All-Star Thoughts On Competitions Immediately Following Long Holiday Breaks

[shootingstarsfan]

We compete locally about 1.5 weeks after we come back and Spirit of Hope/JSN is the following weekend.

We are closed for two solid weeks right now and it's bliss. Heck, half our coaches are overseas. The one thing I love about our gym are practices start and end when they are scheduled and they don't see school breaks as more time for them to be on the mat. I appreciate the balance. And while they'll work hard when they get back with some extra practices both the kids and coaches will be recharged and ready to focus.

We practiced on Easter Sunday before (and Labor Day and Memorial Day) at other gyms and no bid, jacket, trophy or banner is worth the lack of balance for making a kid miss family or religious time for a cheer practice.

If you're that close to the competition, like the movie says, if you don't have it by then...you don't have it.

I'm appreciating my cheer mom final year in a little slice of cheer sanity.


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This is awesome. Everyone needs a break, both coaches and kids. One of my first years cheering I had practice on Christmas Eve morning because we competed the weekend after. I just think it's unrealistic to ask parents to bring their kids to practice on holidays.

 

[mybabywantstotumble]

You would be correct.

Yup. Saw your girl today!

 

[CheerBank]

This is awesome. Everyone needs a break, both coaches and kids. One of my first years cheering I had practice on Christmas Eve morning because we competed the weekend after. I just think it's unrealistic to ask parents to bring their kids to practice on holidays.

I think that needs to hold true for all the holidays then. I can't tell you the number of times I've had issues with coaches not understanding why cp cannot go to practice on a particular Jewish holiday (and I'm not religious so we're talking about a total of 4 potential days during the season should they even fall on practice days). I've always told them though cp is available if they wish to hold practice on Christmas and Easter.

 

[12stepCheermom]

I think that needs to hold true for all the holidays then. I can't tell you the number of times I've had issues with coaches not understanding why cp cannot go to practice on a particular Jewish holiday (and I'm not religious so we're talking about a total of 4 potential days during the season should they even fall on practice days). I've always told them though cp is available if they wish to hold practice on Christmas and Easter.

Totally agree here. We've had some Jewish kids on our teams before and I had zero problem with them not being at practice on a hannakah night just as I think expecting to practice on Easter Sunday shows equally little balance. In truth, our family was raised Catholic but I haven't been to church in years. I like to say I have faith but no "religion" so going to practice on Easter Sunday didn't bother me that much...but my mother was less than thrilled that cheer was dictating her family Easter dinner schedule that day.

And there's no amount of discussion that can convince your Catholic mother that your kid's cheer schedule is valid on a major religious holiday.


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[BowsnBling]

Totally agree here. We've had some Jewish kids on our teams before and I had zero problem with them not being at practice on a hannakah night just as I think expecting to practice on Easter Sunday shows equally little balance. In truth, our family was raised Catholic but I haven't been to church in years. I like to say I have faith but no "religion" so going to practice on Easter Sunday didn't bother me that much...but my mother was less than thrilled that cheer was dictating her family Easter dinner schedule that day.

And there's no amount of discussion that can convince your Catholic mother that your kid's cheer schedule is valid on a major religious holiday.


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I read your earlier post as well . I owned a gym for years and thought the world revolved around cheer. Then I got married and had kids, not currently coaching and let me tell you it makes you realize what a crazy cheer bubble that allstar kids and families live in. So many of the things they are asked to give up or push off are normal things that every kids should be able to do. I am glad you found a balance! I know that once my girl is old enough I can't even imagine telling my husband that she has to miss a family holiday event due to cheer. Good grief lol. Hope you have a stress free final season!

 

[SL&AM]

I read your earlier post as well . I owned a gym for years and thought the world revolved around cheer. Then I got married and had kids, not currently coaching and let me tell you it makes you realize what a crazy cheer bubble that allstar kids and families live in. So many of the things they are asked to give up or push off are normal things that every kids should be able to do. I am glad you found a balance! I know that once my girl is old enough I can't even imagine telling my husband that she has to miss a family holiday event due to cheer. Good grief lol. Hope you have a stress free final season!

I think this is a very important thing to keep in mind for some gyms owners and coaches---until they have kids of their own, they really live in their own bubble. Real life experience is so, so much different. I'm glad you were able to find a balance.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

I read your earlier post as well . I owned a gym for years and thought the world revolved around cheer. Then I got married and had kids, not currently coaching and let me tell you it makes you realize what a crazy cheer bubble that allstar kids and families live in. So many of the things they are asked to give up or push off are normal things that every kids should be able to do. I am glad you found a balance! I know that once my girl is old enough I can't even imagine telling my husband that she has to miss a family holiday event due to cheer. Good grief lol. Hope you have a stress free final season!

It's why I quit early this season. At first I was committed to every Sunday which was fine by me as I live 2 hours away from gym. Then it was you need to come to open tumble on a Monday or find a tumble class Nearer you. That was just about doable but still had to travel 40ish miles. Then it was you don't have a backhand spring you need to come on a Friday. The cost was mounting up as it was not any cost I had anticipated and I would have had no life driving 160 mile round trip 3-4 times a week. I am glad I quit now I do another activity because it is individual I can choose how many lessons I put in.

 

[chardaeeeee]

UCA College nationals is the second week in January so there isn't really a break for college cheerleaders. The athletes who live out of state usually go home for a week (for Christmas) , and return the next week for practice. It's also very different for us because many children in all-star start school early in January, and we don't start school until the last week in January so we are able to get practices in during the day and evening for several days leading up to nationals.

 

[Fiercecheermom]

Yup. Saw your girl today!

And if you are there again this morning at 10am, you would see her again LOL...no rest for this team...AND I LOVE IT!!!

 

[CheerBank]

I read your earlier post as well . I owned a gym for years and thought the world revolved around cheer. Then I got married and had kids, not currently coaching and let me tell you it makes you realize what a crazy cheer bubble that allstar kids and families live in. So many of the things they are asked to give up or push off are normal things that every kids should be able to do. I am glad you found a balance! I know that once my girl is old enough I can't even imagine telling my husband that she has to miss a family holiday event due to cheer. Good grief lol. Hope you have a stress free final season!

We have definitely seen a change in our coaches since they both now have kids. Not only in regards to the holidays but also with sick kids coming to practice.

 

[shootingstarsfan]

I think that needs to hold true for all the holidays then. I can't tell you the number of times I've had issues with coaches not understanding why cp cannot go to practice on a particular Jewish holiday (and I'm not religious so we're talking about a total of 4 potential days during the season should they even fall on practice days). I've always told them though cp is available if they wish to hold practice on Christmas and Easter.

Absolutely! I work for a school system, we get all Catholic holidays off, but our school system is heavy populated with students who are other religions. I think it should either be all holidays given off or none at all.

 

[CheerBank]

Totally agree here. We've had some Jewish kids on our teams before and I had zero problem with them not being at practice on a hannakah night just as I think expecting to practice on Easter Sunday shows equally little balance. In truth, our family was raised Catholic but I haven't been to church in years. I like to say I have faith but no "religion" so going to practice on Easter Sunday didn't bother me that much...but my mother was less than thrilled that cheer was dictating her family Easter dinner schedule that day.

And there's no amount of discussion that can convince your Catholic mother that your kid's cheer schedule is valid on a major religious holiday.


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The funny thing is that Hanukkah is not even a major holiday. Cp could go to practice every night and it wouldn't make a difference. Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Passover (first two nights) are the biggies. If you're religious of course there are more but I haven't come across too many (translation: none) religious Jews in cheerleading. The problem with Jewish holidays is because the calendar is lunar the corresponding dates vary - sometimes greatly - from year to year, so not having a fixed date like Christmas throws people.

The first night of Passover 2016 is the Saturday night of Worlds. If cp's team gets a bid it will work out well school wise since they have off that Friday and Monday but explaining it to the extended fam will not be fun. Then again I blew off a Seder for a Grateful Dead concert one year in high school or college so there's that .

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

The funny thing is that Hanukkah is not even a major holiday. Cp could go to practice every night and it wouldn't make a difference. Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Passover (first two nights) are the biggies. If you're religious of course there are more but I haven't come across too many (translation: none) religious Jews in cheerleading. The problem with Jewish holidays is because the calendar is lunar the corresponding dates vary - sometimes greatly - from year to year, so not having a fixed date like Christmas throws people.

The first night of Passover 2016 is the Saturday night of Worlds. If cp's team gets a bid it will work out well school wise since they have off that Friday and Monday but explaining it to the extended fam will not be fun. Then again I blew off a Seder for a Grateful Dead concert one year in high school or college so there's that .

Side note/small derailment: Upstate NY doesn't have a large Jewish population so before college I had NEVER heard of any of the Jewish holidays except Hanukkah. Then I went to a school where a solid chunk of the student population was from LI and the school was accommodating to the Jewish holidays (I wanna say it was Rosh Hashanah we got off and then for Yom Kippur, the college sent out emails saying if you were taking the day off, you had to tell the registrars office so the professors couldn't penalize you for missing the class.) Apparently this is a normal thing down state - getting Jewish holidays off - because it's not in Upstate NY.

Side-side note: one of my old room mates was Jewish (from LI, too) and I am now remembering that she bought the Charlie Brown Christmas tree the year I lived with her and insisted we put it up. Strange.

Side-side-side note: I learned my junior year of college that Passover was not a Catholic holiday. It's especially funny because technically I'm some sort of Catholic. But I've never been to church and most things I know about the lore is because I watched Supernatural. (What do you mean the real Four Horsemen don't control us with the one (four) ring(s) to rule them all?)

 

[CheerBank]

Side note/small derailment: Upstate NY doesn't have a large Jewish population so before college I had NEVER heard of any of the Jewish holidays except Hanukkah. Then I went to a school where a solid chunk of the student population was from LI and the school was accommodating to the Jewish holidays (I wanna say it was Rosh Hashanah we got off and then for Yom Kippur, the college sent out emails saying if you were taking the day off, you had to tell the registrars office so the professors couldn't penalize you for missing the class.) Apparently this is a normal thing down state - getting Jewish holidays off - because it's not in Upstate NY.

Side-side note: one of my old room mates was Jewish (from LI, too) and I am now remembering that she bought the Charlie Brown Christmas tree the year I lived with her and insisted we put it up. Strange.

Side-side-side note: I learned my junior year of college that Passover was not a Catholic holiday. It's especially funny because technically I'm some sort of Catholic. But I've never been to church and most things I know about the lore is because I watched Supernatural. (What do you mean the real Four Horsemen don't control us with the one (four) ring(s) to rule them all?)

The schools down here were closed for the Jewish holidays because there used to be such a high percentage of Jewish teachers who were taking off for the holidays it didn't pay to keep them open. My parents didn't have the days off when they grew up in NYC schools but they took the days off. Our school district is about 20% Jewish student wise and like all Long Island, NYC and Westchester school districts we have 2 days off for Rosh Hashana, 1 off for Yom Kippur and then the number of days for Passover varies depending on when Easter falls. I went to a SUNY in upstate NY and we had off the Jewish holidays. My oldest goes to a state school in PA and does not.

NYC just added a Muslim holiday to their calendar, but not sure if it is 1 or 2 days.

 

[DropAndRun]

Our gym owner has kids, both of whom cheer, and we are practicing on New Year's Day in the evening. (Actually Droplet's team is not, but we have teams that are.)

Personally, with a competition coming up the 9-10 that I would really like to see us win and the knowledge that we have been completely shut down since the 21st, I would rather roll out of my pajamas on New Year's Day after this break than have Droplet practicing until 10:30 on a school night the week of a comp because she and her team are still on the struggle bus from 10 days off.

But maybe that's just me.