All-Star Most Difficult Moment As A Cheer Parent...

[ROCKnROLLS]

Gotta say after coaching high school age kids in a youth hockey program for over 15 years and dealing with all kinds of parents I have to say us cheer parents are brutal and hardcore with this stuff. I have seen 17 year old boys get more coddling from Mommy and Daddy than a 12 year old girl when it comes to performance. Gotta love being nuts.

Kudos to you! As a Cheer Dad/Coach I totally understand your approach. Tough-love takes a lot of guts, but you have to be willing to take the risk to get the result!

 

[Deleted member 1556]

When I first started allstars, it was at a small program run out of a gymnastics facility. (I did gymnastics pre-cheering) We had two teams-a junior 2 and senior 3. I made the senior team, and was so proud, and excited to start cheering. For a while, it was amazing. I got to be in all the tumbling, and learned how to stunts and whatnot. At my first competition, I was so nervous and busted a round off tuck (Something that was pretty easy for me). Obviously, I was upset. My coach came up to me after screaming at me that "my tumbling was crap", and that I didn't deserve that spot. Having to hear that was pretty tough on my mom, and seeing me trying not to break down crying was even worse.

 

[FamUsM0m]

my most heartbreaking moment will be this Sunday at tryouts. We went to Hawaii for spring break and had an amazing time! She got to do a tumble and stunt private while we were there because she didn't want to go a whole week without doing anything with tryouts coming up. She did amazing! probably the best she's done in a LONG time (her goal was a full) she actually did it with a light spot and did a standing 1 to full on the tumble track. The monday we returned from Hawaii she wasn't feeling well. she went to bed and woke up about 6 hours later complaining of a stomach ache. i gave her some pepto and she went back to sleep. she woke up in the middle of the night vomitting and still complaining of pain, so i gave her more pepto and some motrin. the next day still no improvement. i assumed she had a stomach bug and it was beating her up pretty bad. by 1030 tuesday night she was in tears and i knew something was wrong. i took her to the emergency room to find out she had appendicitis. She has surgery the next day. she was pretty bad (not ruptured but had a lot of infection) so she was hospitalized for 4 days. so needless to say, the full will not be an option at tryouts, and probably no standing tumbling either. She's afraid all she'll be able to handle is a roundoff.....it breaks my heart because she has worked soooooooo hard to get where she was all for it to be taken away by something that was far beyond her control :-(

I had to follow up and say i am SOOOOOOOO proud of my cp!!!! she did her standing bhs (less than 2 weeks after surgery) and even got to do a fly tryout! She said she hit her heelstretch, arabesque double down!! I am so proud of her . She's more determined than ever now to hit the gym and get everything back she had before this ordeal.

 

[SaraDee023]

Probably my "toughest" moment (thus far) happened this season. My inexperienced flyer cp had gotten sick (colds and that stomach bug everyone had) before every comp in the early part of the season. She fell out of her stunts and even accidentally broke her base's ribs in Philly. Her coaches yelled at her, threatened her, and she took privates to get her skills where they needed to be, but her confidence was shot. Her privates coach said "She has the talent & skills but she just needs to learn her body. She needs to strengthen her core, do planks, etc." Cp never did them at home, however. So at Jam Live, when she came down, again, I had to look at her when she came off the floor crying and ask "Are you hurt?" She said no. So I said "Good, then stop the tears. It won't help. Did you do planks? Did you work as hard as you could? No. So either stop flying, or stop crying." It killed me to say it, because I really just wanted to hold her and make her embarassment and pain go away. Since I had already done that, there was only one thing left to do. Tough-love her. It worked, though. She never came out of a stunt again.

Who's with me for publishing a "Cheer-Parent's Handbook?"

GOOD FOR YOU! youre a great cheer mom!

 

[Panacea]

I have to give a big thumbs up to tsunami for pulling through like that! They were amazing!

Thanks! They really were something else.

 

[cheerislove9]

This thread makes me sad... So I after I read it I go to the " Not so fierce photos" thread for a laugh..

 

[Aw.Work.]

My CP has had two blocks over the years and it really is a helpless feeling. It was so hard watching her cry all the time and not being able to do anything. She looked to me to fix it and all I could do was reassure her over & over that we loved her no matter what and she will do it in her own time. Can't say it wasn't incredibly frustrating, especially with the coaches and other parents bitching all the time.

yeah it was hard on us both. because she went from watching me work doubles and standing fulls.... to sometimes not being able to handspring. she would scream at me everytime i didnt throw something, like to the point of me crying, and she would even pull me out of class sometimes. i sometimes still cant tumble in front of her if i know its going to be a bad tumbling day just because she makes me nervous still haha. eventually though she just stopped bringing me to tumbling so i went with other people and she stopped asking how tumbling was going. and without the negative pressure from her it actually helped a lot.

 

[NJcheerleading4ever]

My mom was never really one of those gung-ho "cheer moms" (that was mostly my dads area of expertise haha). but last weekend, it was my last competition ever of my senior year and we were in the US Finals...I had been a wreck when i came home after our last practice and she knew I was going to be the same way after we competed, but i don't think she ever really realized HOW upsetting it was going to be.

As soon as we hit the end of the routine, I was in tears. By the time we finished watching the routine and walked out from behind the stage, I was full-on crying. Then, when I was looking around at everyone going to their parents for hugs, and my mom wasn't anywhere to be seen (I honestly thought she had missed it), I started sobbing. Then out of nowhere, she showed up (she didn't miss it, thank goodness) and hugged me and I just completely lost it in her arms. I know she wanted to say something to make me feel better, and she kept trying to start sentences, but nothing came out and she just let me cry on her. When I finally pulled myself together, I saw that she had been crying too. (and i'm crying again now that i'm typing this. i'm kind of extremely lame. )

It was just a really solid bonding moment with her. after years of me thinking she didn't care that much about cheerleading, to finally know that it meant something to her, or to at least have really realize how much it meant to me.

 

[Angelica]

My mom was never really one of those gung-ho "cheer moms" (that was mostly my dads area of expertise haha). but last weekend, it was my last competition ever of my senior year and we were in the US Finals...I had been a wreck when i came home after our last practice and she knew I was going to be the same way after we competed, but i don't think she ever really realized HOW upsetting it was going to be.

As soon as we hit the end of the routine, I was in tears. By the time we finished watching the routine and walked out from behind the stage, I was full-on crying. Then, when I was looking around at everyone going to their parents for hugs, and my mom wasn't anywhere to be seen (I honestly thought she had missed it), I started sobbing. Then out of nowhere, she showed up (she didn't miss it, thank goodness) and hugged me and I just completely lost it in her arms. I know she wanted to say something to make me feel better, and she kept trying to start sentences, but nothing came out and she just let me cry on her. When I finally pulled myself together, I saw that she had been crying too. (and i'm crying again now that i'm typing this. i'm kind of extremely lame. )

It was just a really solid bonding moment with her. after years of me thinking she didn't care that much about cheerleading, to finally know that it meant something to her, or to at least have really realize how much it meant to me.

this post made my day. I completely understand what you went through girl, you brought tears to my eyes

 

[Fameous MOM]

Probably one of the saddest moments for me was watching my cp fall out of her stunt for the first time at US Finals. This year was her first ever flying, and she LOVED it. She has always wanted to fly, and this year got her chance. She did amazing all year! Never had a problem in competition, until this last one. Her one base went down while she was in a heel stretch and so she came down as well. She was completely heartbroken. She went through the rest of the routine trying so hard to hold back the tears, and when she came off the mat she was just sobbing into my shoulder. I wanted to cry with her. It broke my heart to see her put all the weight of the team's success or loss there of on her shoulders. They ended up getting second, but to a team that they desperately wanted to beat all year, so it still bothers her. Not to mention she's convinced now that she'll never be allowed to fly again. This whole thing makes me want to cry.

Awww that is how my cp was feeling to! You were better than me! I did cry with her. To see her so devastated I could not hold back the tears. I know both of our cp's will fly again!

 

[Panacea]

My mom was never really one of those gung-ho "cheer moms" (that was mostly my dads area of expertise haha). but last weekend, it was my last competition ever of my senior year and we were in the US Finals...I had been a wreck when i came home after our last practice and she knew I was going to be the same way after we competed, but i don't think she ever really realized HOW upsetting it was going to be.

As soon as we hit the end of the routine, I was in tears. By the time we finished watching the routine and walked out from behind the stage, I was full-on crying. Then, when I was looking around at everyone going to their parents for hugs, and my mom wasn't anywhere to be seen (I honestly thought she had missed it), I started sobbing. Then out of nowhere, she showed up (she didn't miss it, thank goodness) and hugged me and I just completely lost it in her arms. I know she wanted to say something to make me feel better, and she kept trying to start sentences, but nothing came out and she just let me cry on her. When I finally pulled myself together, I saw that she had been crying too. (and i'm crying again now that i'm typing this. i'm kind of extremely lame. )

It was just a really solid bonding moment with her. after years of me thinking she didn't care that much about cheerleading, to finally know that it meant something to her, or to at least have really realize how much it meant to me.

This post makes me want to hug you too! Good luck with everything you do in the future.

 

[Mamarazzi]

this post made my day. I completely understand what you went through girl, you brought tears to my eyes

Mine too @NJcheerleading4ever , your mama loves you!

 

[cheermommaRN]

The hardest moment for me by far was the day cp found out she would not be competing at NCA. Being the smallest on the team (not a flyer), and one of the weaker tumblers she didn't make the best 20 (we had 21 at the time). Her coach tried so hard to find a group dynamic she could base with but she was always on tippy toes trying to reach up. When we first found out there was a lot of tears and yes I was angry. I am so proud of her, she never gave up, she attended every practice and would yell the counts for the team or walk back and forth with her coach pointing out mistakes. She even learned a section when one of the girls were gone and THEN TAUGHT IT TO HER when she got back.
She never whined, complained, or hated on the girl who did get to take the floor. At NCA she went in full uni and makeup, and stood with the coaches in the box screaming her little head off! I almost started crying because I was so impressed with her sportsmanship and love for her team.
It lit a fire in her and in one month went from scared to fly to doing half ups to extension and express ups! She knows she will never be big and if she wants to succeed in this sport she had to get over her fear and she did. I don't know if she had competed if she would have ever taken that leap of faith....
God works in mysterious ways sometimes....

 

[Panacea]

Funny things about Moms and Dads, you never know that sacrifices, the joy, the pain and the reasons why they do or feel things that just don't make sense until you become older yourself. Cherish every moment.

 

[hopskipandjump]

I have two cps. The hardest ones were: 1. the youngest - the high school coach who told her she sucked. She stopped loving cheer after that. 2. the oldest - knowing she has given up so much of her young adult life to co own this gym of ours and the parents who take her for granted. I hate watching her cry over it.