All-Star Senior Elite 2020

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Apr 14, 2017
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World champs. Calling it.

I just watched their video of their first practice and they look STACKED. Granted, I’m not sure what a first practice typically looks like at a top gym, but if anyone is doing better than them right now it can’t be by much. Maybe I’m just an HS coach stunned by mirror-image layouts at a first practice, but they already make everything look effortless and beautiful. I really hope it’s their year. I was glad to see WCSS take it last year, but winced a bit when SE lost again. Here’s hoping that injuries or social media “scandals” don’t distract from what could be a very dominant year for them.

P.S. And if any anon actually believes that baby Pope’s role on that team is because of nepotism, they don’t know nepotism in cheer looks like. She’s the furthest thing from it.

Here’s the video if interested:

 
3. Their tumbling skills (esp. layouts) should look effortless. They're a Level 6
team.

4. Again, it's June. First practice. Not calling a World champ based on that. I won't even make predictions based on NCA in March. So much happens between now and April.

5. Teams are also an interesting animal in that you can have a stacked roster of kiddos with amazing everything, and find that those individuals aren't gelling into the TEAM you thought they'd be personality-wise.

Summary: Large all girl is way too crazy to pick winners based on today. Lol.
 
Side question: are rosters even finalized yet? A lot of programs have tryouts but there is still the understanding that they may change, yes? Even harder to call a winner in June when some kids will probably move teams, quit, etc.
 
Can't even call it. They're looking great but:

1. I'm sure everyone looks great. It's June. Everyone is for the most part fresh off of tryouts and has that New Season energy.

2. Worlds is crazy. I've seen teams have amazing seasons and get there and fall apart.

That’s how confident I am :)

But yeah, I agree nothing matters at this point. It doesn’t matter what you hit at your first practice... just what you can hit in April a little under a year from now.
 
3. Their tumbling skills (esp. layouts) should look effortless. They're a Level 6
team.

4. Again, it's June. First practice. Not calling a World champ based on that. I won't even make predictions based on NCA in March. So much happens between now and April.

5. Teams are also an interesting animal in that you can have a stacked roster of kiddos with amazing everything, and find that those individuals aren't gelling into the TEAM you thought they'd be personality-wise.

Summary: Large all girl is way too crazy to pick winners based on today. Lol.

I do sometimes forget about the team chemistry... that slippery x-factor that can prove so elusive. It’s easy to forget about that at this level where everyone is already good so it’s easy to assume that stunts + tumbling + hit = Worlds champs. But yeah, with crazy large teams like this, it’s hard to make sure personalities gel. I often look back at my HS team with fuzzy affectionate memories, but then read about the (alleged) infighting that happens on teams and think, Oh yeah I don’t miss ANY of that crap.
 
I do sometimes forget about the team chemistry... that slippery x-factor that can prove so elusive. It’s easy to forget about that at this level where everyone is already good so it’s easy to assume that stunts + tumbling + hit = Worlds champs. But yeah, with crazy large teams like this, it’s hard to make sure personalities gel. I often look back at my HS team with fuzzy affectionate memories, but then read about the (alleged) infighting that happens on teams and think, Oh yeah I don’t miss ANY of that crap.

The single most important aspect of any athletic endeavor cannot be forgotten or considered an afterthought/x-factor. It’s more important than any athlete or any skill.
 
i think there has only been two seasons where i have predicted the winner of LAG correctly since like 2011.....

Yes!

This year was a prime example for me.

Based on strength of routine/difficulty I started out the season saying Panthers.

But then they ended up not having the consistency in hitting the elite so I went with Orange as my prediction. Because we all know that if Orange executes they will in 99% of cases win.

Then THEY started to not have the consistency I was looking for. Then coming into NCA I started to consider that this left the door open for the two I thought did not have the most difficult routines but were hitting on a reasonably consistent basis - Senior Elite and possibly F5.

Going into Worlds I officially said Panthers I think just because even though they hadn't been supee consistent, their elite in my eyes is most difficult.

Worlds weekend comes and the team I least expected (WCSS) who had seemed to be inconsistent all season, came into NCA with a whole new routine, did not hit it at NCA (because it was probably BRAND new) then BLOWS ME AWAY at Worlds, hits beyond perfect and walks away with the globe.

That's why calling it early is crazy. You really never can tell from an early practice video or snippet from someone's choreo weekend.

Now, I do think hitting at home does a lot for morale/mental but it is definitely not predictive. Example: as a coach how many times have you had a pretty great week leading up to a comp, or a pretty great fullout, then for whatever reason you get out there and it's 1BF, 2 BB, 1AF, 1 OMG?
 
Yes!

This year was a prime example for me.

Based on strength of routine/difficulty I started out the season saying Panthers.

But then they ended up not having the consistency in hitting the elite so I went with Orange as my prediction. Because we all know that if Orange executes they will in 99% of cases win.

Then THEY started to not have the consistency I was looking for. Then coming into NCA I started to consider that this left the door open for the two I thought did not have the most difficult routines but were hitting on a reasonably consistent basis - Senior Elite and possibly F5.

Going into Worlds I officially said Panthers I think just because even though they hadn't been supee consistent, their elite in my eyes is most difficult.

Worlds weekend comes and the team I least expected (WCSS) who had seemed to be inconsistent all season, came into NCA with a whole new routine, did not hit it at NCA (because it was probably BRAND new) then BLOWS ME AWAY at Worlds, hits beyond perfect and walks away with the globe.

That's why calling it early is crazy. You really never can tell from an early practice video or snippet from someone's choreo weekend.

Now, I do think hitting at home does a lot for morale/mental but it is definitely not predictive. Example: as a coach how many times have you had a pretty great week leading up to a comp, or a pretty great fullout, then for whatever reason you get out there and it's 1BF, 2 BB, 1AF, 1 OMG?
Saying Stars had been inconsistent all season was very kind of you. Worlds is just one of those comps where truly anything can happen. To predict a team now (especially when that team roster has not even been finalized) is just silly.
 
Saying Stars had been inconsistent all season was very kind of you. Worlds is just one of those comps where truly anything can happen. To predict a team now (especially when that team roster has not even been finalized) is just silly.


I agree its silly and way too early. If thats the case I would be saying WCSS are going back to back because of the video they posted at their first practice nailing high to high tic tocks. I can't even predict a winner after semi finals of worlds half the time.
 
Saying Stars had been inconsistent all season was very kind of you. Worlds is just one of those comps where truly anything can happen. To predict a team now (especially when that team roster has not even been finalized) is just silly.

I hope that was not offensive and if so I will apologize!

I was just using it as an example of the fact that literally any of these teams can have any number of results all year (from winning the entire trifecta of big comps to coming in 4th all year) and it is never going to be predictive of the Worlds weekend outcome.

I also think that the MENTAL element of this sport is huge. It's what people forget about.

You can have a Super Team of amazing kids, Gen Next super tumblers, you name it. If they are not all gelling and mentally able to handle high-pressure comps, that is the difference between a ring and a second or third.

There are times when one last minute change, a fall in warm ups, or a bad day 1 will throw a kid or even a whole team so far off mentally that they get into their head and it's all downhill from there. I think that's what differentiates the eventual winner from everyone else. Moreso than pure skills.

Example: That is likely to WCSS's credit. Not every team can scrap a routine, probably move around kids, get a whole new one, not hit it at first, and still be confident enough to hit it at Worlds. I've worked with kids who were awesome athletes, but if you so much as change their backspot for gameday a week before, their confidence is gone. Much less a whole new routine.

The ability to regroup, mentally adjust, etc. is what makes champions.

Can't wait to see what the season holds for everyone!
 
I hope that was not offensive and if so I will apologize!

I was just using it as an example of the fact that literally any of these teams can have any number of results all year (from winning the entire trifecta of big comps to coming in 4th all year) and it is never going to be predictive of the Worlds weekend outcome.

I also think that the MENTAL element of this sport is huge. It's what people forget about.

You can have a Super Team of amazing kids, Gen Next super tumblers, you name it. If they are not all gelling and mentally able to handle high-pressure comps, that is the difference between a ring and a second or third.

There are times when one last minute change, a fall in warm ups, or a bad day 1 will throw a kid or even a whole team so far off mentally that they get into their head and it's all downhill from there. I think that's what differentiates the eventual winner from everyone else. Moreso than pure skills.

Example: That is likely to WCSS's credit. Not every team can scrap a routine, probably move around kids, get a whole new one, not hit it at first, and still be confident enough to hit it at Worlds. I've worked with kids who were awesome athletes, but if you so much as change their backspot for gameday a week before, their confidence is gone. Much less a whole new routine.

The ability to regroup, mentally adjust, etc. is what makes champions.

Can't wait to see what the season holds for everyone!
I sincerely meant it! They looked like crap much of the season and they will tell you that as well. So “inconsistent” was very kind.
 
The teams in those divisions are so close that, to be competitive, you have to include a significant amount of risk in your routines. (Putting out a very safe, easy routine would greatly diminish your chances of winning.) If you watered down enough to hit zeros 9/10 times, you would lower your score enough to get passed by the others. There are teams that have slight talent advantages, but they generally aren't enough to overcome even a single mistake over the other teams. That risk creates a high level of uncertainty to the results. You could run large senior finals 10 times and you would probably have a different 1-5 every single time.

That unpredictability is part of what makes that division great and popular to watch. In 25 years of watching that division, it is rare than I would put any 1 particular team's chances of winning that division at an event above 50%. You can be "the favorite" going in and you are still not going to win over half the time. Large Coed is similar, but there are usually 3-4 teams in that mix instead of 5+
 
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