All-Star Tryout Season

[Cheer Dad]

y'all probably won't believe this but we will stay at stars vipers lol she wants a youth 4 or junior 4, or junior restricted 5. whatever we end up having she wants that. She said if we don't have those she doesn't really want to be on senior 4 but she would still be happy but she said she doesn't want to be stressed out on royal cobras (currently our senior restricted 5-but i heard talk of it maybe becoming a worlds team also) and she would rather stay on Y3 because it is the most fun team she has ever been on!

Are you sure? I mean you have always seemed a little hesitant to talk about them, especially after they forced you into becoming the Team Mom for Anacondas. [emoji23]

 

[TheVipersMom]

Are you sure? I mean you have always seemed a little hesitant to talk about them, especially after they forced you into becoming the Team Mom for Anacondas. [emoji23]

Lol. Yeah I think so. I knew you guys would be surprised at our decision. [emoji6]

 

[MaineStar234]

We are definitely staying at our new gym- so please keep feeding me the Kool Aid

I think that CP might be moving up to level 2 (either Y2 or J2) , but she recently she has been getting nervous about Evals and balking her new skills needed for that level. I think that we are going to pull back from most, if not all of the tryout clinics, and just do her privates for next week. The coaches know how to keep her calm and I am hoping that the privates will keep her confidence high, and that this setback is just temporary. If you know my kid's history, you would understand why I am a little nervous. She has grown so much this season and is happy again. I don't want tryouts to erase that for her.

ETA- she doesn't want to fly anymore. She is excited to base again. So, if the coaches are onboard with the switch (which they probably aresince there is an abundance of young talented flyers at the gym), I am guessing she will be placed on youth.

Side note, the post you shared on Facebook written by a WC tumbling instructor about tryouts is awesome by the way! I thought it was a great reminder to parents of what they should and shouldn't be doing to help their child and to trust the coaches, and he did it without being condescending/judgmental. There's some parents from when I was a kid and cheering that definitely would have benefitted from reading it.
Also, good luck to CP at try outs, that's awesome she's excited to base!

 

[AScheer]

Funny one of my school kids stopped throwing tumbling back in July, so she became an alternate. I've made it pretty obvious that her chances of making it again are all but zero, but as of last week guess who is tumbling again. One of my biggest pet peeves is tumbling that only shows up once a year. I don't play that game!

 

[AScheer]

I need some advice/opinions about tryouts and I hope don't come across as a loon in this post. So some background..This was CP's first year of cheer (8 yrs old on a J2 team, but "cheer age" is 7) and she loved it, our gym is very small but did fairly well and she would be completely happy to be on the same team next year, but after next year she would need to switch if she wanted to move to a higher level.

However, I'm hearing rumblings that many girls are not coming back and now I'm worried she won't have a team as the only other option at this gym is a senior team. Tryouts for the other gyms around us are starting in the next couple weeks; she can make tryouts for one of the gyms but cannot for the other, which is the gym we would ultimately switch to for 2017/18, and our gyms tryouts are last, so I won't know about what's happening with our gym until after other tryout are over.

So what to do? First, would I seem crazy asking for a private tryout for the one gym whose tryouts she can't go to? Second, I feel weird going to three different tryouts as I would rather her stay at current gym if possible for one more year because it fits well into her schedule and it's very convenient for me. Third, the fact that this is causing me such stress is highly annoying. Help!

My advice... skip the potential in between gym. If she would only be there one season and it's not where you really want to be, then don't do it just because the days work.

If you're going to switch anyways then why not request a tryout. Tell them why you can't be there, most gyms don't find this to be an issue. I would only do this if you are in fact switching. I wouldn't ask a new gym to make special arrangements for me and then not stay with it, only to come back a year later. It could make a bad first impression.

Lastly don't stress. If you stay with your current gym and after tryouts an age eligible team isn't possible, then they will understand why you're leaving. The other gym will also understand why you're coming to them after tryouts. Most if not all gyms will keep a kid even after tryouts have taken place.

 

[AScheer]

y'all probably won't believe this but we will stay at stars vipers lol she wants a youth 4 or junior 4, or junior restricted 5. whatever we end up having she wants that. She said if we don't have those she doesn't really want to be on senior 4 but she would still be happy but she said she doesn't want to be stressed out on royal cobras (currently our senior restricted 5-but i heard talk of it maybe becoming a worlds team also) and she would rather stay on Y3 because it is the most fun team she has ever been on!

Is she already senior age eligible? That's just craziness!

 

[Cheer Dad]

Lol. Yeah I think so. I knew you guys would be surprised at our decision. [emoji6]

Well I certainly hope you end up liking them. Hahahahaha.

 

[Mndl]

My advice... skip the potential in between gym. If she would only be there one season and it's not where you really want to be, then don't do it just because the days work.

If you're going to switch anyways then why not request a tryout. Tell them why you can't be there, most gyms don't find this to be an issue. I would only do this if you are in fact switching. I wouldn't ask a new gym to make special arrangements for me and then not stay with it, only to come back a year later. It could make a bad first impression.

Lastly don't stress. If you stay with your current gym and after tryouts an age eligible team isn't possible, then they will understand why you're leaving. The other gym will also understand why you're coming to them after tryouts. Most if not all gyms will keep a kid even after tryouts have taken place.

Thank you, I guess I'll just play the waiting game then. I just didn't want her to end up without a team.

 

[Pebbles49]

I am so excited, my daughter missed cheering so much and decided she wants to tryout...Yip-pee!

 

[SL&AM]

I am so excited, my daughter missed cheering so much and decuded she wants to tryout...Yip-pee!

Yeah!!! That's such great news.

 

[Cinn124]

I am so excited, my daughter missed cheering so much and decided she wants to tryout...Yip-pee!

OMG where is she trying out???? PM if you want to!

 

[mamabear]

Side note, the post you shared on Facebook written by a WC tumbling instructor about tryouts is awesome by the way! I thought it was a great reminder to parents of what they should and shouldn't be doing to help their child and to trust the coaches, and he did it without being condescending/judgmental. There's some parents from when I was a kid and cheering that definitely would have benefitted from reading it.
Also, good luck to CP at try outs, that's awesome she's excited to base!

I just shared it in the parent's section. I needed the reminder , so I figured a few others would too. I am not attached to the team that she gets placed on- but I was getting a "little" SMish about her hesitation to throw the BHS. It took her so long to finally do it, and it kills me watching her literally psych herself out of it....

Totally, decided to step back, and remove her from some of the craziness too. Hopefully it will work.

 

[ipaysheflies]

I just shared it in the parent's section. I needed the reminder , so I figured a few others would too. I am not attached to the team that she gets placed on- but I was getting a "little" SMish about her hesitation to throw the BHS. It took her so long to finally do it, and it kills me watching her literally psych herself out of it....

Totally, decided to step back, and remove her from some of the craziness too. Hopefully it will work.

Can you post it here (or PM me) too? Mine is going back after a year off and I'm trying not to hover. She's 15 now and doesn't really need my commentary, so the reminder might be helpful for me lol.

 

[mamabear]

Can you post it here (or PM me) too? Mine is going back after a year off and I'm trying not to hover. She's 15 now and doesn't really need my commentary, so the reminder might be helpful for me lol.

Posted with permission...

Sorry this is so long but I really needed to get this out there for everyone

Around this time of the season I always feel compelled to write this because it gets very hectic and I don't know if it helps to put things into perspective for some people or not but I need to write it, if for no other reason, so that I know as a coach in good conscience I put it out there.

Tryout time can be very hectic for athletes and parents. The athletes are very stressed because of their team placements for next season, and the parents are stressed because their kids are stressed. Sometimes this stress can lead to poor decision making for a multitude of different reasons. I want you all to understand a couple things. One of the most important being that tryouts are a single day (for most of you) in May. Trust me when I tell you if you are a returner, we put a lot more stock in what you've done all season than in a single afternoon or evening. So don't freak yourselves out because you think that you're entire cheerleading career rests on a 30 min tryout. Please try to relax and do the best you can do.

Parents, as much as I love that you are involved in your child's activity, sometimes it can be a little too much. A lot of you are thinking "no he's not talking about me"....I probably am. This does not go for everyone, but it does go for a lot of you. If you put TOO MUCH into this, it is no longer your child's activity you make it your own. The coaching from the window, the trying to figure out other children's placements to figure out where your kid is going, all of those are things that are best left to the coaches. This is our job and we are trying to do it to the best of our abilities. We are very good at what we do or we wouldn't work at the best gym in the country. I wouldn't presume to know your job better than you so please show us the same respect and understand that you don't know our job better than us. I can't imagine you'd think that we want to place children where they don't belong and lose on purpose. The decisions we make are based on the welfare of the gym as a whole. I know that you are looking out for your child but we need to look out for every child. So please rest assured that we will place your children where they deserve to be placed. I know sometimes that placement doesn't always match up with what you think it should be, but let's be honest you're a little biased.

Here are a couple things that my colleagues and I have said to people over the years that I think really make a lot of sense. Think about if there were an entire team filled with your athlete. Everyone had the same stunting or tumbling ability. Would that team be successful for the level that they are trying to make. If the answer is no, then you can't be angry if they don't make that level. Sometimes exceptions have to be made at the coaches discretion but that's the exception, not the rule.

Another thing is why would you want to force or rush a skill that you have not perfected in order to make a certain team. Chances are you will either lose the skill or plateau and not be able to move on because it is not done correctly. Then the athlete will be upset all year because they won't be contributing to the team, and the coach will be frustrated because the athlete isn't performing to the expectations they put forth at tryouts. Wouldn't you rather be the STAR of the team because you not only perfected the skill that you had on the lower level, but you are working on the higher skills and will be able to do so at a comfortable, realistic pace. I have seen countless athletes do this and all of them have been very successful.

We live in an age where everyone wants the best for their kids but a lot of parents don't realize that by forcing them higher just for the simple prestige of it, you are actually putting them in danger because they are more than likely not ready to move up or do the skill that they are trying and that can lead to bad habits that then need to be fixed, or even worse serious injury.

So please, I am begging you...this tryout season, relax, do what you are capable of doing, and allow us to the job that we are here to do. Help us help your child grow and get better at this sport. Help us grow World Cup so that it can be the best possible place for your athlete to grow not only as a cheerleader, but as a person in society. We have an enormous amount of pride in our ability and the athletes we produce, but we can't do it alone or when we have people working against us. I am here for any other questions people may have. Feel free to share this if you need/want to and let's have an absolutely amazing season.

Thanks everyone,
Kenny-Wu
Head Tumbling Coach WC All-Stars

 

[CookieMomster]

CP is entering her 4th cheer season and been at the same gym every season. We lucked out that it's so close (13 min away) otherwise we'd have to drive 45min to the next gym and I have no desire to drive anywhere. When she started cheer I just signed up with the closest gym and had no idea about who they were or their reputation.

She just finished her 1st season on M2 (T1 for the first 2 season and then made the jump to M2), and still had 2 seasons of being mini age eligible. So we already know what team she'll be on (unless there aren't enough girls and then she'll probably just be moved to Y2). Our gym doesn't do try outs so there's no pressure.

Her dream team is our Y5 team but she still has a few years for that to happen.