All-Star Tryout Process

[Adrirocks]

I had the same question about group revels, how do coaches handle an athlete who is maybe moving down a level or staying the same level when they thought they would be moving up? If you know its going to happen do you pull the athlete aside at some point during tryout or send the family and email? Or do you just let it happen in public? I always thought that group revels seem vey awkward and uncomfortable because there are multiple opportunities for sadness and it doesn't give the kids much space to work through their emotions.

 

[cheermommaRN]

Our gym did an hour tryout and that evening we got text messages of what level group you were in. Mine got placed in the level 3 which has 32(?) names in it. During the parent meeting they broke us out into our level groups and some of the kids were teeny tiny, under 12. I'm guessing they will have a jr and sr 3 like they did this year but who knows. They practice in groups until June and then get divided up further. Right before choreography camp in July we find out our actual teams.
The groups so far are novice level 1, under 12 level 2, over 12 level 2, level 3, and then a level 4/5/Open group. We have this huge pool of really good younger tumblers, don't know where they came from but it will be great if they stick around. Eventually the pull of Spirit or CA will take them away but hopefully they stay.

 

[BlockHead]

I asked our gym owner about this before we joined and he explained that they do "damage control" before the reveal night. This way when the athletes all get together and open their envelops there is little/minimum disappointment. I guess they can tell during the weeks of leveled practices. If a CP is practicing with level 3 but then gets moved to a level 2 practice, the coach will have a conversation with him/her explaining why. I supposed the only real surprise if whether you are on a Jr/Sr or sm/med/large team but I think they all kind of know their level.

At our gym the CP doesn't try out for a team. They try out for a level and then get placed on the team where they are needed. I don't know if that's typical of how most gyms work but it may be why the team reveal night works so well and is so exciting.

This is exactly how our gym is going to do it this year.

 

[Cinn124]

If you do a group reveal (as opposed to sending out an e-mail),how do you handle the disappointed kid who expected to be placed on S3 and ended up on J2 for another season? I think a big group reveal would be fun, but I can also think of a couple of kids who, even as a parent, I can see don’t have all the skills they really need to move up, but they (and their moms) are set on making one specific team.

There are rarely any tears during our reveal. By the end of leveled practices you pretty much know where you're ending up. If an athlete didn't have the required skills for a level then they would be moved to a different one during leveled practices.

For example, Susie tries out for level 3 and is put in leveled practices for the same level. Coaches see that she can't stunt/fly level 3 and she's not a good fit for the level 3 team. The next round of leveled practices she may be asked to attend level 2. If she stays consistent within that level, she more than likely will be on a level 2 team on reveal night.

 

[5monkeysjumping]

Our gym does tryouts by the level the athlete is currently on. Then, the coaches all get together and create teams. The teams are revealed at the end of the week on their website.

 

[DropAndRun]

Ok so.. as for people being upset at group reveals... it does happen, but I will say that people generally know before teal reveal for the most part where they will be and what kind of team it is based on the callback groups. The speculation that goes on after those are posted is WILD! I love it- I think it’s one of the most fun parts of the process. I was a TM last year and the ones that I personally witnessed that were unhappy were able to speak directly to a coach at the reveal, so maybe that’s a good thing. ‍ But for the most part, people know and have either already talked it out by that time or are just prepared. This is our 4th season at CEA and I have been able to figure her teams out every time.

 

[newbiemom]

We do evals where you are given your level and told to go to that level clinics. Sometimes if you tried for a higher level you may have to go to both it and the one below or during the level clinics, they could ask you to also go to the one below. If you have higher skills you get the chance to throw them at our level clinics and can be asked to go up as well. There are 3 level clinics and then they email you your team. They close the level clinics to the parents, but the kids get an idea based on the splits they are in. However, there are always some surprises, so a big gym reveal would result in lots of emotions. I'm glad the kids can process at home alone.

 

[Fleximom]

i'm not sure what will happen this year, as our gym is graduating a lot of seniors, and we have a large mini/youth 1/2 bucket, but are lacking in the middle. CP is not old enough to be on a senior team (thanks to new age grid lol) and is a solid level 4 athlete. I don't think they will be able to field a j4, so she will likely be put on j3. Which would be fine, except half the current j3 team ages out, meaning the j3 will be a young, new to level 3 team. It is tough when there is no "middle"

 

[queenie]

Our gym is calling athletes that might be disappointed ahead of the team reveal party (I think). I have a feeling the team my cp will be placed on will not work for us so that might be a little awkward because I can't make a 5:00 practice start time unless someone else can drive her (ie carpool) so I'll have to see if we can move her to a team that practices later after the teams are announced.

 

[Natalia5]

CP's gym do the individual coach call with a break down of how the decision was made, concentrating on their strengths and how they would be a great fit with team XYZ... yatta, yatta, yatta but they also give us 24hr window to accept or decline which is good for those who may have tried out at more than gym KWIM

 

[molls]

This year we brought kids in by age and level. All of our coaches broke up and did individual tumbling and jump evaluations with kids. We had stunt groups on standby if we felt we needed to pull a kid into a group to see if they could handle learning new skills or a new position. We then build teams. Most athletes are assigned to their team and know their placement once the e-mail is sent out, but several athletes will be assigned to multiple teams at the time of the announcement and will practice with both to determine which they should be on (or if they can cross over). We use our first 2 weeks of practice to finalize teams. But, we communicate to the parents that athletes can be moved up or down levels based on performance at practice until we do choreography in July.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Ok so.. as for people being upset at group reveals... it does happen, but I will say that people generally know before teal reveal for the most part where they will be and what kind of team it is based on the callback groups. The speculation that goes on after those are posted is WILD! I love it- I think it’s one of the most fun parts of the process. I was a TM last year and the ones that I personally witnessed that were unhappy were able to speak directly to a coach at the reveal, so maybe that’s a good thing. ‍ But for the most part, people know and have either already talked it out by that time or are just prepared. This is our 4th season at CEA and I have been able to figure her teams out every time.

I've wondered this too (if people are upset at the large group reveal) but this makes sense to me.

Ex: If you weren't asked back for the L5 callback group, you can't really be salty that your envelope has Senior 4 in it.

It probably cuts down on the OMG significantly because people are mentally prepared.

 

[alpaca]

Here's a question: does your gym require any payment (other than a try-out fee) before giving a level placement? CP's gym is asking for partial payment of comp fee's, uniform etc before a level placement is given. This is a red flag to me.

 

[Kiermyc]

Here's a question: does your gym require any payment (other than a try-out fee) before giving a level placement? CP's gym is asking for partial payment of comp fee's, uniform etc before a level placement is given. This is a red flag to me.

Is it a small gym or new gym? We are a small gym there is a tryout fee but waived if you attend the clinics. I know a lot of times a good amount of money is due shortly after team placements never had to pay anything before tryouts. Could it be a commitment thing?

 

[SthrnCheerMom]

Our old gym tried that last year. I think it was like a $350 fee. I don't know how it worked out bc we ended up leaving before evals started. It wasn't a mega gym but was well known at a time. I think they did I it to prevent kids from gym hopping during tryouts and be committed up front.