just_kay_today
Cheer Parent
- Dec 14, 2009
- 1,230
- 2,527
There are many parents at CAC and CEA that know each other well. Kids have gone to CEA for opportunities that CAC can't provide. We have kids that return for their own personal reasons. Many of us are close friends and we discuss our gym's philosophies quite often. Here are a few points I'd like to make.
I mention all these things NOT because they are wrong. It's actually very smart business, This is what CEA needs to do to save the division and one of the doors they use to attract new talent. However, to have Courtney call out the industry for manipulation and behind the scenes tactics is kind of like the pot calling the kettle black isn't it?
- Many kids CAC with full/double skills go to CEA. In addition many other gyms in NC lose kids to CEA because of opportunites they can't provide. This is s business and CEA can provide a service that others cannot. However most know in NC that if CEA loses Youth 5 then they lose a huge opportunity to attract elite youth talent. CEA is not the only gym that can teach proper tumbling but they are the only one that has 5(?) locations, 800 athletes, and a lot of smaller sized well-coached gyms within a 3 hour drive to Kenersville to pull 36 Elite kids from. CEA is far from the only gym in NC that can teach "proper" tumbling. Again, this is not explained as a fault but as an opportunity that CEA has been able to wisely use to their advantage.
- The campaign here in NC to "Save Youth 5" is crazy right now. Emails and text messaged are flying back and forth about how WC is trying to ruin Youth Elite. Invitations were everywhere inviting anyone(from any gym) that cares about the division to come on by and be a part of a video to "Save Youth 5". The joke in the state right now is "Do they ask our kids to throw their best tumbling pass when you go also?"
- Junior aged parents are now being warned that if Youth 5 is eliminated then the junior flyers will be coming out of the air to make room for the youthies. Stage 2 hysteria began.
- A last minute effort was made to take Youth Elite to Jamfest to prove that Y5 isn't dead by having 3 teams there. Last I heard the parents didn't want to do it. Go figure...a costly last minute trip to Indy from NC in the middle of an already hectic Nationals season.
- Courtney knows how to work the cheer system like no other. I am constantly amazed at what she comes up with and I have no doubt she'd do anything for her kids.
Maybe WC started this. Maybe they are scared of competing against CEA. I don't personally believe it but that's worth about as much as my opinion on the rest of it. Last I heard though, every member gets a vote and I highly doubt that even Elaine's powers of pursuasion can convince every coach in the USASF to vote against Youth 5 if they didn't already feel it was the right thing to do.
Wow...can you sound any more biased? Having had a child on a Youth Level 5 team, my desire to see the divison survive and thrive are based on my experiences and the experiences of my child. I don't care who works what system. I don't care about the politics involved. I do care about the children who I've watched grow not only in skill, but in maturity and self-esteem by being able to perform at their highest level. Children, like my own. I am sure that the parents of the kids who cheered on CAC's youth 5 program have their own fond memories of their time there and can attest to the benefits of the division. Yes, I remember when CAC had a Y5 program of their own. Those kids went on to make Teal what it is reputed to be today. I don't know if your daughter was on that team, but surely if she was, she benefitted.
Please refrain speaking as though you have inside knowledge of what goes on in our program. I had lunch with Courtney yesterday and at no time did she mention having to turn away kids. Her concern was for the effect this change would have on the kids, and on the industry as a whole, in the long run. Also, she never warned me that my daughter would have to fly baby flyers on juniors next season. You're just wrong.
By the way: If your calculations are correct, CEA's 5 (?) gyms and 900+ athletes mean that if Y5 died, CEA could just field more excellent Jr 5 teams. This just means more of our teams, at more competitions. CEA would then have an even stronger presence, locally, attending many of the comps you attend now, that we currently don't. By the tone of your comment, I am sure you'd be thrilled.