how what you’re doing is adding value to your program.

3. Present your portfolio.

• Really grab the attention of the parents through your leg work.
• Your portfolio should have articles you’ve written, newspaper articles about your gym, parent/athlete testimonials, training pictures, success stories, and before and after pictures of your athletes.

Here’s the before and after picture on the first page of my portfolio.

After: 178 lbs

Before: 161 lbs

4. Collect contact information such as an email address and cell phone number.

• Depending on the athlete’s number one sport, I target email three separate attachments.
• I send out a copy of my DST newsletter, a success story, and the terms of membership at my facility. For example, if I was targeting a football player, the newsletter would feature a football player as the athlete of the month. It would include a picture of the athlete, an article about his accomplishments, and a three-minute highlight of his training. The success story would discuss what the athlete has accomplished including his strength and muscle gains and before and after pictures. In my terms of membership, I never hide my prices.

5. Follow up with the parents.

• After I send out an email, I call the following day.
• I thank them for coming to the gym and ask if they’ve received my email.
• I ask if they have any additional questions (99 percent of the time they do).

This is how you start building trust within your program. These five steps have worked great for my gym. It also gives me an inside look of the type of family I will be working with. Your gym should be like a second home for your athletes. You want them to become friends, exchange cell phone numbers, become friends on Facebook, and learn to push each other in the gym. Work to build a family atmosphere. You will have these athletes for a long time! Check out our athletes at the end of the summer picnic at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.