All-Star Lack Of Dedication

[DXAJenny]

I work at an allstar cheerleading gym and this is our first year. We started out really strong and had tons of dedication, but then track season started...
Now our girls are missing mandatory practices the week of competition, when they do come they don't want to work, and they have bad attitudes.
I would love to take them out and put someone in their place, however, I do not have that luxury.

Any advice on how to handle this situation, because my stress level is through the roof!!

 

[aggie1983]

The only thing I can think of doesn't help you now. During tryouts for next year you may need to stress that this is a commitment and if people are involved in other sports they need to look at the crunch time for those sports and if the two overlap, they must make a choice. Harsh perhaps, but they can't be in two places at once. As this was y'all's first year, they may not have realized the possibility/probability of conflict or may just not have realized that cheer is every bit as demanding as any other sport. It does make you wonder though - "Hey, Susie, if you're not here how do you think your stunt goes up and what do you think happens to the pyramid? Hmmmmm?"

 

[aggie1983]

By the way, good luck and my sympathies for the extreme frustration you must be feeling.

 

[CheerMomNTx]

Definitely include information like this in your tryout packet. Also have your kids list their extra curricular activities along with coaches contact info. That way if you 'think' they might be using extra sports as an excuse, you could actually contact their other coach to verify.

If they don't show you respect and dedication when they come to practice, make them condition the whole time.

 

[GymCoach]

Up front they have to know if they miss the week of competition they will not compete. Then you have to be prepared that first time it happens to stick to your guns. It is hard to do especially as a small program. If you can put someone in their spot great, if not you have to rearrange the routine or pull out.

Both the parents and athletes have to know that you are serious. Explain to them in that first meeting for tryout and again in a meeting before you getting into competition season; that with the amount of money everyone is spending it is vital that everyone is at practice the week of competition otherwise their is no point in going. Make your example and the rest will fall in line. If they don't like it they can cheer someone else. The parents who are serious will appreciate it. The ones that complain are most likely your problem parents and you are better off if they go somewhere else.

 

[CGAcheer]

I work at an allstar cheerleading gym and this is our first year. We started out really strong and had tons of dedication, but then track season started...
Now our girls are missing mandatory practices the week of competition, when they do come they don't want to work, and they have bad attitudes.
I would love to take them out and put someone in their place, however, I do not have that luxury.

Any advice on how to handle this situation, because my stress level is through the roof!!

Multi sport kids are complicated, we've had school cheer, basketball, dance and now track.
There was one girl who cheered for school on Varsity and JV and played basketball on Varsity and JV. She was missing too much and we suspended her.

I would suggest that you take the worst one and make an example of her.

PS. See you this Weekend in Jax.

 

[Sammy_T]

Up front they have to know if they miss the week of competition they will not compete. Then you have to be prepared that first time it happens to stick to your guns. It is hard to do especially as a small program. If you can put someone in their spot great, if not you have to rearrange the routine or pull out.

Both the parents and athletes have to know that you are serious. Explain to them in that first meeting for tryout and again in a meeting before you getting into competition season; that with the amount of money everyone is spending it is vital that everyone is at practice the week of competition otherwise their is no point in going. Make your example and the rest will fall in line. If they don't like it they can cheer someone else. The parents who are serious will appreciate it. The ones that complain are most likely your problem parents and you are better off if they go somewhere else.

It is so hard, but this is just the absolute truth. My program is currently finishing up its second year, and this has got to be the most important lesson that I have learned... You have to stick to your guns, and eventually they will fall in line.

I wish you the absolute best of luck... It is SO difficult at first, but things will get better. Stick to the rules, put your foot down with the problem parents (they will not get better with time - just let them go if they won't come around), and honestly, make sure that your kids are in the right level... When they're not in the right level, it's so easy for them to get off track and unmotivated. When they're actually experiencing success and start maxing out their score sheet, they are so much easier to motivate because they have that hunger for the win!

 

[Goosepatrick]

It's hard to balance. Lots of good advice.
Short term, you may need to modify practices to allow them to do track and cheer practice. Our track season in our area runs practices until 4:45 and track meets are on Thursdays afternoon/evenings and can go late. So practices that start after 5:30 don't conflict and no practices on Thursdays during meets would help kids to be able to do both. This would allow you to be flexible to get through the end of this season and grow and then slowly begin to establish your expectations.

 

[DXAJenny]

Thank you all! We have in our try-out packet for next season that allstar cheerleading comes first and if they miss two weeks before a competition they will be out. It is very frustrating how we've had the talk with both parents and athletes, but theres always one athlete who think it doesn't apply to them.

@CGA Cheer, We can't wait to see you guys this weekend! Good luck to your teams and safe travels!

 

[aimeewv]

Up front they have to know if they miss the week of competition they will not compete. Then you have to be prepared that first time it happens to stick to your guns. It is hard to do especially as a small program. If you can put someone in their spot great, if not you have to rearrange the routine or pull out.

Both the parents and athletes have to know that you are serious. Explain to them in that first meeting for tryout and again in a meeting before you getting into competition season; that with the amount of money everyone is spending it is vital that everyone is at practice the week of competition otherwise their is no point in going. Make your example and the rest will fall in line. If they don't like it they can cheer someone else. The parents who are serious will appreciate it. The ones that complain are most likely your problem parents and you are better off if they go somewhere else.

Couldn't have said it better! Life happens and everyone misses. When they make a choice to sign up for other extra curricular activities that will be a conflict then those parents are putting everyone (including their child) in a bad situation. If you want your child in other activities then do rec cheer or something. Don't put them in allstars where everyone involved puts in so much time and money. Teams are only going to be as good as the dedication put in to them.

 

[Deleted member 8658]

I work at an allstar cheerleading gym and this is our first year. We started out really strong and had tons of dedication, but then track season started...
Now our girls are missing mandatory practices the week of competition, when they do come they don't want to work, and they have bad attitudes.
I would love to take them out and put someone in their place, however, I do not have that luxury.

Any advice on how to handle this situation, because my stress level is through the roof!!

i would really remind them what they are working for and how much each indivigual person means to the team and you cant do much even one of them is missing. Just try to open their eyes more to the reasons why they joined cheer im sure most of them will listen and really take it to heart.

 

[Num1Stunta]

I will never understand this. You make a commitment to a full-year sport where you're competing on the national level. It's certainly much more prestigious than local high school basketball/softball/volleyball teams who never even leave the area. Not to mention the fact that ANY other sport is not reliant upon full team attendance to conduct a productive practice. You pull one person out of the equation for cheer, and that's at least 3-4 other people who can't practice.

I try explaining this, and sometimes it works. You just have to put your foot down sometimes. I'm not unsympathetic, honestly. I was a multi-sport athlete even into college, where I played softball and cheered at the same time. My softball coach knew if there was a conflict that cheer came first. If I had to leave softball early or come late, that was what I did. I honestly didn't ever feel like I was missing out on much when I wasn't at softball, but if I was running even 5 minutes late for cheer practice, I was having a panic attack.

It's frustrating when there seems to be no stress at all when they miss or come in late to our practices. Like, come on guys, it's an inconvenience!

(Sorry, this really isn't helpful at all... just me ranting lol)

 

[glitterdiva]

Up front they have to know if they miss the week of competition they will not compete. Then you have to be prepared that first time it happens to stick to your guns. It is hard to do especially as a small program. If you can put someone in their spot great, if not you have to rearrange the routine or pull out.

Both the parents and athletes have to know that you are serious. Explain to them in that first meeting for tryout and again in a meeting before you getting into competition season; that with the amount of money everyone is spending it is vital that everyone is at practice the week of competition otherwise their is no point in going. Make your example and the rest will fall in line. If they don't like it they can cheer someone else. The parents who are serious will appreciate it. The ones that complain are most likely your problem parents and you are better off if they go somewhere else.

What happens if you have a athlete that has a school function that is graded? How do you handle this situtation. It seems every week before a comp some one has choir or band of some sort that last practice before comp.

 

[glitterdiva]

It's hard to balance. Lots of good advice.
Short term, you may need to modify practices to allow them to do track and cheer practice. Our track season in our area runs practices until 4:45 and track meets are on Thursdays afternoon/evenings and can go late. So practices that start after 5:30 don't conflict and no practices on Thursdays during meets would help kids to be able to do both. This would allow you to be flexible to get through the end of this season and grow and then slowly begin to establish your expectations.

But would you freak out if the coach decided to change practice schedule in the middle of a season for one or two children bc they are in another sport?

 

[2cheer]

I personally dont think that a child should have to choose between picking sports, especially if they are young. They need to have other options. It is also a matter of learning how to balance both sports to the best of your ability. My cp, who is 9, also does travel softball which has become year round just like all star cheer. We told the softball coach up front that until cheer season is over, she will be at minimal practices but we do make up for it in private lessons another day of the week that works for us. Once the competions are over and it is winding down a bit, we then focus more on softball. if she happens to have both practices in one night, we make an effort to attend both, even if they are not full practice times. My motto: better to show up late than not show up at all.