All-Star [urgent] Stunt Camp Problem

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Mar 11, 2018
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Hi, I have stunt camp on Saturday. My family scheduled a two day vacation at the same time. The choreography/stunt camp dates for my gym were released in May and my family didn't know we'd be going on this vacation until 1 week ago. I'm really disappointed that we didn't even try to work around it. My mom said I could stay with my uncle in my town so I can go to camp. I want to go to camp but I want to go to New York. I'm trying to decide and I want a few opinions. We leave Friday right before noon. Have you missed a camp to go on vacation? Has someone on your team not gone to stunt camp and get worked out of the pyramid? What would you do in my situation? Thanks!
 
If you've known about choreography/stunt camp since May why did your family schedule a vacation for the same time a week ago? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me and I can't imagine the coaches will be happy that you're choosing to go on a last minute vacation instead of choreography. As to what will happen it's hard to say without knowing the makeup of the team, but if you're not there they may decide they don't need you for pyramid. Personally I would go to choreography and save New York for another time.
 
Our gym might not allow you to return. Pyramid camp is 100% mandatory at my CP's gym - no fill ins allowed. No excuses for missing it.
I think you need to attend. Especially since the gym kindly gave you the dates back in May. The gym is counting on you, and cheer commitment is a real thing. It is not fair to your coaches or your teammates for you not to attend.
 
Go to stunt camp. You would only be hurting your team by not going. Everyone else is committing to be there and you have known for months the dates. By you missing it would make it harder on the rest of your team mates as well as your self for needing to play catch up. That is if your spot on the team would still even be available when you return.
 
As a coach, I’m willing to work with people who had things planned before committing to the team, especially those who hadn’t planned on cheering and decided to come back but had vacation booked. I can work with that

If you’ve known for several months and then booked a last minute trip, you would potentially be taken out of choreo, depending on the team and what positions were filled.

If you don’t go, be prepared to be taken out. Are you ok with that? That will tell you if you should be going to camp or going on vacation
 
U knew in May about camp.....you will be hurting your team by not being there! You will be upsetting teammates and coaches! You would be possibly kicked off if you were in our gym.
 
If your gym won’t support a family vacation, find a new gym. This idea that pervades cheerleading that we can hold people to mandatory dates in what is basically a 365-day-per-year activity is idiotic.

Family
Academics
Cheer

In that order
 
Did they tell you in May that camp was mandatory? If they did, then go to the camp.

If it's not mandatory, then you can go on the vacation with a clear conscience. However, other people at the gym may not see it that way and you could lose your spot or lose the respect of your team mates/coaches.
 
If your gym won’t support a family vacation, find a new gym. This idea that pervades cheerleading that we can hold people to mandatory dates in what is basically a 365-day-per-year activity is idiotic.

Family
Academics
Cheer

In that order
Then don't commit to a sport as demanding as cheer. Play soccer or softball. While those are also team sports, your absence doesn't hinder the teams successes. If you're committed to the sport, be committed. It's one thing to plan ahead, it's quite another to ignore a schedule given to you and schedule it anyway. Just because they won't work around a last minute vacation doesn't mean they don't support family vacations. When my CP was cheering, the coach asked in the beginning of the summer who had vacations already planned. They did what they could to plan choreo around everyone else's schedule to not interfere with family vacations (this is year round, not just during summer). If you didn't get your dates in and they schedule choreo during your vacation time, it was on you to find a replacement. And it's not idiotic to teach these growing individuals the importance of commitment, teamwork, schedules and priorities. If you're not willing to make this "365-day-per-year activity" one of your priorities, then don't commit to it.
 
If your gym won’t support a family vacation, find a new gym. This idea that pervades cheerleading that we can hold people to mandatory dates in what is basically a 365-day-per-year activity is idiotic.

Family
Academics
Cheer

In that order
Yes cheer is a year round sport and when u sign up for it and commit to your team then u need to be there for dates that were issued ahead of time. If u don’t want to, then find an individual sport.
 
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Then don't commit to a sport as demanding as cheer. Play soccer or softball. While those are also team sports, your absence doesn't hinder the teams successes. If you're committed to the sport, be committed. It's one thing to plan ahead, it's quite another to ignore a schedule given to you and schedule it anyway. Just because they won't work around a last minute vacation doesn't mean they don't support family vacations. When my CP was cheering, the coach asked in the beginning of the summer who had vacations already planned. They did what they could to plan choreo around everyone else's schedule to not interfere with family vacations (this is year round, not just during summer). If you didn't get your dates in and they schedule choreo during your vacation time, it was on you to find a replacement. And it's not idiotic to teach these growing individuals the importance of commitment, teamwork, schedules and priorities. If you're not willing to make this "365-day-per-year activity" one of your priorities, then don't commit to it.

Yes cheer is a year round sport and when u sign up for it and commit to your team then u need to be there for dates that were issued ahead of time. If u don’t want to, then find an individual sport.

So put a different spin on your all or nothing mentality:

Let’s say this family vacation came up at the last minute because one of the parents caught a windfall bonus at work. They plan the trip for this weekend because it’s the first time they’ve had the financial resources to go visit an end-of-life relative. Still feel like this athlete should blow off the trip for “pyramid class?” Then your priorities suck.

Let’s say it’s not a vacation at all. What if this particular athlete wasn’t even leaving town? Instead, she found out that her application for an academic program that guaranteed a 100% in-state tuition scholarship had been accepted. All she has to do is successfully complete this workshop on the same weekend as “pyramid class.” By your argument, she should turn down the scholarship because she committed to year round cheerleading. An endeavor by which she will likely never, under even the BEST of circumstances, get her full tuition paid.

If I can make an adjustment for a missing athlete pulling from a roster of 25, any all star gym with multiple teams should be able to have someone do double duty and get through “pyramid camp.” If a coach can’t make adjustments any better than that with a little notice, what are they going to do when it really hits the fan and someone is injured the day before a major competition? Curl up in the fetal position and cry about it?
 
So put a different spin on your all or nothing mentality:

Let’s say this family vacation came up at the last minute because one of the parents caught a windfall bonus at work. They plan the trip for this weekend because it’s the first time they’ve had the financial resources to go visit an end-of-life relative. Still feel like this athlete should blow off the trip for “pyramid class?” Then your priorities suck.

Let’s say it’s not a vacation at all. What if this particular athlete wasn’t even leaving town? Instead, she found out that her application for an academic program that guaranteed a 100% in-state tuition scholarship had been accepted. All she has to do is successfully complete this workshop on the same weekend as “pyramid class.” By your argument, she should turn down the scholarship because she committed to year round cheerleading. An endeavor by which she will likely never, under even the BEST of circumstances, get her full tuition paid.

If I can make an adjustment for a missing athlete pulling from a roster of 25, any all star gym with multiple teams should be able to have someone do double duty and get through “pyramid camp.” If a coach can’t make adjustments any better than that with a little notice, what are they going to do when it really hits the fan and someone is injured the day before a major competition? Curl up in the fetal position and cry about it?

There can always be circumstances that need to be considered. But the original poster was asking about a last minute vacation. I agree with the poster that said to ask the gym.
Sure coaches can make adjustments. But I don't see why they should have to in this circumstance. They are going to have to waste time to teach the skills to the athlete that wasn't there when they should have been. Competition season is only a couple of months away. Not much time left.
I just don't see any reason that the gym should be put at fault. They did everything correct and gave the mandatory practice dates back in May. It was the parent's responsibility to respect the dates.
 
@catlady has a very good point. Especially if there are any special circumstances such as @OldskoolKYcheercoach mentions. It is fortunate that you have an option to either stay or go. It is responsibility to choose wisely.
 
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