All-Star Favoritism?

[garretttt]

They are the most prestigious team at rays though which I would consider a gym "favorite". I only use that word for the lack of a better one. But I agree, there is a difference between gym and fan favorite.

not really...the gym owner doesnt even coach orange. each team there is treated as equal as the next. whenever you say gym favorite, it comes off as thats the coaches favorite team which isnt the case.

 

[AllHeartxo3]

not really...the gym owner doesnt even coach orange. each team there is treated as equal as the next. whenever you say gym favorite, it comes off as thats the coaches favorite team which isnt the case.

I'm not saying anything bad about rays and orange, but it's a little hard to believe that team who has won so many worlds titles and consecutively at that is not looked upon a little higher than the other teams. I may be completely wrong here, because if this is true then I applaud rays for keeping that equal playing field.

 

[garretttt]

I'm not saying anything bad about rays and orange, but it's a little hard to believe that team who has won so many worlds titles and consecutively at that is not looked upon a little higher than the other teams. I may be completely wrong here, because if this is true then I applaud rays for keeping that equal playing field.

well orange gets more negative attention then positive....

 

[AllHeartxo3]

well orange gets more negative attention then positive....

Really?

 

[topxofxmyxgame]

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with worlds, it's something much bigger than that. Yes some of those teams have won "Worlds" however "Worlds" is still in it's infancy in our sport. The team that one would consider favorites and those that have been previously mentioned held this spot way before worlds even existed.

 

[Deleted member 11199]

Really?

yeah i have some friends that have first hand negative things to say about orange and some of the girls on stars

 

[AllHeartxo3]

yeah i have some friends that have first hand negative things to say about orange and some of the girls on stars

I never really knew. I'm not one of those people who read the stories of the experiences people have had with the different teams.

 

[newcheerdad]

We all know that each gym has their golden team. That team that is more special than the others or receives special treatment from the cheer world.

You have Shooting Stars, the prized possession of WC, Senior Elite is probably the only team that most Cheer Extreme fans know, Orange is the top dog at Rays, and many others. I could go on and on about all the gyms who have that one special team.

My question is, what makes that team so much more special than all of the other teams of the same level at that gym? Why are they placed up there so high when the other teams are just as good if not better? I've never understood this so I'm hoping that someone can give me and educated and unbiased answer.

*I also want to say that I don't mean to call out the big names of cheer, I can list more if you'd like

Here's the question - are these teams perceived to be better, or are they actually better than other teams in their gym?

I'm not sure if I'm breaking the fourth wall here, but as someone who played competitive soccer, I know that even at the highest competitive levels that are delineations between the very good and the great. Between the kid who might get a D-II scholarship offer and the kid who has a legit chance of playing professionally. To most people, they'd both be great soccer players, but to the trained eye the future pro has skills that some guy who now posts on cheerleading boards doesn't have.

I don't know if Odyssey is as good, or better than, Shooting Stars. But my guess is that Shooting Stars is the team that the majority of elite athletes at that gym want to be on, and thus is more likely to have more talent. Does that mean that Odyssey, or Suns, or any other team at WC isn't special? Of course not.

I really don't believe that having that "special" team that everyone strives to be on is a bad thing. Lots of sports have those teams, and in my experience it gets everyone to "up their game" . The challenge is to make sure that the ones that make the top team handle themselves in the right way, and for the coaches to make sure that kids on the other teams get the quality instruction and support that they need.

 

[cheerfan27]

I'm not saying anything bad about rays and orange, but it's a little hard to believe that team who has won so many worlds titles and consecutively at that is not looked upon a little higher than the other teams. I may be completely wrong here, because if this is true then I applaud rays for keeping that equal playing field.

You're right. No one wants to come out and say it of course. Whatever you want to call it there are "elite" teams at every gym but it wouldn't be good business to say it. My favorite Rays team is Smoke, their routines are always very entertaining and I love their music.

 

[mommy2mygirls]

I really don't believe that having that "special" team that everyone strives to be on is a bad thing. Lots of sports have those teams, and in my experience it gets everyone to "up their game" . The challenge is to make sure that the ones that make the top team handle themselves in the right way, and for the coaches to make sure that kids on the other teams get the quality instruction and support that they need.

I personally think you hit the nail on the head. It can be a great motivator for kids or disheartening depending on the way the coaches/team members handle themselves. It is a sad thing when kids get to those levels and turn into snobby/bratty know it alls with no time for those "below" them.

 

[lilmonstermaker]

Alot of times the emphasis is put on the senior teams, even if they are not level 5 sometimes at the cost of the younger teams. I talked to the owner of CPs old gym about this. It is great to see that ALL gyms aren't like this, but many are. As a parent, it is really hard to watch your coaches get pulled to work with the older kids and junior coaches assigned to "play games" with the younger kids. We can play games at home...

 

[cheeeeer93]

Alot of times the emphasis is put on the senior teams, even if they are not level 5 sometimes at the cost of the younger teams. I talked to the owner of CPs old gym about this. It is great to see that ALL gyms aren't like this, but many are. As a parent, it is really hard to watch your coaches get pulled to work with the older kids and junior coaches assigned to "play games" with the younger kids. We can play games at home...

I haven't seen anything to that extent but I will say that senior aged athletes have paid their dues (and sometimes pay more expensive gym fees) so they had kind of earned their way to getting more attention. It's probably more that then favortism.

 

[Nothanks]

I haven't seen anything to that extent but I will say that senior aged athletes have paid their dues (and sometimes pay more expensive gym fees) so they had kind of earned their way to getting more attention. It's probably more that then favortism.

or the fact that the younger girls have a shorter attention span and physically can't push themselves as long or as hard as the senior girls. of course the 18 year olds perfecting layouts, fulls, standing tucks, toe backs, etc. need a more veteran coach than the ones that only know how to spot basic elements. plus the little kids need to have it kept "fun" for them, or they'll lose interest. a game here and there is their way of keeping it fun. I know when i coached tinys, if they had a very good practice, we spent the last 10 minutes playing a game as their reward for working so hard and perfecting the part of the routine we were working on. 4, 5, 6, 7, even 8 years old generally don't have the discipline for it to be "all work and no play".

besides, if a 19-20 year old "junior" coach is coaching a group of girls that are 17, 18 and 19, are they really going to take her as seriously as the 30-40 something coach who has been in the industry longer?

 

[lilmonstermaker]

Trust me, I coached tinys and minis, I understand games at the end of practice or placed into the practice as breaks...I am talking about an hour and a half of games when a coach is pulled to work on another team. If you need to cancel a practice to accommodate another team I'm not saying I will be happy with it, but I will understand that more than to drive great distances (in some cases) for 2 hours of games when your CP is also competing that weekend

 

[Nothanks]

Trust me, I coached tinys and minis, I understand games at the end of practice or placed into the practice as breaks...I am talking about an hour and a half of games when a coach is pulled to work on another team. If you need to cancel a practice to accommodate another team I'm not saying I will be happy with it, but I will understand that more than to drive great distances (in some cases) for 2 hours of games when your CP is also competing that weekend

I think that sounds more like a staffing issue, or lack there of. I'd rather have one too many coaches at practice than not enough.