All-Star Teal Reveal

[AScheer]

Back to the teal reveal. I'm interested to know what/how it is done, so any of you CEA people please share!

I know its a formal event, at a church (i think?), and the kids find out their teams. Thats all I have figured out. I agree with onecoolcoach you couldn't pay me to be in a room with my kids & parents when announcements are made, so I find it all fascinating! How is it done, do they walk up and grab an envelope? Is it announced and kids are brought up on stage? Is there a big ceremony or video or something? Do you think it actually makes it easier for those that are maybe disappointed because they're in a positive environment with other kids who are excited to be on the team they're on? I think it would be one of those things that I would just go watch to see what it's all about.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

@CEA_ATC @megsmom will there be an additional coach(es) for GP? Obviously the girls mentioned as coaches are very talented and have demonstrated leadership on SE, but I would be a bit wary of trusting a group of youthies with two 18 year old first time coaches

Well they've done it w/much younger age groups in the past. Our first year there the mini one team was coached by a SE athlete (as in she was actually still on SE and in HS) and a first year young coach.
Second year there were two coaches for the mini 2 (same new, young coach in her second year) and former CEA athlete w/a bit more experience. In hindsight I should have listened to my gut (and hubby) after the first season bc of safety concerns. Second season CP broke her arm in two places falling out of a stunt- w/the younger, less experienced coach being the only one coaching that night.

Don't get me wrong- I've said it more than once and I'll say it again- ultimately my child's safety was/is my responsibility and I learned a hard lesson at my child's expense. I did not want to be "that parent", especially since I had already talked w/her coaches expressing my concerns after CP continued to fall and hit her head during the same stunt for over a month. However, it is also perfectly reasonable to assume that anyone teaching/coaching a child should be properly trained- not thrown at the least experienced coaches; especially to such young kids who are new to the sport and don't even know the basics.

Having said that, I know Erica and her mother on a more personal level, as we are friends, and she is really good with children!! She and Lexi have been there 12-13 years if I'm not mistaken and at least one of the coaches who will be overseeing them is a good coach. Plus, these kids (on the youth 3 team) aren't new to cheer. In fact, most of them have been with CEA for 5-8 (and maybe even longer) years at least. •counts including the upcoming season* There are several who are true level 3 athletes, and even more who are true level 5 athletes.
So I don't think it's as worrisome compared to my situation, since these girls aren't new to the sport or CEA, and the younger coaches will be overseen/mentored by a good coach.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

Regardless of what the kid wants?

Yep! =\
I remember our last season there when they first did the teal reveal and one of my CP's former teammates came running up to me saying, "look look look I made mini elite!!!" She was so freaking excited and I grinned really wide and congratulated her w/a hug. I went over to say hello to her mom expecting her to be equally happy, but boy was I wrong! I was informed by the mom that her CP was really upset with her team placement.... riiight, she seemed totally devastated only minutes before bc she (her CP) "knows that she's still on the baby team" and that "she's worked too hard to be on the baby team again". Followed by her own words, which was something to the effect of "We'll see about this- my baby deserves better (after proceeding to talk down another child who had made a "better team" than her CP ) and "if Susie can be on that team, then so can my baby or I'll take her elsewhere".

Now I obv can't say whether or not her CP wanted to be on the other team once she was placed there, bc I never heard her say she was unhappy, and she seemed happy throughout the rest of our time there, but I do know for a fact that it was her mother , not her, who was upset with team placements. She was like 6 or 7 for crying out loud- you tell me :cow:

 

[quitthedrama]

There are really not an abundance level five tumblers on youth elite, some people tumble twice in the running tumbling/standing tumbling section to make it look like more. But YE is really just a mixture of kids who can stunt, tumble, dance, jump, or contribute to level 5 skills in some way and to grow as an athlete. Just because there are some level 5 athletes on the glitter penguins doesn't necessarily mean it's stacked.

Really? If you are going to double roster and cross down 2 levels that is fine - it's legal, more and more teams are doing it. But please don't come on here and make excuses (this isn't directed just at you but at every person who has posted that it is perfectly acceptable for CEA to cross all these kids on a level 5 and level 3 team and try to justify it because "hardly anyone has level 5 skills"). All anyone needs to do is to watch the first 20 seconds of YE from last year to know there are plenty of level 5 tumblers and nearly all were at least level 4 - standing tumbling doesn't lie - you can't recycle kids in that section. The stunts were all level 5, baskets level 4 and 5. I totally get that not every athlete is crossing to both teams, but given the skills that YE had last year, they will make a highly competitive level 3 team. Not saying it is right or wrong, but I just find it interesting that when other gyms do the same exact thing they get accused of sandbagging, but in this particular case it is perfectly fine. The double standard is frustrating.

This is exactly right. CP is a level 3 tumbler but a rocking base and dancer. So she 'fits' on GP but gets to do YE because they need bases to hold Kenley and Mini Maddie D in the air. So while it looks bad, the truth is GP is a majority of the kids' true team- most of the true level 5 kids on YE are crossing to JE, not GP.
The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

Just curious - are there only 2 flyers on the team? Why the need to name specific kids?

 

[soccercheergirl]

Just curious - are there only 2 flyers on the team? Why the need to name specific kids?

That's who her kid bases, I'm assuming. She was talking about her kid, not generalizing.



The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[fierceeflyeer]

Not to put down their coaching choices...but I saw on instagram last night that Erica was spotting a little one on Glitter Penguins for the first time on a standing tuck (Erica's first time ever spotting) and that led me to wonder...aren't coaches supposed to have special certification for these things? Or did the girls already complete them? It just worries me that brand new coaches at a first practice are spotting things that they may not be properly trained in.

 

[336Teal]

I'd say most of the kids that you are referring to have either aged off or are not even on GP. Off the top of my head I cannot think of a single one that had level 5 standing tumbling last year that is either still youth age or is on GP this year.

 

[cheernerd5678]

15 is a lot. 15 is almost a whole team... Regardless of if their tumbling is the right level, that means most of the team is capable of level 5 stunting, jumps to back, etc...

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Yep! =\

Now I obv can't say whether or not her CP wanted to be on the other team once she was placed there, bc I never heard her say she was unhappy, and she seemed happy throughout the rest of our time there, but I do know for a fact that it was her mother , not her, who was upset with team placements. She was like 6 or 7 for crying out loud- you tell me :cow:

Something I've noticed in coaching is that the child is RARELY as upset about a placement as the parent claims they are.

In fact, Murphy's Law states that the MORE mad the parent is, the less upset the kid actually IS about it.

Murphy's Law states that when a parent says "________ is crying all the time over not being point flyer/being on L1 again/etc" the child is actually not even phased by it.

When I coached Y2, I had a mom tell me her kid was crying all the time about not being on J3 and being on Y2 again because it was "for babies." I asked the child how she felt, and she said (with a smile) "I don't care if I'm on it, that's what Suzy and Julie are on! I wanna be on the same team as them!"

Um. That's not what your mom is saying.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

Something I've noticed in coaching is that the child is RARELY as upset about a placement as the parent claims they are.

In fact, Murphy's Law states that the MORE mad the parent is, the less upset the kid actually IS about it.

Murphy's Law states that when a parent says "________ is crying all the time over not being point flyer/being on L1 again/etc" the child is actually not even phased by it.

When I coached Y2, I had a mom tell me her kid was crying all the time about not being on J3 and being on Y2 again because it was "for babies." I asked the child how she felt, and she said (with a smile) "I don't care if I'm on it, that's what Suzy and Julie are on! I wanna be on the same team as them!"

Um. That's not what your mom is saying.

Definitely NOT saying a child should be moved because mom complains, so don't take this wrong.

But chances are that child IS crying at home. We have a girl right now who is unhappy with her team placement. I sat at the front desk and watched her smile at the program director and tell him she couldn't wait for camp to start and to meet her new team. No sooner than he left and she's crying her eyes out. When her mom asked her why she told Mr Robert she'd be at camp, the girl said, "Because I don't want him to be mad at me. We're not supposed to be upset about teams!"

Again, not saying she's getting moved to the team she wants, or even that our director would have cared, just that she sure was not going to let him see her be bratty.

But as soon as he was gone, she was brand new. So, regardless of whether or not I think it matters if she cries, mom is definitely NOT making it up.

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

^^^^^I wouldn't say that kids are NEVER upset about placements and that parents are totally lying all the time.

But I've got pretty good relationships with my kids and I hear them talking to each other a lot. When someone is legitimately unhappy, I hear it. When a kid is jumping up and down about being on Y2 with her friends all the time, then a mom is saying how unhappy she is, there's a disconnect there.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Also @Just-a-Mom -

Another thing I see often, a kid might be upset but be feeding off the PARENT'S attitude about the placement.

Example: A kid may have not ever even THOUGHT that Y2 or Mini Elite or whatever was "the baby team" until the parent said it.

Mom goes home and starts in on "omg the baby team" and the kid is upset when Y2 or Mini Elite was totally fine like yesterday.

That, or a kid goes around OTHER OLDER KIDS and hears "omg the baby team" and that's where it starts.

 

[CEAShelby]

Not to put down their coaching choices...but I saw on instagram last night that Erica was spotting a little one on Glitter Penguins for the first time on a standing tuck (Erica's first time ever spotting) and that led me to wonder...aren't coaches supposed to have special certification for these things? Or did the girls already complete them? It just worries me that brand new coaches at a first practice are spotting things that they may not be properly trained in.

I believe the child Erica spotted already had their tuck, I'm assuming they did it so she could learn how to spot.



The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Just-a-Mom]

Also @Just-a-Mom -

Another thing I see often, a kid might be upset but be feeding off the PARENT'S attitude about the placement.

Yes. Definitely. In the case I mentioned above I think that's part of it. Because the mom keeps saying she "got moved down" and is "with all the new kids who've never competed" - which, while true, is probably not the best way to put it. It's a new team that we didn't have before. Yes, the kids are new to competing, but not new to dance. It's the perfect team for her skillwise, but her friends are still on her old team. This girl is 8 - I don't think she would have even known it was a lower level if her mom hadn't said it. We could have talked her down off the "I miss my friends thing" - but now she thinks she's the worst dancer ever and wants to quit.

I get that being moved down a level sucks, but I wish mom would make her at least go to camp and see the team before freaking out.


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

^^^YES. This is fast becoming a very different thread, but I honestly think that there is a real value in "same team for two years" based on the LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL for that kid and potential to become more well-rounded at that level.

Like, yes you're on Y2 again this year, but look at the opportunity you're getting to become a MORE SOLID all-around L2 and be a leader to all the NEW Y2s coming in.

But that's a WHOLE new thread.