Stunt Group Gone Wrong

[CoachMegan77]

first let me say i coach for a rec team with two other coaches we work well together except lately.... we have a competition in NOV and only have about 4-5 practices left. this stunt group is all wrong and i have been saying it since we started. (im the only one with any cheering experience) the flyer will not use the bases shoulders correctly. she wraps her arms around there necks and tries to push off that way as well as the bases refuse to squat to help her in the stunt. they stand and she can not get up. the flyer also uses the bases HEADS!!!! to stand up and tries to reach for them for balance. i want to scrap the stunt group all together they dont follow directions no matter how many times i or the other coaches say something, im worried the stunt will not go up at competition or worse someone will get hurt. but since im not the "head" coach my opinion on the group change is going no where since im told we have NO time to change it. (although i feel we have time)

so my question is what should i do? how can i help these girls realize they need to listen and stunt properly and safe? THANKS

 

[GreenStormLucy]

That's a hard question.
I don't know if your head coach will like this, but have you tried to take a video of the stunt group and show the girls what it looks like?
If they see that it is not how it should look like, maybe they will start taking corrections and listen? I would go a step more and show my girls their video and a video of a stunt group that is sharp, clean and hits perfect (youtube is your friend) and ask them what they want their routine to look like.
I know with my girls this would work, but it depends on their attitude - if they just want to have fun, it probably won't work.


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[CEAisstronger]

That's a hard question.
I don't know if your head coach will like this, but have you tried to take a video of the stunt group and show the girls what it looks like?
If they see that it is not how it should look like, maybe they will start taking corrections and listen? I would go a step more and show my girls their video and a video of a stunt group that is sharp, clean and hits perfect (youtube is your friend) and ask them what they want their routine to look like.
I know with my girls this would work, but it depends on their attitude - if they just want to have fun, it probably won't work.


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This is very helpful. When my team tries new stunts/pyramids our coach takes videos to how us what it looks like to improve it


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[Mamarazzi]

I know this is gonna sound horrific, but basically the other coaches have told you that the safety and performance of this stunt group is irrelevant, and they know better. So, look "head coach" in the face at the next practice and inform him/her that he/she can work with Susie's stunt group while you work with the rest of the team.
Not only has the stunt group refused to learn, but head coach refuses to fix a serious safety and performance issue. Therefore, Susie's stunt group's blood is on Head Coach's hands. Not yours. Just hope that phrase isn't prophetic.

 

[CoachMegan77]

Thank you both. I'm gonna take a video of them to show them what they look like and I'll definitely be telling the head coach she can work with them. Maybe she will finally see it. I'll post how practice goes. Thanks again.

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[cupieqt]

There's always time to fix it. I've re-worked stunt groups in warm ups at comps due to injuries, etc so I know it can be done in 30 min or less. If you still have a month then heck yes you have time to fix it.
Tell head coach you really want to try something and if it doesn't work then at least you tried. Tell her to give you 15-30 minutes to see if what you come up with works. Play musical spots with those kids! We will switch them in and out and all around until we get the perfect combination.
Go into the next practice with a plan on paper and show her your ideas and your logic behind them. If she won't listen to you after that, do what @Mamarazzi said.

ETA: if things change up entire formations or causes icky transitions I can see where head coach is coming from. But a quick fix here, a different spot in formations there, won't ruin the routine. It will help it if everyone is happy and stunts are hitting!


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[SharkDad]

Grrrrr, one of the things that irritates me across the entire sport is school and rec coaches who are not qualified to be supervising certain levels of skills making safety decisions. Trust your instincts and stick to your guns for those kids sake.

Follow the advice in this thread and if you need some ammunition, show your head coach some "cheerleader fail" youtube videos to show her what the possible outcome is if these kids don't learn proper technique and progressions.

 

[sherpamelissa]

If you have the ability to do the stunt, our coaches with stunt experience will sub into each spot in the group and show the base how their job should be done. She asks them if they felt the difference and did it seem better. Also, can one of the groups that is properly working swap flyers for a test run? We have one veteran flyer and we move her around so the new bases can feel what their flyer should be doing.

 

[CoachMegan77]

Well I stepped in... we took a Before video of them and showed them how it looks. I pulled the flyer and put another in and it still wasn't working. So I put the original flyer back and took turns with each base showing how it should be done. I took an after video and they really got how much better it was. We called the stunt group in for a special practice. They have it much better now. Thank you all for the help. I really appreciate it. It saved our stunt and kept our girls safe.

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[sherpamelissa]

Well I stepped in... we took a Before video of them and showed them how it looks. I pulled the flyer and put another in and it still wasn't working. So I put the original flyer back and took turns with each base showing how it should be done. I took an after video and they really got how much better it was. We called the stunt group in for a special practice. They have it much better now. Thank you all for the help. I really appreciate it. It saved our stunt and kept our girls safe.

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Great job, Megan!