Just Got It, Now It's Gone

The hyperflex (Cobra) bag you see here in this photo is no more.  I was standing over the ruins of it just several hours ago.

BJ and Darlene came in for the teen boxing class, and it looked like Kody wasn't going to make it in.  But Kody always comes in late, usually riding his bike into the gym, which he did.  When Kody began interfering with BJ and Darlene's workouts, I told him to stop and go do his.  Kody got on the hyperflex bag, bending it way further than it normally is supposed to go.  "I just got that bag, Kody.  If it comes up broken, trust me -- it won't be replaced," I warned.

I was helping Darlene on the speed bag, but I could hear Kody hitting the hyperflex bag.  Then I heard something pop and hit the floor.  I noticed Kody quickly moving away from the bag.  A check of the bag revealed that one of the knobs used to adjust the height had been broken.  When I partially dismantled the bag to check for further damage, the pole on the inside was completely broken in half.  There was nothing I could do to repair it.

"Thanks for breaking the bag, Kody," I said sarcastically.  "I didn't break it.  I was only exercising on it," he claimed, not realizing that I saw him leaving the scene of the crime.  "Kody, you were the last one on it.  Now no one can use it anymore," I shot back.  I was pissed, but I kept calm on the outside.  Only one working hyperflex bag is left in the gym now.  I had a feeling that I should not have put both of those bags out on the floor.  Unfortunately, I expected that kids would respect the equipment.  I made a misjudgment.

My boss is not going to be happy that bag is broken, either.  Alexis suggested that we could send the bag back for a replacement, but I doubt that's going to be an option.  To be honest, I didn't want the hyperflex bags; I didn't ask for them.  They were ordered for the gym, and I accepted them when they arrived.  But now I know that a) I need to be in on all decisions about what equipment goes into the gym, and b) I need to make sure the equipment that is ordered is extremely hard for the kids to break.