High School Open Or Closed Tryouts Which Do You Prefer?

[AScheer]

We are closed.

I do not see the point in opening them right now.

I already have to manage the tryout, clinics, etc. Add in selling tickets, spectators, etc. and I would lose it. No more things.

Selling tickets? Ive never heard of that, but my fundraising brain thinks that's a genius money maker!

 

[AScheer]

Do most school teams have this type of set up?

I never talk about having a set number of spots. We just stop taking people when we run out of kids with legit potential. I feel like saying "we're only taking 20" would limit me if I had 30 kids who I thought could eventually be important to our program. If I cut those kids, I'm afraid they won't come back.

In reverse, "we are definitely taking 20," would force me to take 4 or 5 that don't have the ability if I only had 15 show up with the right talent mix. Then I'm giving false hope, and putting a parent in a position where they have to purchase warm-ups, etc that their child may only get to wear for one year.

My first year I was told by administration to take 16. No way around it. I wanted more, but it would have been terrible if I didn't think there were 16 worth choosing and had to add kids anyways. Luckily after my first year they let me call all of the shots. I'm similar to you, if I only see 12, then 12 it is. If there are 40 then I take 40. It varies by year, talent, and my sanity level! The least I've had is 16 and the most I've had (on one team not in the whole program) is 38.

ETA: I don't think I would ever do 38 on one team again! 32 is probably the max I could handle unless I brought in more coaching staff.

 

[purplecheer]

Not a fan of no-cut activities in school.

Can you elaborate why?

 

[Cheer Dad]

Can you elaborate why?

It creates entitlement and I should win regardless of how little effort I put in.

ETA: there are cases where it works but if everyone makes a team there is not always an incentive to try getting better.

Also as life goes on you find life doesn't work that way.

**if you don't like your gyms values or how they treat your child, leave. Money talks**

 

[cheer25mom]

Can you elaborate why?

I don't like it either. There is an entitlement mentality, there is no incentive to work harder to improve, and honestly, some people just aren't cut out to be cheerleaders, dancers, soccer players, ect and teens, particularly middle school age sometimes don't recognize that about themselves. On a sports team its easy enough not to play those people and they eventually quit, but with cheer and dance they are right out there for everyone to see. It embarrasses them and makes the program look bad. That isn't fair to the kid or to everyone else on the team.

Really for me its more about teaching them that they cannot always have everything they want, how to work for a goal, and that sometimes, even when you work hard, things don't pan out. If we constantly protect them from that the real world is going to eat them alive. No cut sports is just one symptom of a larger problem. We are babying our kids way too much.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Not only are the comments above true, but you also have to consider that cutting during tryouts has more of a positive effect than a negative one. Actually creating an incentive for kids to be more.competitive means you end up with a greater number of more competent kids over time, while not cutting ironically decreases the number of competent kids.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

Economic Socialism does not work. Cheer Socialism does not work. In both cases, you end up with a majority who ride the coat tails of a minority, and the minority eventually gives up and joins them.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Economic Socialism does not work. Cheer Socialism does not work. In both cases, you end up with a majority who ride the coat tails of a minority, and the minority eventually gives up and joins them.

Or the minority leaves for a place in which they'll actually be challenged.

All the valuable, hard-working kids end up leaving because the coach just HAD to take everybody. The beauty and irony of prestige and standards is that while it may suck to not be a part of a well-respected group, the only reason it sucks is BECAUSE not everyone can get into that group in the first place. If tomorrow, James and Misty said that there would no longer be skill requirements for Louisville Cheer, people would no longer hold the program in high regard. Would ending a decades-long legacy of greatness be worth soothing a few hurt feelings? No. So why have a no-cut program?

 

[cheer25mom]

Economic Socialism does not work. Cheer Socialism does not work. In both cases, you end up with a majority who ride the coat tails of a minority, and the minority eventually gives up and joins them.

If I could shimmy this 1000x I would!

 

[purplecheer]

@Cheer Dad @Official OWECheer @cheer25mom Thanks for the insight guys. I think that maybe the non-competitive team can be no cut at tryouts, but if students show bad behaviour in training then they can be kicked off? I guess I'm not keen on the cutting because someone could be really keen to learn but have no tumbling.

 

[cheer25mom]

@Cheer Dad @Official OWECheer @cheer25mom Thanks for the insight guys. I think that maybe the non-competitive team can be no cut at tryouts, but if students show bad behaviour in training then they can be kicked off? I guess I'm not keen on the cutting because someone could be really keen to learn but have no tumbling.

Tumbling is only 5 points of the score in most places for sideline. You can definitely make a sideline team with no tumbling. Coaches in our area would advise a willing to learn kid without enough skill to make the team toe roll in a cheer class at a local gym to gain skills for next year.

Sideline is the public face of the team. I don't think putting girls who are a hot mess on the sidelines just because you don't want to do courts does anyone justice.


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[Alexx]

Tumbling is only 5 points of the score in most places for sideline. You can definitely make a sideline team with no tumbling. Coaches in our area would advise a willing to learn kid without enough skill to make the team toe roll in a cheer class at a local gym to gain skills for next year.

Sideline is the public face of the team. I don't think putting girls who are a hot mess on the sidelines just because you don't want to do courts does anyone justice.


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I think that depends on the school. Most high schools in my area require major tumbling for even the side line team. At my old high school you pretty much have to have a tuck in order to even think about making varsity.

 

[cheer25mom]

I think that depends on the school. Most high schools in my area require major tumbling for even the side line team. At my old high school you pretty much have to have a tuck in order to even think about making varsity.

In that case they would be told they need to find a tumbling class and train for next year. I just don't think lowering your standards because you don't want to cut people is a good idea.


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[Alexx]

In that case they would be told they need to find a tumbling class and train for next year. I just don't think lowering your standards because you don't want to cut people is a good idea.


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Oh I don't think it is either. Our coaches would give you feedback of what you needed to work on for next year if you asked, but they definitely cut people or moved upperclassmen down to JV if others were better.

 

[Official OWECheer]

@Cheer Dad @Official OWECheer @cheer25mom Thanks for the insight guys. I think that maybe the non-competitive team can be no cut at tryouts, but if students show bad behaviour in training then they can be kicked off? I guess I'm not keen on the cutting because someone could be really keen to learn but have no tumbling.

Creating an incentive to improve is incredibly important. Plus, lots of schools offer non-tumbling teams, on which their athletes can then take tumbling classes to prepare to make one of the other regular teams (JV or varsity).