All-Star Trends You Want To See Die For Next Season

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but I have noticed this especially over the past few days. I enjoy seeing teams posting pre-comp season videos. I think they are fun and an exciting way to show everyone your skills when they otherwise wouldn't be seeing them. What I have noticed that I hate are the comments that often go with these videos. The comments like "Blank Team is going to DESTROY everybody this season" or "get ready everybody, Blank Team are going to kick a**". Especially comments about worlds such as "Blank Team is snatching those rings, don't even try". These are all very real comments that I have seen on social media over the past 3 days. What bothers me is that routines aren't made, stunts aren't created, and no one has gotten a single score from the season yet. Also, worlds is in 11 months. I understand that these athletes (and coaches) are just trying to hype up their team for the season but it is so annoying to me when they automatically say that the team is going to win every comp and worlds based on the skills at the first 2 practices, especially when it is in a rude way towards other teams.

I just keep seeing more and more athletes going all over the country to be on one of the super mega gyms. Parents not thinking twice about taking a young kid out of school and just picking up and moving across the country so their little princess/prince can be on their dream team. would love for that trend to die. along the same lines of that there are so many kids with such a great sense of entitlement & parents giving into it.

coach12 said:

I just keep seeing more and more athletes going all over the country to be on one of the super mega gyms. Parents not thinking twice about taking a young kid out of school and just picking up and moving across the country so their little princess/prince can be on their dream team. would love for that trend to die. along the same lines of that there are so many kids with such a great sense of entitlement & parents giving into it.

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I don't mind this, as long as it's done properly. Elite athletes in other sports have to travel far and wide for appropriate teams. It's not right for everyone, but it's not also wrong for everyone. Sometimes an appropriate team doesn't exist in a person's home state. I'm from Maine (a state with no real competitive Worlds teams)--and if I had a double full or a standing full and an offer to be on Senior Elite or WCSS, I'd be gone in a heartbeat. Can you really blame me? What's the point of propping up a team that should be level 4 or level 5R and not having a chance to fully thrive as an athlete?

(Or, alternatively, if I were a gymnast and had to leave my gym for level 10--because most gyms do not compete at that level. Should I just stay at level 9 out of "loyalty" to my home gym instead of embrace my full potential?)

gofriars610 said:

I don't mind this, as long as it's done properly. Elite athletes in other sports have to travel far and wide for appropriate teams. It's not right for everyone, but it's not also wrong for everyone. Sometimes an appropriate team doesn't exist in a person's home state. I'm from Maine (a state with no real competitive Worlds teams)--and if I had a double full or a standing full and an offer to be on Senior Elite or WCSS, I'd be gone in a heartbeat. Can you really blame me? What's the point of propping up a team that should be level 4 or level 5R and not having a chance to fully thrive as an athlete?

(Or, alternatively, if I were a gymnast and had to leave my gym for level 10--because most gyms do not compete at that level. Should I just stay at level 9 out of "loyalty" to my home gym instead of embrace my full potential?)

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You could enter as individual?

dat.jpp said:

You could enter as individual?

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You still wouldn't have anyone to compete against. Individuals and groups are not common at all, let alone at level 5.

But WHY? If I'm a level 5 athlete, is my desire for a ring more important than my friends, family and school? Is my life complete if I get to to make it to finals?

This trend is setting kids up for failure in so many ways.

CoachTamara said:

But WHY? If I'm a level 5 athlete, is my desire for a ring more important than my friends, family and school? Is my life complete if I get to to make it to finals?

This trend is setting kids up for failure in so many ways.

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I think that kids that move across the country arent making this decision lightly. They also arent disowning their families or friends. These kids are all still in school, just maybe online or at a new school. These kids are putting an emphasis on their goals and making the appropriate steps to reach them. They have decided that their priority is cheer. That doesnt mean that the other categories arent also very important to them. I think that this important of a decision teaches athletes dedication, passion and the value of commitment. If some kids are fine doing rec at the local YMCA, and some athletes move around the world to do what they love, that is okay by me.

CoachTamara said:

But WHY? If I'm a level 5 athlete, is my desire for a ring more important than my friends, family and school? Is my life complete if I get to to make it to finals?

This trend is setting kids up for failure in so many ways.

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Why should an athlete stay at a gym that can't provide a level-appropriate team?

This whole argument about "LOYALTY"....

CoachTamara said:

But WHY? If I'm a level 5 athlete, is my desire for a ring more important than my friends, family and school? Is my life complete if I get to to make it to finals?

This trend is setting kids up for failure in so many ways.

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Disclaimer: My kid is only level 2 and I in no way would consider a move at this level.

If I had a kid that was an elite athlete, this sport was their passion, then yes if I could make a move happen I would. Gymnasts and figure skaters do it ALL THE TIME to train with a particular coach/ gym and everyone is all "what amazing dedication to the sport" and "what an great parent to do that for their kid" but cheerleaders get side eyed for doing the same. All of these are amateur sports. They aren't getting paid. Why is moving to allow a kid to peruse a Worlds dream any different than moving for an Olympic dream?

I hate when people put down others for not having "loyalty" to a gym, like said above. I will admit, it is nice to have a family and develop a connection with a gym. However, to my family and I, a cheer gym is a business. My parents are paying their own money to get a 'product' in return. That product is solid routines, good coaches, and happy athletes. Once a gym no longer fits those needs, I find it perfectly fine to move on. I support athletes who are considered "gym hoppers" because they are obviously moving for a reason. I am personally on my third and final gym. First one was moved to a facility that was too far, second gym was drama filled and simply could not compete or practice at the high-octane level that I was interested in. I am absolutely in love and ride or die for my current program. Sometimes it takes a while to find a gym that is a perfect fit. As long as no one is abandoning a team mid-season, I think it is okay.

cheer25mom said:

Disclaimer: My kid is only level 2 and I in no way would consider a move at this level.

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Don't say "only level 2".... Your kid worked hard to achieve that backhandspring.

As easy it is to compare our sport to gymnastics and figure skating cheer doesn't offer the same amount of exposure, fame, money, oppourtunity or celebrity that those sports at even most elite levels . They are hundreds of 19 year old world champions working at a local H&M simply because our sport doesn't have a long career expectancy. As hard as some of our athletes work our sport still doesn't truly matter to the outside world which makes the uprooting across the country for a season seem so silly in my mind.

Boughetto said:

Don't say "only level 2".... Your kid worked hard to achieve that backhandspring.

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Yes she did, and is now working hard to get her tuck. She will likely never be a world's caliber athlete and we are realistic about that, but thanks for acknowledging that lower level athletes DO work hard too!

I think some coaches need to step back a realize kids don't "owe" the gym or the coach anything. Coaches are upset because a kid they trained from the ground up took their skills elsewhere. That kid and that family already paid the price for those years of training, in the form of compensation to the gym (unless of course you scholarshipped them, then that's on you.) They don't then also owe you by ONLY competing under your name until they go to college. They are not indebted to finish their careers there. Of course finishing out the season is the right thing to do for your team, but after that families and kids want (and NEED) to choose what's right for them. Just as I can choose a new nail salon, hair salon, body shop, car wash, doctor's office, etc. They provide me with a service that I pay for, and if I set fit to head elsewhere I'm allowed.

I'm not here to completely brush aside the idea of "loyalty", there is something to be said for it. How often we sometimes forget that cheer is a business. What I'm seeing is a lot of bitter coaches.

All that being said, I'm not a big fan of shipping kids across the country at 15 for cheer. Particularly from one well known level 5 to another. But, it's not my family and not my place to decide what's right for them. If you think it's wrong, don't let your kid do it. Simple as that.