All-Star The Issue With Cheer

[ChoreographyInTheBack]

Now that I'm two years out of my cheerleading career, it's all become a lot less significant. Instead of being in on the drama, I typically sit back and watch. After Worlds, social media blew up with teams complaining about their placements. I remember being that athlete. Bitter that my hard work didn't earn me a ring. And now that I don't cheer anymore I can see clearly that THAT is the issue with cheer.

I have always hated the idea of teams having kids come from out of state. I typically automatically dislike teams that people move to be on. I'm still not keen on the idea but now I get it and I want to point out this issue. The issue is that there are athletes on social media that make not winning seem deplorable and embarrassing. There are athletes posting pictures with second place medals CRYING, and not the good kind of tears. Then there's Vizion 20/20. Several of them had "2014 Worlds Finalist" in their bios on social media. They were thrilled they even got to finals. And that's how it should be.

These kids on well-known teams are expecting a win and complaining about placing among the top teams in the world. But how does this make people on smaller teams feel? Kids who don't have the resources or consent to go be on a team that has a chance of winning? It makes them feel ashamed of themselves and the gym they are from. I used to hate when people asked what gym I was from and people would say "Oh, never heard of it." I felt like I had to defend my gym's honor by saying we had a small coed place at Worlds once, just so they knew I didn't come from Craptastic Allstars.

These smaller gym kids feel like people don't see them as worthy if they aren't on a successful team, and success is apparently only defined by a Worlds ring. I have, many times, seen people from big successful gyms treat other athletes rudely at competitions just because of the name on their uniform. In an effort to not be treated like crap, kids (who can convince their parents) move in with host families just so they stop feeling so irrelevant and unworthy.

This problem doesn't just affect kids moving to be on other teams, but also kids quitting the sport they love simply because they didn't win Worlds or they can't make a Worlds team. Some people just can't do those skills but these same athletes are shaming them over it. This is making this sport implode and become a drama pit.

We blame these people who are picking up and moving/quitting but really we should be teaching those who are making them feel like that sort of action is necessary. There are teams that would KILL to be competing at Worlds. Would cry over making finals. But that glory is being ruined by the entitled attitudes of other athletes. I don't really know what I'm hoping to accomplish through this post but I hope that it can excite some sort of rethinking so that this issue can hopefully become a little less of a problem.

 

[Aussiekat]

There are several issues with your post and it's mostly to do with your presumptions on what big gym athletes feel, think and their reasons behind their treatment of others.

1. Most of the top contenders for rings don't train to come second. Or third. When you spend years training to make that top team, and spend seasons almost getting there, of course there's a part of you that is going to be disappointed in falling short at the last hurdle. Reacting poorly on social media isn't right, but neither is telling these KIDS that their feelings aren't valid. Competing on these teams takes EVERYTHING you've got, emotionally and physically. It's so very hard for them to realise they have to start all over again.

2. On top of being on a high profile team, you now want them to have to think about how their actions in not being happy they didn't achieve their dream is going to affect others from smaller gyms?! At awards when they have just processed the deductions and waited an hour to be told what they expected: it's still not your year.

3. Vizion was the Cinderella story. It was beautiful and joyous to see their reaction and for them to do so well. We all love fairytales, but they are few and far between. More often than not it's BSB and SSX in second and third place who just missed out on the ring, again. Not every kid is going to be excited and thrilled about missing out on the good.

4. One or two athletes from a big gym acting poorly towards others does not mean they all do. You don't know why they acted that way, maybe they are dealing with personal issues you know nothing about. Or maybe they're just brats because their parents can afford to send them to a big gym. Most likely the latter.

It's no ones responsibility to make athletes from smaller gyms feel good about themselves other than the gym owners, coaches, parents and peers of small gym athletes. Similarly, no one should be making them feel bad, either. I always make sure we wish others luck and are polite and pleasant, but that's because I was raised that way, not because of the name I wear on my chest.

5. No one quits a sport they love because they didn't win worlds. If they do, they don't truly love it. It is more likely they quit because they're tired, they want a break, they want free weekends and to experience different things. Presuming they do because some kid posted on Twitter at 2am that they're so over it and will never win worlds so they're quitting does not a case study make.

I'm not defending the poorly thought out actions of teenagers on social media, but I'm not going to blame them for anything more than being emotional and acting stupidly in a public medium.

A few issues with cheer I can think of off the top of my head that don't involve judging emotionally volatile teenagers are:
Comparative scoring
No off season
Expensive comp fees
Expensive uniforms (and ones you can't wear a sportsbra with)
The amount of school missed for travel comps
Judge training
Coach credentials (it's ridiculously easy to get them)
53 National Championships
Charging parents for comp fees AND to watch their children participate in those comps

 

[getsum]

what you point out as a problem in cheer, with respects to gunning for #1 and not being happy for for anything less, is true. however, that isn't a cheer issue, this is a psychological human nature issue. everyone has a neutral level for whatever it is that they do. that can be placement in a classroom setting, athletic ability/competition, or lifestyle/income. once that neutral level is set, it's set and it's difficult to set the bar lower as a new neutral level, because one can't help but remember that their neutral level was once higher and that should be their normal level. it's difficult to accept that being at a lower level can/should be just as satisfying as that upper level. once you taste or get close to tasting a high level, such as the sweet taste of #1 victory or being just out of reach of #1, it's difficult to accept that a lower level can and should be just as sweet.

take lifestyle in a western/developed country, for example. our middle class see the upper class (the top "1%") as having it extremely easy and think that they, themselves, struggle and aren't doing well. the lower class see the middle class as being rich and having it easy and see themselves as the the ones who struggle the most. then, there's the people that have to sleep at a shelter and get food from a soup kitchen or food bank around the corner who don't have what the lower class has and see them, the lower class, as being rich. the poorest in a western, developed country, the homeless who sleep in a homeless shelter, are actually rich in comparison to people that live in areas of the world that don't have access to clean water, proper sanitation or adequate amounts of food. good luck convincing those homeless in a shelter or the lower class that they are actually rich or convincing a former millionaire who now makes 100k/year that they are still rich.

youll be fighting an uphill battle trying to convince teams from a top level gym that simply going to worlds or placing top 20 is an achievement to be proud of.

 

[Mamarazzi]

Not sure who the OP is referring to, as far as salt on social media after not winning, but I know this much- the athletes that I know that travel/traveled to be on a high profile team were sad about not winning Worlds, sure, but they also emphasize their gratitude for having been able to compete with that team at all. Seems to me that the ones that travel are actually more gracious than the ones that don't.

When an athlete competes at Worlds and knows they're not placing higher than 5th, 10th, semi-finals, it's an entirely different experience than when the ring is within their grasp. Some athletes are just that competitive by nature and it's perfectly ok. Some athletes love going to Worlds, hoping they dont make it out of prelims so they can watch teams the rest of the weekend and that's ok too.

I'm with @Aussiekat - traveling to be on high profile teams is way down on my list of "the" issue with cheer.

 

[CheerBank]

@ChoreographyInTheBack My cp is on a team that right now would equate making it to Day 2 with winning Worlds. I could sit and whine about big gyms all day, how they have more resources, a huge pool of athletes to select from, top choreographers, blah blah blah, but rather than looking at big gyms being upset they did not come in first as a dig toward smaller gyms, it makes our kids want to work harder. They see a team like Vizion coming in 2nd or C5 going from 8th in finals to gold as inspirational. The reality is if our small gym wants to do better, there are plenty of changes it needs to make - and can make - to make themselves more successful. I understand what you are saying about big gyms should feel happy they placed 2nd, but when you are training to win it all, second is sour grapes sometimes.

@Aussiekat Just yes. Although the one thing I would add is that the "they are just teenagers" excuse for poor behavior on social media is wearing thin. A high profile gym has a huge responsibility to our sport to keep their athletes (and their coaches and parents) in check, win, lose or place second. Seeing coaches perpetuate the negativity "in defense" of their athletes is not acceptable. They should be diffusing the situation, not adding fuel to the fire.

@getsum As much as it pains me to agree with you, I do. It is all about perspective. For example, my former-cp is a senior in HS. She and her friends take academics pretty seriously. As kids were being accepted to colleges, there was a sense of expectation of where many of them would attend. They felt they worked way too hard and sacrified way too much to be satisfied with a school that many others would be thrilled to make. It was not a sense of entitlement, but rather than anything less than the goals they set for themselves would be a big disappointment.

 

[Pebbles49]

When I opened this thread and before reading the OP issues with cheer, which all are valid issues, I immediately thought of the accessibility of the sport to everyone... There an extreme imbalance in economics and the down-the-road payoff... The Cheer industry, which I know, the cheerleaders are choosing to do offer little scholarships, little career options and little compensation... I think a major issue in my regards is the monopolized housing for athletes and families - Stay to Play (I think it is call), As a parent on a budget, forced to travel with child (I know this is a choice) must pay exorbitant hotel fees and taxed, travel fees and I really hate that after paying the astronomical cost of my child wanting to cheer that I must pay exorbitant amount to watch my daughter compete and if my husband comes, we might have to take turns watching her, because we cannot afford the admission fees for 2 or more...Why not offer family discounts or even some kind of discounts for parents...
I know my rant is all about economics issues, but I truly believe that cheerleading as a sport, may have price itself out of accessibility for all, maybe unless, you are male...
PS: I hate to say it, but cheerleading has placed itself in the category of Ice Skating, Skiing or Tennis....exclusivity...

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

When I think of cheer issues, I automatically think of the fact that when you watch someone's Senior 2 this weekend at Summit, it more likely than not will have Worlds medalist or participant kids on it.

There's an issue.

 

[dawgshow]

PS: I hate to say it, but cheerleading has placed itself in the category of Ice Skating, Skiing or Tennis....exclusivity...

Or any travel sport. Travel sports are very expensive which is why many athletes choose to do club or school sports. Prep teams and low travel gyms help fill the niche, IMO. You just can't have it both ways. You can't expect to go to the elite competitions but still keep your cost low.
Now, STP is a racket and really adds unnecessary expense. We agree there.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

How upset or happy an athlete is with the place they got a worlds is all a function of their expectations - those kids from top teams already expect to be in the top 3 and are working their butts off all year in the hopes that it will move them to number one (thus they feel like they failed w/ a 2nd or 3rd place). Those kids from teams that usually always make it to finals and are hoping to crack the top 5 are going to be upset w/ 8th or 9th place. Some teams are thrilled just to make finals cause they never did before and teams like Vizion are going to be ecstatic over making the top 3 (however, NEXT year they may not feel the same now that they got 2nd) - it's all about expectations.

This type of thing in not exclusive to cheer at all - it happens in every sport or activitiy. And sometimes the worst thing that can happen to an athlete is early success that is unsustainable long term. Also, the pressure on you when you are *expected* to win can be so stressful and overwhelming that it almost consumes people.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

This is also the "pre-Worlds cheerleader" old lady in me, but it is interesting to me to see it insinuated (by kids themselves, parents, fans, etc.) that they had a "horrible" or "rough" season because they ended up with bronze or silver at Worlds. Or maybe a top 10 finish at Worlds and no medal.

Ex: A team could have won NCA and placed top 3 at Cheersport and have WON Worlds once in the past 3-4 seasons but let them not win Worlds and it's a "rough season."

I understand that it is THE capstone and Super Bowl of the sport. I get it. Winning it is amazing and an accomplishment. But when I think of "rough seasons," they generally do not include Worlds medals, NCA jackets, or top 3 placements of any sort.

 

[BlueCat]

Everyone has different goals and expectations. It isn't particularly fair to judge someone else for not being "happy enough" with their result simply because you yourself would be happy with it.

Example: I am training for an Ironman Triathlon within the next year or so. I would be thrilled beyond measure to finish in under 11 hours. That doesn't mean that I am going to disparage some professional athlete when they are disappointed in their 8:30. Yes, I would be celebrating my tail off if I was even close to that time, but they have a different frame of reference. That doesn't make the pro "spoiled", that means his goals (and training, fitness, dedication, genetics, age, etc) are not on the same level as mine.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

Everyone has different goals and expectations. It isn't particularly fair to judge someone else for not being "happy enough" with their result simply because you yourself would be happy with it.

Example: I am training for an Ironman Triathlon within the next year or so. I would be thrilled beyond measure to finish in under 11 hours. That doesn't mean that I am going to disparage some professional athlete when they are disappointed in their 8:30. Yes, I would be celebrating beyond measure if I was even close to that time, but they have a different frame of reference. That doesn't make the pro "spoiled", that means his goals (and training, fitness, dedication, genetics, age, etc) are not on the same level as mine.

Exactly this. It's all about expectations. You cannot compare the expectations/reactions to the results of a team like Vizion to a team like SE - it's like comparing apples to oranges.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Everyone has different goals and expectations. It isn't particularly fair to judge someone else for not being "happy enough" with their result simply because you yourself would be happy with it.

Example: I am training for an Ironman Triathlon within the next year or so. I would be thrilled beyond measure to finish in under 11 hours. That doesn't mean that I am going to disparage some professional athlete when they are disappointed in their 8:30. Yes, I would be celebrating beyond measure if I was even close to that time, but they have a different frame of reference. That doesn't make the pro "spoiled", that means his goals (and training, fitness, dedication, genetics, age, etc) are not on the same level as mine.

Good luck!

 

[gofriars610]

I really don't have an issue with kids from other states fly in to join teams.

I'm from Maine, originally. To the best of my knowledge, there are no senior level 5 teams in the state. Why should Tina Tumbler with a double be stuck competing on a level 3 or 4 team? If her parents are cool with it, I really don't see an issue with her moving to another state to try to win NCA or Worlds or whatever.

This happens in other sports, too. Hockey players commonly leave home at 15 to go billet with families and play junior hockey while chasing the dream of playing in college or professional. Heck, even Ray Bourque was traded from the Bruins (where he played for 21 seasons) to the Colorado Avalanche when he was 40 so he could be on a team with an actual chance of winning the Stanley Cup before he retired. (Which he did, in 2001, and retired immediately afterwards because 41 is basically 81 in the NHL.)

If you have the means to chase a dream that isn't available where you are, why not go for it?

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Same with gymnasts. It's typical for the elite level girls who do not live near reputable gyms known for training Olympians to move and stay with other families to train elsewhere.