All-Star It Is That Time Of Year...tryouts!

[STAR Cheer Mom]

This is going to sound harsh but if you are a parent:

Stay in your lane.

Worry about YOUR athlete.

Do not obsess over/concern yourself with other kids and their skills, levels, etc.

I was just hanging out with the MS comp cheer coach who had a mom ask: "Do you know which 7th graders can already fly in a lib? In particular do you know if Meredith ____, McKenna ___ and Carly ___ can?"

Now I can see if you are friends with some moms from the team your kid wants and they give you a general scoop like "Everyone on R5 this past season already had their 2 to full." Or "all the incoming 6th graders can base libs." But going out of your way to scout out specific skills from specific kids is a bit much.

It's easy to get caught up in the comparison trap of:

"Do all the other 8th grade flyers have their half up lib? Omg she doesn't. We need to start privates."

"How many Y2s are working their tuck? She doesn't have hers yet. Ahhh!"

"Looks like everyone trying to make J5 takes privates with Jim. That's it. We're booking him 2x a week."

Don't worry about what tumbling your kid's friends have. What everyone her age has. What everyone on her team from last season can do. Which class they're enrolled in. Who they take privates with. Focus on your child.

THIS IS AMAZING! Can I please post this on my FB Page?? It all hits home! Would be a GREAT read for ALL competitive parents!! Wow!

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

THIS IS AMAZING! Can I please post this on my FB Page?? It all hits home! Would be a GREAT read for ALL competitive parents!! Wow!

Sure.

 

[STAR Cheer Mom]

Sure.

Thank you!

 

[SparkleSpankies]

If she had surgery in September.....she may not have been ok d for tumbling...or taking it safe? Maybe will be cleared by summer and ready for the fall season.

Here’s how I look at this esp for school cheer.. you have a kid who has put in 3+ years in your program... factor in probably good grades, hard worker, great for stunts... while full team anything is great, stunts are so heavily weighted.. in addition there are games and other things. If you’re seeing mass quantities of underclass non tumblers (but tumblers are being cut, etc) unless they are truly filling a need this varsity program doesn’t have, then so what! This athlete (and some others) it’s likely her last year cheering and she deserves to enjoy it and I’m sure that her skills otherwise whether cheer/dance/jumps/stunts/heart and morale are 100% worth it!

For all star, you have to take the risks and realize that Suzie had a full, then got hurt... and now coaches have to look at her skill set, and determine what is best for that athlete and the teams at the gym... it’s the nature of the beast. I don’t think it’s “unfair”... but I also feel like you need to worry about your own child and make sure they are progressing safely, on a team where they are growing, and at the end of the day, most importantly having fun!!!

 

[Natalia5]

I feel like All Star programs with returning athletes should just say "Hey, if you liked your current placement (level wise) you don't have to try out for this season. Just pay the new registration and USASF fee and you are all set" That way you only need to try out if you are trying to level up and/or new to the gym. I look at it as a win for the gym because let's say you have at least half of an awesome J5 team confirm that they are returning and happy with that level you have some great roots to build upon for that team. JS

 

[CheerBank]

I feel like All Star programs with returning athletes should just say "Hey, if you liked your current placement (level wise) you don't have to try out for this season. Just pay the new registration and USASF fee and you are all set" That way you only need to try out if you are trying to level up and/or new to the gym. I look at it as a win for the gym because let's say you have at least half of an awesome J5 team confirm that they are returning and happy with that level you have some great roots to build upon for that team. JS

Thats assuming that the kids all maintained and competed with the skills they demonstrated at tryouts the previous year. Many a time you get a skill thrown in tryouts never to be seen again. And why should that athlete not have to fight for his/her spot especially if there is someone hungrier to take it?

 

[SthrnCheerMom]

I feel like All Star programs with returning athletes should just say "Hey, if you liked your current placement (level wise) you don't have to try out for this season. Just pay the new registration and USASF fee and you are all set" That way you only need to try out if you are trying to level up and/or new to the gym. I look at it as a win for the gym because let's say you have at least half of an awesome J5 team confirm that they are returning and happy with that level you have some great roots to build upon for that team. JS

Our gym is doing this this season. With coaches permission, they can fast pass. If they want to stay at the same level, just fill out the sheet. The coaches know the kids and their capabilities. If they aren't really at the skill level they were on all season, then the coaches can speak with them and discuss.

 

[Natalia5]

Thats assuming that the kids all maintained and competed with the skills they demonstrated at tryouts the previous year. Many a time you get a skill thrown in tryouts never to be seen again. And why should that athlete not have to fight for his/her spot especially if there is someone hungrier to take it?

True, but I was just exploring how a relaxed try out system of allowing current athletes that would be returning to the same gym to keep their current LEVEL placement as of the close of the current season going into the coming season could be beneficial to some gyms. And the ideal scenario would be if a gym has a strong team (let's say J5 again just for an example) and they are going to the coming Summit in a few weeks and then the same gym have their try outs within a few days or couple of weeks after the Summit I don't think their skills would diminish within a few weeks or at least they shouldn't. And if the majority of that team just so happen to return and choose to just be that LEVEL again you know that you already have a strong pool of LEVEL 5 or whatever level you could possibly field.

 

[Natalia5]

Our gym is doing this this season. With coaches permission, they can fast pass. If they want to stay at the same level, just fill out the sheet. The coaches know the kids and their capabilities. If they aren't really at the skill level they were on all season, then the coaches can speak with them and discuss.

This^^^^ Exactly.

 

[Pebbles49]

@Natalia5, I definitely agree with your idea of fast pass type of tryouts... I think tryouts should be for new athletes to the gym, possibly athletes aging out of a division and especially athletes who worked all season to move up... I noticed that 90% of the times athletes go through the tryouts to be placed on the same team... I think the coaches and athletes time can be better and more effective if only athletes who wants to move up tryout and maybe the coaches can use that tryout/evaluation period to also consult and advise their athletes on best fit...

PS: I still remembered my cp had this coaches advisement before tryout/evaluation to give her ideas as what will be the best fit for her...

 

[CheerBank]

@Pebbles49 How is your cp? Is she back in cheer world again or planning to be?

 

[Pebbles49]

@Pebbles49 How is your cp? Is she back in cheer world again or planning to be?

Thanks for asking about my daughter, she is still cheering but only HS... I think AS cheer for her, just took too much time away from her socially, and now she is too busy catching up on all the social things she missed with her neighborhood and school friends...
Btw,
I loved the time my daughter and I spent together traveling but every AS cheerleader does not share the same story of lifelong friendships, unfortunately, my daughter never bonded well with her AS cheer teams and on most trips will usually spent her time alone...

 

[blyndreamalum]

I occasionally teach tryout material/ judge for a local company. This year while I was judging the high school the middle school coaches thought it would be a swell idea to put up their poster of placement despite us asking them to wait until we finished judging and left. I could hear middle schoolers crying though the doors of the gym, and there were angry parents to dodge when the tryouts finally concluded and we left.


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[BlockHead]

I feel like All Star programs with returning athletes should just say "Hey, if you liked your current placement (level wise) you don't have to try out for this season. Just pay the new registration and USASF fee and you are all set" That way you only need to try out if you are trying to level up and/or new to the gym. I look at it as a win for the gym because let's say you have at least half of an awesome J5 team confirm that they are returning and happy with that level you have some great roots to build upon for that team. JS

I know that at CPs gym, there have been times that an athlete has gone down a level the following season. In theory, it is great, but it probably won't work for some kids. Plus my CP loves going to tryouts.

 

[alpaca]

I know that at CPs gym, there have been times that an athlete has gone down a level the following season. In theory, it is great, but it probably won't work for some kids. Plus my CP loves going to tryouts.

We have this situation at our gym. If you stop throwing a skill or were shaky at it in the beginning and never really improved, then you may go down a level. Our gym value all levels so it's not as big of a deal as it would be at another gym.

We have try-outs because everyone has to earn their spot on a given team, there are no free passes.