All-Star Cheer Athletics (questions/rumors)

I agree...it's gotten out of control. I really tried to dissuade my CP from pursuing a picture, but it didn't help that 4 of her friends were actually able to get one. Ugh, I won't let her pursue it at NCA.

I honestly don't know what the best answer is. Every "solution" we can think of either disrupts the flow of a competition day for our athletes or makes us look unappreciative. We are open to suggestions.

BlueCat - You may have answered this, but I can't remember. Do most of your coaches come from within the gym or alumni of the program, or how do you find them? How many are from within and how many are outsiders coming in? What is the process to becoming a team coach? How do you teach the CA way to new coaches?

BlueCat I don't know if this would work or not, but maybe big name gyms like CA could have a rule where if their athletes are in uniform, they can't take pictures. If they are in practice clothes or are clearly not about to perform, go into warm-ups, etc., it's fair game?

AndrewSky said:

BlueCat I don't know if this would work or not, but maybe big name gyms like CA could have a rule where if their athletes are in uniform, they can't take pictures. If they are in practice clothes or are clearly not about to perform, go into warm-ups, etc., it's fair game?

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Wouldn't it be nice if those outside the gym would just show respect? Problem solved, but then again that would be too easy.

AndrewSky said:

BlueCat I don't know if this would work or not, but maybe big name gyms like CA could have a rule where if their athletes are in uniform, they can't take pictures. If they are in practice clothes or are clearly not about to perform, go into warm-ups, etc., it's fair game?

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Following with the cover up rule, if they aren't covered up its "team time" simple, visual, easy to follow.
BlueCat

CGAcheer said:

Following with the cover up rule, if they aren't covered up its "team time" simple, visual, easy to follow.
BlueCat

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Very true. Totally forgot about that :/

CoachTamara said:

BlueCat - You may have answered this, but I can't remember. Do most of your coaches come from within the gym or alumni of the program, or how do you find them? How many are from within and how many are outsiders coming in? What is the process to becoming a team coach? How do you teach the CA way to new coaches?

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Off the top of my head, I would guess that about 80-90% of our coaches were athletes on our teams at one point or another. For that matter, many other programs in our area have a large number of CA alums on their staffs as well. We do have some great coaches that came from other programs and other backgrounds, however.

It is not easy to get hired to work for CA - particularly to be a team coach. You have to have a strong knowledge of the sport, a personality that blends well with the atmosphere at the gym, and be someone that we believe would be a great role model for the kids. We have a huge mix of personalities, but generally, everyone loves their job and believes in a positive approach to coaching.

Coaches also have to be a "team" player and genuinely want every part of our program to succeed. Seeing coaches from one team volunteer to help out other teams or athletes they don't coach is a very common sight in the gym and is big part of our success. When our tiny's perform you can often see the L5 coaches jumping up and down alongside the youth coaches. When a high-profile Worlds team has success, it is the result of years of work from the WHOLE staff, not just the 2-3 coaches who are their "official" coaches at that moment.

To be hired specifically for coaching cheer teams, we must be VERY comfortable with your background and have references from someone we know well and trust.

Teaching the "CA Way" is a little challenging, but not for the reasons you would expect. There are a few behind-the-scenes things that we don't share publicly, but mostly it is about creating the right atmosphere in the gym. The tough part to teaching it is that most people simply don't believe how positive the environment is until they see it for themselves. They keep assuming that we must yell at the kids all of the time like drill instructors. There are programs and coaches who can be very successful doing things that way - and some athletes may respond best to that - but that just doesn't match our philosophy.

BlueCat said:

Off the top of my head, I would guess that about 80-90% of our coaches were athletes on our teams at one point or another. For that matter, many other programs in our area have a large number of CA alums on their staffs as well. We do have some great coaches that came from other programs and other backgrounds, however.

It is not easy to get hired to work for CA - particularly to be a team coach. You have to have a strong knowledge of the sport, a personality that blends well with the atmosphere at the gym, and be someone that we believe would be a great role model for the kids. We have a huge mix of personalities, but generally, everyone loves their job and believes in a positive approach to coaching.

Coaches also have to be a "team" player and genuinely want every part of our program to succeed. Seeing coaches from one team volunteer to help out other teams or athletes they don't coach is a very common sight in the gym and is big part of our success. When our tiny's perform you can often see the L5 coaches jumping up and down alongside the youth coaches. When a high-profile Worlds team has success, it is the result of years of work from the WHOLE staff, not just the 2-3 coaches who are their "official" coaches at that moment.

To be hired specifically for coaching cheer teams, we must be VERY comfortable with your background and have references from someone we know well and trust.

Teaching the "CA Way" is a little challenging, but not for the reasons you would expect. There are a few behind-the-scenes things that we don't share publicly, but mostly it is about creating the right atmosphere in the gym. The tough part to teaching it is that most people simply don't believe how positive the environment is until they see it for themselves. They keep assuming that we must yell at the kids all of the time like drill instructors. There are programs and coaches who can be very successful doing things that way - and some athletes may respond best to that - but that just doesn't match our philosophy.

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I would just like to commend your program. Your philosophy shows through all of your kids and credit goes to you and your coaches. Well done!

BlueCat said:

The team was trying to listen to the "post-game speech" while being pulled and yelled at by people wanting them to pose with them. Others were simply reaching over the athletes and aiming their cameras down into the huddle. It was very frustrating as a coach.

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Nikaa said:

Phoebe will cheer again??? yay

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I pm'd you!

This may sound silly, but when selecting your teams do y'all put kids on teams where you can push them in the team practice times to make them better tumblers. IE : a girl that doesn't have a round off back handspring yet, makes a level 2 team bc they are close or do they have to have it before y'all put them on it, or even need specialties before they will be considered for a certain level.

The reason, I'm asking is we've always taken chances on kids. Wanted them to rise to the occasion and learn during the year. What we've found is that most do, but some do not and the ones who don't seem to get defeated and stop cheering. We've also found that it makes our teams less competitive. Bc we define a level athletes different than most other gyms and we might be changing our philosophy pretty soon.

I also think that it's a little easier to be positive when the coach isn't stressed about meeting minimum score ranges. Your insight is appreciated.

Cheer_Explosion_Coach said:

This may sound silly, but when selecting your teams do y'all put kids on teams where you can push them in the team practice times to make them better tumblers. IE : a girl that doesn't have a round off back handspring yet, makes a level 2 team bc they are close or do they have to have it before y'all put them on it, or even need specialties before they will be considered for a certain level.

The reason, I'm asking is we've always taken chances on kids. Wanted them to rise to the occasion and learn during the year. What we've found is that most do, but some do not and the ones who don't seem to get defeated and stop cheering. We've also found that it makes our teams less competitive. Bc we define a level athletes different than most other gyms and we might be changing our philosophy pretty soon.

I also think that it's a little easier to be positive when the coach isn't stressed about meeting minimum score ranges. Your insight is appreciated.

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(This is an over-simplification of our selection process, but I will try to answer the intent of question.)

We have essentially been forced to raise the bar on skills needed to advance levels in order to be competitive with other Level 1 through 4 teams. To compete for national titles (NCA), particularly at the older age groups, you need to have the vast majority of your team competing the maximum skill for the level - and do that skill with strong execution. If we simply moved up athletes when they were ready to start WORKING that level's skills, those teams would be starting off significantly behind some of our main competitors.

That being said, I still think we move athletes "up" more quickly than most of the other large gyms. I believe that this is part of the reason that we have as many Worlds-caliber athletes as we do and why our L5 teams tend to "separate themselves from the pack" a bit more than our L1-4s at times. We would have even more success at L1-4 if we slowed down athletes' progression through the levels, but the athletes wouldn't learn new skills as quickly - and probably wouldn't enjoy their overall experience as much. That being said, I think we have some amazing L1-4 teams and we do everything we can to make ALL of our teams as competitive as possible.

Idk if anyone has asked this but how is the gym staffed? Do they interview or is it more about who you know and networking

LindyAbline said:

Idk if anyone has asked this but how is the gym staffed? Do they interview or is it more about who you know and networking

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Go back one page and it's explained near the bottom of the page. Doesn't say anything about interviews but elaborates on how and who coaches there.