- Dec 14, 2009
- 1,960
- 5,349
Good Morning,
My name is D S Briggs and I am the Tumbling Director at Pride of Illinois in Collinsville, Illinois. In reviewing our enrollment this year we discovered that we had approximately seventy athletes who are juniors or seniors in our program. The majority of these athletes are planning to go to college somewhere and many of them want to cheer. However I found out a few of them are discouraged because they don''t feel they have the super skills sets in tumbling or flying that is promoted in our industry as must have skills. So rather than exploring their possible options to continue their cheer career, they are winding it down, so to speak.
In talking with colleagues across the country I discovered that many of them are having the exact same issue. It seems like it has been ingrained in many minds that if they don't have the skills to cheer at a certain school, then they don't have it to cheer anywhere. You can insert the name of almost any school in this scenario and understand the letdown factor. Additionally many parents are confused about their options and want to find out more information so they can make the best choices as a family for their student athlete.
We have created an opportunity called Continuing the Climb; From Cartwheels to College. As a program we want to emphasize that the ultimate goal for our athletes is to further themselves educationally after High School graduation and hopefully to continue to find an opportunity for them to cheer, no matter if they were considered National level caliber or just like to cheer for fun. Our goal is to rotate this concept around the country each year to try to slowly but surely reverse some of the negative thinking we are encountering. We have already began to work on plans to be in Chattanooga Tennessee for next year.
Our inaugural event will be Friday Dec 19, 2014 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm and Saturday Dec 20, 2014 from 9:30am - 12:30pm. Athletes have been invited to participate from gyms across the country and registration is ongoing for this event. Our soft goal is to have no less than 50 athletes attend with a limit of 200 athletes max. This will be a time for them to gain further insight on the process and prepare themselves accordingly, as well as some open gym and stunting time. This event is at no cost for these athletes. While we are offering t-shirts for purchase for those that may be interested (not mandatory) our goal is putting information, resources and people together and hoping to make some wonderful matches.
We are inviting colleges from around the country that our athletes have expressed interest in attending, or that we already have athletes currently attending to come and share information about their college program, educational offerings, tryout requirements so athletes can be prepared, what potential scholarships might be available. There is no charge to colleges as well to attend. There are several hotels within one mile of our location. Airfare to St Louis is often quite reasonable.Our location is within reasonable driving distance of numerous colleges and universities with cheer programs.
We realize this day is right before the start of the holiday season for many. We discovered that there would be no perfect day to have an event of this magnitude so we would rather start with something than be paralyzed into inaction by trying to find a perfect date. We also are aware that some of this information can be found via college websites and other recruiting methods. We feel that if we can help facilitate these positive connections and put names and faces together, this is something that is infinitely more valuable than the current "point, click, submit and wait" method of many schools today.
We would love to have your college represented at this event. If you are interested in coming, please feel free to contact either Jessica Smith at [email protected] or myself at tumbleyoda@gmail com or via pm here.
Looking forward to seeing you,
D S Briggs
Tumbling Director
Pride of Illinois
www.prideofil.com
[email protected]
My name is D S Briggs and I am the Tumbling Director at Pride of Illinois in Collinsville, Illinois. In reviewing our enrollment this year we discovered that we had approximately seventy athletes who are juniors or seniors in our program. The majority of these athletes are planning to go to college somewhere and many of them want to cheer. However I found out a few of them are discouraged because they don''t feel they have the super skills sets in tumbling or flying that is promoted in our industry as must have skills. So rather than exploring their possible options to continue their cheer career, they are winding it down, so to speak.
In talking with colleagues across the country I discovered that many of them are having the exact same issue. It seems like it has been ingrained in many minds that if they don't have the skills to cheer at a certain school, then they don't have it to cheer anywhere. You can insert the name of almost any school in this scenario and understand the letdown factor. Additionally many parents are confused about their options and want to find out more information so they can make the best choices as a family for their student athlete.
We have created an opportunity called Continuing the Climb; From Cartwheels to College. As a program we want to emphasize that the ultimate goal for our athletes is to further themselves educationally after High School graduation and hopefully to continue to find an opportunity for them to cheer, no matter if they were considered National level caliber or just like to cheer for fun. Our goal is to rotate this concept around the country each year to try to slowly but surely reverse some of the negative thinking we are encountering. We have already began to work on plans to be in Chattanooga Tennessee for next year.
Our inaugural event will be Friday Dec 19, 2014 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm and Saturday Dec 20, 2014 from 9:30am - 12:30pm. Athletes have been invited to participate from gyms across the country and registration is ongoing for this event. Our soft goal is to have no less than 50 athletes attend with a limit of 200 athletes max. This will be a time for them to gain further insight on the process and prepare themselves accordingly, as well as some open gym and stunting time. This event is at no cost for these athletes. While we are offering t-shirts for purchase for those that may be interested (not mandatory) our goal is putting information, resources and people together and hoping to make some wonderful matches.
We are inviting colleges from around the country that our athletes have expressed interest in attending, or that we already have athletes currently attending to come and share information about their college program, educational offerings, tryout requirements so athletes can be prepared, what potential scholarships might be available. There is no charge to colleges as well to attend. There are several hotels within one mile of our location. Airfare to St Louis is often quite reasonable.Our location is within reasonable driving distance of numerous colleges and universities with cheer programs.
We realize this day is right before the start of the holiday season for many. We discovered that there would be no perfect day to have an event of this magnitude so we would rather start with something than be paralyzed into inaction by trying to find a perfect date. We also are aware that some of this information can be found via college websites and other recruiting methods. We feel that if we can help facilitate these positive connections and put names and faces together, this is something that is infinitely more valuable than the current "point, click, submit and wait" method of many schools today.
We would love to have your college represented at this event. If you are interested in coming, please feel free to contact either Jessica Smith at [email protected] or myself at tumbleyoda@gmail com or via pm here.
Looking forward to seeing you,
D S Briggs
Tumbling Director
Pride of Illinois
www.prideofil.com
[email protected]
Last edited:
