All-Star After The Rings Globes And Titles Then What?

[5-6-7-8]

I think my general issue with "winning" in all youth sports is the "anything for the win" mentality.

I've seen youth coaches who can coach some 9-10 year olds to a victory, but at the expense of basic fundamentals. I can't imagine being a high school / college coach getting all of these "decorated" athletes who can't consistently make a free throw / dribble with their left hand / kick with their left foot, etc.

 

[Beans100]

I think my general issue with "winning" in all youth sports is the "anything for the win" mentality.

I've seen youth coaches who can coach some 9-10 year olds to a victory, but at the expense of basic fundamentals. I can't imagine being a high school / college coach getting all of these "decorated" athletes who can't consistently make a free throw / dribble with their left hand / kick with their left foot, etc.

This is very true, and I hate to see coaches with this mentality. However, some children are naturally competitive and this thought process has to be coached out of them. When I was little, I had the "anything for the win" mindset. I turned over many a game board in my youth because I wasn't winning and wouldn't accept being a loser. Cheer definitely helped me break that cycle and helped me understand that winning was great, but real winners win fair and square.

 

[Pebbles49]

I must admit it is all perception, expectation and athletes abilities... I believe that athletes provided with the best opportunities to succeed at a sport should strive for the highest level in that sport, if it culminates in receiving rings, globes and jackets, yes, go for it!
It is ridiculous for me to tell my daughter, if she has the abilities to be the best to not worry about winning in any sport, to just do it for the memories, Noooo! In my opinion, if you have the ability to be the best, anything less will be not achieving and my children knows if they give 100% and not win, they always have another chance to come back again...

Are we really talking about pure competition? So, I equate competition with the chance of winning, and with winning comes those nice twinkets...What is wrong with that? Really, if I am encouraging my son and daughter to participate for the nice memories, I really think that is an injustice and I might as well, tell my children to also settled for C's and D's in school too...
Btw, What is wrong with working hard and getting those twinkets to add to those fond memories you will have by competing with people who will eventually be your friends for life and possibly, in your wedding and you can watch those YouTube videos of winning at Worlds too?

PS: I was just wondering, those athletes that participate in the Olympic games every 4 years are they doing it for the fond memories and not care about winning? Hmmm!

 

[cheer25mom]

That is totally unacceptable and if my kids program only focused on ONE team and only celebrated one teams wins then that would not be the program for me. So many forget that the lower levels are the future of the program and need the same amount of attention.

Regarding choreo, outfits - does your gym charge the same amount for level 1 in house choreo as it does for level 5 choreo? Who is paying for the outfits? The parents or the gym? Our worlds team gets team specific practice wear - parents pay for it - and I'm fine with it, when my CP makes that team she can have it too - something for her to look forward to. I will sit back and enjoy my little bit of extra money while I can.

The choreo thing happened at our gym once and after parents voiced their opinion it didn't happen again. The practice wear was another gym, but from what I was told by their parents they paid the same amount.

 

[Fiercecheermom]

I think as an athlete continues in a sport, their expectations increase along with their skills. If your athlete has participated in the sport as long as mine has (13 years) it is pretty natural to want to do well/win Worlds. That was a natural progression for HER. She has progressed at a steady rate and made a level 5 team after 9 years. This was her path. This does not apply to everyone. When we started, it was about hitting. Then it was about winning a local comp. This progressed into winning bigger comps/jackets, etc. I can assure you that when her team won last week, it wasn't about the ring/medal. It was a sense of accomplishment with her team. The culmination of a year (and all star career) of hard work with good/new friends and the feeling of pride about themselves. Yes, my CP is thrilled with the medal and ring, but it was about the competition first and the performance they gave on that baseball field. For her, and the girls on her team, Worlds was the goal. There is nothing wrong with that. Just as there is nothing wrong with someone else's goal of Summit/Nationals, etc. And yes, as she progressed we sought gyms that could offer the training, support, and vision that could help her on her journey. I am that mom that drove over 2 hours to help her realize a dream...and yes, when I and the other moms in our carpool stood on that mat taking pictures of our girls, we ALL said it was worth EVERY SECOND that we drove and we would do it again if given the chance.

 

[Pebbles49]

I think as an athlete continues in a sport, their expectations increase along with their skills. If your athlete has participated in the sport as long as mine has (13 years) it is pretty natural to want to do well/win Worlds. That was a natural progression for HER. She has progressed at a steady rate and made a level 5 team after 9 years. This was her path. This does not apply to everyone. When we started, it was about hitting. Then it was about winning a local comp. This progressed into winning bigger comps/jackets, etc. I can assure you that when her team won last week, it wasn't about the ring/medal. It was a sense of accomplishment with her team. The culmination of a year (and all star career) of hard work with good/new friends and the feeling of pride about themselves. Yes, my CP is thrilled with the medal and ring, but it was about the competition first and the performance they gave on that baseball field. For her, and the girls on her team, Worlds was the goal. There is nothing wrong with that. Just as there is nothing wrong with someone else's goal of Summit/Nationals, etc. And yes, as she progressed we sought gyms that could offer the training, support, and vision that could help her on her journey. I am that mom that drove over 2 hours to help her realize a dream...and yes, when I and the other moms in our carpool stood on that mat taking pictures of our girls, we ALL said it was worth EVERY SECOND that we drove and we would do it again if given the chance.

Touche, @Fiercecheermom and congrats on your daughter's accomplishment...I congratulate you too for standing behind, encouraging and supporting your daughter through those 13 years...I strongly believe It is your F5 parents truimph too.

PS: If SS could not win it, I rooted hard for your daughter's team (F5) too, as long as that Globe was somewhat close to NJ...haha!

 

[cheerisloving]

@Fiercecheermom I cheer with a lot of F5 alums and being from the area I've always admired the team (in fact watching F5 at worlds on TV is what made me fall in love with AS Cheer). I was beyond excited to see them win.

I think in my older years I see cheer so much differently. I'm one of the 'normal athletes' I cheered competitively for three seasons and progressed to a level 3 athlete in that time frame, and in cheering HS i gained level 4 skills. I cheer at an AMAZING college program. I'm average but at the end of the day, in two years from now my cheer career won't matter in terms of skills and accomplishments. I was talking to a professional in my perspective job field and basically told me cheering won't mean anything. But what's important about cheer was the fact that it taught me how to be confident, how to set personal goals, teamwork. My standing tuck won't get me a job, no, but the drive I've learned from cheer will.

I think we put too much pressure on kids to do things with an immediate or tangible reward. That's not how life works. But the world is so much bigger than cheerleading and the rewards you get from them.

But I'm just a ringless, globeless cheerleader what do I know.

 

[lostmylife2cheer]

My CP just finished her 3rd season. She started on a show team where she came home with a trophy every time. Last year her team did very well. The one competition they got second my daughter came out from awards in tears.
This year was rough. They placed 1st at one competition and had a few that they were not in the top 5. She was ready to give up and talking about wanting to go back to show team. But now she remembers this year as the year she got to do her first bhs on the floor and got over her fear of flying. She is now looking forward to next year to get her tuck and learn to be a back spot ( probably won't happen because she is tiny but she wants to experience all positions). She has not talked about being on a better team or winning more

 

[purplecheer]

My issue is when coaches don't coach and just muck around. I am an athlete who is only level 1 (darn tumbling!) but I still want to work hard, push myself and win. Just because I'm not level 5 that doesn't mean I don't care about winning.

 

[HeatUniqueJ]

I feel like some people misunderstood my initial post. I did not say it is only about making memories. I am pretty sure for the most part we are all in this sport because we like to compete, and of course, want to win at some point. Otherwise we would probably only be doing sideline Cheer.
What i meant though was, it should not ONLY be about winning. Sometimes placing 5th or 9th or whatever in a though competition can be a huge accomplishment. And sometimes it's just not. It depends on how well a Team is working together, how good they can perform their routine. And if they did the best they can and place 8th they can be happy with their result, and proud of their accomplishment. And it is no ones business to go ahead and tell them they suck because they placed 8th in Level 3. Winning Worlds or NCA does not make you a better person than anyone else. And people should simply not act that way.
Of course World Champions are exceptional athletes, and they deserve to win. But like someone already mentioned, how many World Champions are out there , and how many regular lower level Teams are there. It's just no comparison.
I'm all for being ambitious, working hard and setting high goals. But at the end of the day if you know your Team did the very best they can and hit a perfect routine than the place is what it is, no matter if it's first or last, and you can be happy with it and proud of yourself.
I have one recent example: Two German Junior Teams competed at the Summit in Large Senior 4 (Or 4.2 , i don't remember). The hit two Zero Deduction Routines in 2 days, showed their best routines. Both came in last place. Is it okay now to tell them '' Why did you even make it to Finals when you were in last place after day 1 anyways ''
In my opinion it's not, and if you have nothing nice to say, then sometimes it's better to keep it to yourself. These kids worked very hard, and performed their routines very well, they can still be proud of themselves and they made a whole lot of amazing memories along the way. They have seen the other Teams and now they can go home motivated and knowing what to work on to do even better next time. And while we are at it , i am very proud of those Teams and how they represented Germany.

 

[Fiercecheermom]

@Fiercecheermom I cheer with a lot of F5 alums and being from the area I've always admired the team (in fact watching F5 at worlds on TV is what made me fall in love with AS Cheer). I was beyond excited to see them win.

I think in my older years I see cheer so much differently. I'm one of the 'normal athletes' I cheered competitively for three seasons and progressed to a level 3 athlete in that time frame, and in cheering HS i gained level 4 skills. I cheer at an AMAZING college program. I'm average but at the end of the day, in two years from now my cheer career won't matter in terms of skills and accomplishments. I was talking to a professional in my perspective job field and basically told me cheering won't mean anything. But what's important about cheer was the fact that it taught me how to be confident, how to set personal goals, teamwork. My standing tuck won't get me a job, no, but the drive I've learned from cheer will.

I think we put too much pressure on kids to do things with an immediate or tangible reward. That's not how life works. But the world is so much bigger than cheerleading and the rewards you get from them.

But I'm just a ringless, globeless cheerleader what do I know.

You have learned EXACTLY what I hope my CP will take from the sport. People who tell you that later in life "cheer won't mean anything" don't REALLY understand the sport at all. This sport (and others) will teach you about sacrifice, responsibility, teamwork, and accountability. Prioritizing your responsibilities and making "hard choices" when you need to. These are all very important life lessons. You are correct that a standing tuck won't get you a job, but the persistence that was required to obtain that tuck will. Those attributes will stay with you longer than the rings, jackets, and globes. They are the reward in themselves. As I have stated before, this leg of the journey would not have been an option if my CP hadn't worked so hard in HS. Education has always been paramount and cheer was the "reward" for that hard work. As I stated before, this was HER path and which also included an academic scholarship to the college of her choice. To change one thing, might have affected everything else. It was her personal "butterfly effect".

 

[SL&AM]

I think my general issue with "winning" in all youth sports is the "anything for the win" mentality.

I've seen youth coaches who can coach some 9-10 year olds to a victory, but at the expense of basic fundamentals. I can't imagine being a high school / college coach getting all of these "decorated" athletes who can't consistently make a free throw / dribble with their left hand / kick with their left foot, etc.

This is pretty much where I sit too.

I also think that goals are a healthy aspect of any sport as long as they're organic and not forced on the child. I've seen way too many parents come down way too hard on their kids and the pain that does to them and we're talking the 4-8 year old crowd; I'm kinda terrified to get my first taste of youth parents.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

The only time I was upset when I didn't do well was we weren't set up to be competitive in the first place. If we are given the tools to be competitive then it is up to us to perform.

 

[flcheermom]

You have learned EXACTLY what I hope my CP will take from the sport. People who tell you that later in life "cheer won't mean anything" don't REALLY understand the sport at all. This sport (and others) will teach you about sacrifice, responsibility, teamwork, and accountability. Prioritizing your responsibilities and making "hard choices" when you need to. These are all very important life lessons. You are correct that a standing tuck won't get you a job, but the persistence that was required to obtain that tuck will. Those attributes will stay with you longer than the rings, jackets, and globes. They are the reward in themselves. As I have stated before, this leg of the journey would not have been an option if my CP hadn't worked so hard in HS. Education has always been paramount and cheer was the "reward" for that hard work. As I stated before, this was HER path and which also included an academic scholarship to the college of her choice. To change one thing, might have affected everything else. It was her personal "butterfly effect".

Speaking from a parent's perspective who is now on the other side (retired) and had a daughter in the sport for 12 years, cheer most definitely taught her life skills, as well as giving her life long memories. She learned mental toughness (she just had to do a 68 page research paper and presentation for a college class), time management - working and attending classes/studying. Persistence - staying the course, knowing how to manage her life when things get tough, and taking care of her body. She isn't perfect, and still has issues that all young people do trying to find their way -but cheer taught her a lot of valuable life lessons.

 

[Momager]

Everyone's journey is meaningful for them, whether they retire as an 18 year old Senior 1 athlete or a ten year old junior 3. Some parents and kids make the whole thing a crazy journey. Most people get what they want to get out of their cheerleading experience. All the life skills already mentioned, the reward of being a World Champion athlete, instant sisters when you make your college team, great summer job opportunities coaching younger kids- all of this WILL matter throughout your life, even when you are no longer cheering or connected with the industry. It's always a part of your resume, a part of your memories, a connection to someone who influenced you or to someone you influenced, and the life skills you learned along the way.

Our all star cheer journey was short but spectacular! Her sports journey has been long and storied. Her life has been exciting and enriched and I believe she has much to offer others as she continues along life's path.

@HeatUniqueJ I think you absolutely right, and I think there are more people in the sport who think like you than who think winning gold is the only worthwhile outcome.