All-Star Is It A Failure To Not Progress?

SarahS said:

So interesting to read perspectives, though, from all kinds of familiar names... Just-a-Mom had a CP and wasn't here just because we're cool, Kris10boo 's CP had progressed to level 2 (while she is now working on her full) ... certain people weren't banned...

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Lol I had went and read my old post when I got this notification!! And boy she probably barely made that team level 2 team last year!

Here is her several months before this thread (I found this video last night)

See she really wanted that BHS... Hahah look at that.. I'm sorry I laughed so hard when I found this

Jaylen tryin a back handspring by her self | Facebook

icheer8796 said:

Ugh I know! And I hate this thread anyway! No kid is a "failure" to me, no matter how long they've been cheering on a certain level...

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To be fair, I don't think anyone meant to insinuate that any child was a failure for any reason. I understood the meaning of this to be more related to the gym's responsibility in training athletes, than to children's abilities.

I'm happy to see this thread unearthed because I was reminded how badly my child needed this (CEA) kind of program and we never thought that would happen. Through an unexpected twist of fate, we are now here and I'm thrilled to see my child allowed (even encouraged- GASP) to progress at whatever rate she (safely) decides to.

Maybe it's hard to understand the point unless you've been there. Having seen my kid held back due to a different philosophy and knowing how much that hurt her, I see the value in Courtney's way.

Just as you can burn a kid out by pushing too hard, you can also squash their spirit by holding them back.

cheermommaRN said:

:cow:

Award for Oldest thread to be unearthed....1 year 5 months

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Ill take it but the comment was for the Char mom. And your correct no child is a failure!

SarahS said:

So interesting to read perspectives, though, from all kinds of familiar names... Just-a-Mom had a CP and wasn't here just because we're cool, Kris10boo 's CP had progressed to level 2 (while she is now working on her full) ... certain people weren't banned...

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Actually I had 2 cp's - and that level 2 cp ended up on level 5 the following season. It is funny to read old threads!

Woah, A "failure" is a very harsh word. So glad I wasn't on this board when this thread first started. If this person thinks a person is a failure if they don't progress then my whole team would be one big disappointment to her. We have been Level 2 since we formed in 2004. Yeah, we tried Level 3 but that was before we totally understood the whole scoring system. But let me clarify, we are small town team, do not have a gym, we acquire new people every year, and its just one team with kids who range in age from 10-17. My daughter has been taking tumbling classes for over 5 yrs. off and on and is just now working on her tuck. But its only one class per week for 1 1/2 hrs., and three of those years, its was a gymnsatics class cause there was no place that offered just tumbling. She didn't start those till she was 10 and that is one regret she has is she wished we would have known what we know now and she would have started earlier. But no one every knows what tomorrow will bring.

No it's not. An athlete can be on the same level for years and still learn something new, while getting better. If you're ready, it only makes sense to move up a level the next year. If you're not ready, you're just not ready. I'm sure there are also athletes who get moved up when they aren't ready, but are needed for 1 specific reason. That is why we have cheerleaders that can fly level 5, but can't do a standing tuck. Grade school should not apply to cheerleading.

I think that failure in cheerleading should be defined as not pushing yourself to all that you can acheive. I've had this problem that I am now finally overcoming. For the past 2 years, I did not throw any tumbling past backhandsprings. (This relates to the anxiety that I had from a TD in a roundoff tuck at a competition in a previous season). I gained a fear that was much more intense than it should have been.. My fear pushed me to avoid going to the optional tumbling class that existed. I was afraid to face the fear, and I dreaded having to tumble past my comfort zone. I love cheerleading with all of my heart. I do not cheer for social reasons or for "fun". I am very competitive, but I had a self-esteem issue. I wanted to be a great tumbler. I wanted to be on the best teams. I did not look at the underlying problem which was my fear to throw any tumbling higher than a backhandspring. Although, I do realize that people progress at different rates, and their rate of progression can depend on other factors (anxiety/lack of confidence for me) that can slow down this rate. I personally feel as though the past 2 years were a failure for me. I have not moved up a level. I can accept the fact that I did not push myself past my comfort zone. I think that these years were mostly a waste for me. Sure my jumps got higher and I learned more about the sport, but I never did anything that challenged myself. Everything was comfortable. At tryouts for this season I finally pushed myself a bit past my limit and threw my rbhstuck. Now I do my tuck in the routine and slowly each practice my anxiety goes down. I hope that next year I can move up and grow exponentially, although it will be my last year. So in conclusion, I do believe that if you don't push yourself or do something that seems frightening, then that year was a failure. I guess the saying "you get what you put in" would be appropriate.

I think it depends where your peak is. Some kids peak at a tuck, and thats just fine! Maybe tumbling just isnt something your body does well.

It used to be really hard for me because I would work really hard, but once I reached my peak I had a really hard time going any further while other people continued to grow.
Ultimately I learned that a specialty through to full is the most Ill ever realistically get, doubles just arent for me. And as an athlete I have to accept that.

Can every basketball player be LeBron? No! But that doesnt mean they cant have fun playing!

Cheer is a non-professional sport. Do it because it's fun and everything else doesnt matter. Just shoot for your own personal peak.

Is it a failure to not progress? If you are trying are trying to progress, than the answer is YES (which in this sport, I would say the goal of most people is that they are trying to progress). However, there are many ways to measure progress, which is where I think many people get frustrated in this sport. Some parents only look at rogress by what team their child makes, which is a very innacurate measure. We had some parents say "why did my daughter go from a junior 2 to a youth 3?" Well, we did not have a youth 2 last year and your daughter was a level 2 athlete, this year we had enough to make a more age appropriate team for your (let's say 9 year old) child that still suits her current (and now progressed level). They still don't always grasp the separation between age and level. Some parents this year asked us why their child is on junior level 3 for a second year in a row. Our response was "Your child was able to barely make junior 3 last year with solid jumps to back handspring and a low round-off tuck. This year your child made junior level 3 with jumps to series back-handsprings and a front-walkover round-off bhs tuck." In both cases, the child has progressed. This sport has so many factors to be considered, some children will progress in tumbling much quicker than stunting, or will progress in skills but not the learning ability, endurance or maturity needed to move up a level. Some kids may come from a less than par gym and spend their first year re-learning many of their skills and have to repeat a level. Did that child progress? Absolutely. It is failure not to progress, but we have to eliminate the closed-mind definition of progress.

Progression can be measured in SO MANY WAYS. It can be measured in skills the CP gets in stunting/tumbling, it can be measured in cleaning up a skill, can be measued in flexibility, can be measured in maturity and willingness to try new.

I truly believe programs should provide the training so the kids can be the best. Sometimes the most hard working kids out there only have a standing backhandsrping and a roff backhandspring, however, has that skill improved, have they worked hard and really cleaned it up so it is the BEST backhandspring they can have? Are they trying? Doing the drills? Showing up? Are they happy? Are they mature enough to cheer others on as they advance.

These are KIDS we are talking about. While I think any gym owner, coach, parent secretly wishes all of the kids they have and see get the best skills out there and progress to the highest level all the time, it's just not realistic.

My opinion is HARD WORK BEATS TALENT WHEN TALENT DOESN'T WORK HARD. So a hard working level 2 or 3 athlete is just as great as lucky suzie Q who got her standing full b/c she just has that talent.

As a teacher the first thing that comes to my mind is that every kid learns differently and at a different pace. If it takes one kid 2 years to get a backhandspring and another 1 month...good for both of them, they both have backhandsprings now. I think it is very hard and sometime unrealistic to expect that your child will progress a level every single year. Of course some kids with natural born talent will progress flawlessly according to plan, but other kids will not and that's fine too.

I totally agree with some girls peaking with a certain skill. I know that had there been levels when I cheered I would have never made it past level 4. I don't do well with spatial relations and my brain could not grasp the concept of a full. I still to this day don't understand how you flip and twist at the same time and I've been involved with cheering for almost 20 years (that makes me feel old!) Does that make me a bad cheerleader or athlete, no..it's just something I couldn't grasp.

I think all we can ask of our girls is to work hard and never give up. And of course have fun at the same time

cheermommaRN said:

:cow:

Award for Oldest thread to be unearthed....1 year 5 months

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I actually just read this whole thing wondering where on Earth I was this summer to have missed all this...Then I realized it was from oh so long ago.

I plugged 'progress*' in the search bar and this thread surfaced... I am wondering, since the last message was written almost 2 years ago... where do everybody stand on the idea of progression especially with tryout season upon us again... Is it still a failure to not progress to the next level?

pebbles49 said:

I plugged 'progress*' in the search bar and this thread surfaced... I am wondering, since the last message was written almost 2 years ago... where do everybody stand on the idea of progression especially with tryout season upon us again... Is it still a failure to not progress to the next level?

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No, it's not. Some kids progress faster than others. Some take longer. Some just don't want to progress. Personally, I think that if kids progress a level a year, they are going to backtrack at some time or another. That's just based on what I've seen and read over the years. It can take a couple years, or more, to feel confident in your ability and to really perfect your skills. That's perfectly OK with me.


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there are kids aging out this year who have spent 14 years in the sport. there's 5 levels. it'll be okay if you have to spend more than one season at the same level. the world isn't over if you get to level 3 or 2 or 1 and stop. it's only a failure when you stop learning.