All-Star Confessions Of A Cheer Coach

[Official OWECheer]

For the coaches on the board (scholastic, all-star, and other) is there anything that you've experienced as a coach that no one told you would be a part of your job? In other words, what are some of the things that no one tells you about being a cheer coach?

 

[DaniV]

How much work/planning/obsessing about cheer I do outside of the gym. If I have down time, I'm watching videos and dreaming of changes to the routine or planning for next year.

 

[MzLyn23]

The attachment you form to your entire team, program etc... You become a second mom/dad and begin to stress not just the practice routine or comp but how are grades etc "how are YOU?" With cheer to the side.... This makes saying goodbye even HARDER!


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[KPep]

That I'd have to teach reading comprehension to teenagers. -_-

I ALWAYS get questions about something that was already written on the information sheet! JUST READ THE PAPER!!!!

 

[VTX]

That I'd have to teaching reading comprehension to teenagers. -_-

I ALWAYS get questions about something that was already written on the information sheet! JUST READ THE PAPER!!!!

To teenagers and to parents[emoji17]

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[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

That you will be just about to fall asleep and formation/pyramid ideas will just pop into your head. At 11pm.

That your husband will know all the cheers on your cheer list andbe able to tell when someone is off on a stunt/jump/etc. because you talk about it all the time.

That the moment you post a tryout list online or in person is the most nerve-wracking moment ever.

The moment your phone rings after you post the list is the second most nerve-wracking moment ever.

That you are more nervous than the girls on tryout day because you're scoring and you hold someone's school cheer future in their hands.

That they become your kids on some level. I've cried with kids as they told me their mom has a terminal illness/grandma died/you name it.

That the time you spend with them at camp will make you want to pull your hair out while simultaneously being so proud of them for pulling it together.

That you'll cry over things like that girl who was blocked on her BHS for a whole year finally throwing it.

 

[Emily]

That you have to deal with tons of crazy parents.

 

[mollymags]

That there'd be nights where I couldn't sleep because I was so worried about certain routine elements. My j2 struggled with their pyramid SO HARD prior to competing and I'd wake up in a cold sweat over it.

That no matter how confident I feel in my athletes, the nervous feeling as they walk on the floor would be more than I ever felt as a competitor. I prayed for the first time in YEARS as one of my teams took the floor in Indy last month.

How amazing it would feel to see the looks on my athletes faces when they were called for first place, grand champs, or specialty awards, and how amazing it is to see a shy child come out of their shell and give a Beyoncé level diva performance for the first time.

Or that my biggest heartbreaks would be seeing a child that fell or touched down come off the floor after a routine and start sobbing because they felt so devastated. I always start crying when I'm hugging and consoling them because it's so painful to see them feel like that. But when I see them come off the floor in happy tears the next day because they hit beautifully, I start crying tears of joy with them and it's the best feeling!

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I remember when I first started, I always thought about the girls who weren't making it and how I was about to give them their first taste of rejection because they'd made every team they'd ever tried out for since 6th grade.

Made me nervous.

 

[Michael White]

As a first time coach, realizing that even when you prepare them to the best of your ability, a 1st place (or even top half finish) isn't guaranteed! That was probably the hardest realization I had to make.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

As a first time coach, realizing that even when you prepare them to the best of your ability, a 1st place (or even top half finish) isn't guaranteed! That was probably the hardest realization I had to make.

Yes! You can put your best routine out there, hit everything perfectly, and still come home 3rd, 4th, etc.

So much depends on what everyone else in the division puts out there/hits that day.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

See also: Swallowing the "My kids didn't bring it today and other teams were legitimately better" pill.

You know, the days when they don't fight for their stunts, touch down in tumbling, drop simple things like center preps (when everyone else is hitting) and you know they don't deserve to win. Or even place top half. And you know it.

Still hard. Then you have to watch them take a loss, knowing that it needs to happen for them to see that some things need improvement.

 

[Jule]

How amazing it would feel to see the looks on my athletes faces when they were called for first place, grand champs, or specialty awards,

This! I still get teary eyed, when I watch the video from our first comp and see how the girls turn their heads to look at me, when second place was announced and they knew, they had won.

(at 2:27 min)

 

[_MRB]

Well I'm an athlete, but I've co-coached high schoolers.... The one thing that bothered me was when I was told "they don't have basic stunting skills, but we have a competition coming up soon" It was hard teaching high schoolers to do simple basing and they still couldn't get it after a while, especially with comp coming closer and closer to date. Also they had pretty bad attitudes but we got through it, they hit and received third place.... although I still feel as though the judges were a little biased but whatever.

 

[cheerisloving]

That I'd have to teach reading comprehension to teenagers. -_-

I ALWAYS get questions about something that was already written on the information sheet! JUST READ THE PAPER!!!!

As an athlete who actually opened + read my coaches when I received them and then had to tell teammates who didn't read them to do so when they asked questions answered in said email.I sympathize.

The attachment you form to your entire team, program etc... You become a second mom/dad and begin to stress not just the practice routine or comp but how are grades etc "how are YOU?" With cheer to the side.... This makes saying goodbye even HARDER!

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My HS coach/team is probably the coach I've been closest to throughout my years and it feels like home whenever I come in to volunteer or supervise an activity for her. A woman with three kids and a full time job actually took the time to care about our personal lives, something that my young 22 year old coach never did.