High School Tryout Season

[cheermuse]

I kept my CP from school cheer 1st 2 years of HS, as she nor I wanted to deal with the drama that I have seen lol. She decided to try school cheer last year and loved it and it has been a pleasant experience so far. Comp team, that has its moments lol I chalk it up to maturity level of coaches.

This year tryouts for sideline, seem to have brought out the SM of school cheer. Had parents whos daughter tried out for Varsity (coming from JV) and she didn't make it. Mom felt it necessary to post a fb status on how she dumbfounded she is that her cp got MVP on JV and didn't make varsity.

JV and Varsity at this HS are very different and at the end of season banquet, the varsity cheer coach, talked to JV cheerleaders parents and girls and told them that her style is very different from JV and that she only has 20 spots and last year had over 70 girls tryout for varsity. She said, "I am very hard on them as i only pick the best girls to be on the team". Of course this SM and her CP did not stay to hear this part of information.

This coach came in and revamped entire team, in past 4 years, Varsity Cheer went from school Administration, student body etc not even respecting them to now they receive request to cheer at lots of team sporting event (outside of football/basketball) and local community events.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

^^^^If I have a parent issue, it is usually that.

The JV coach and I are very different and the expectations for my team v. hers are different.

The tryout requirements are also different.

As they should be, because our JV is purely sideline only with an exhibition or 2. Varsity is the competitive team.

Every year without fail, there is at least one mom who somehow misses all that and assumes that her daughter is just going to magically make Varsity based on doing 2 years on JV. Like it's automatic. Despite not having the tumbling.

No.

 

[CheerItFullOut]

I don't want to get into too much since this is a public forum...

All of the girls that were cut from the team have now been allowed on, including some with behavior issues. Camp is optional, and I am not allowed to do comp try outs until August. I'm sure I will be back in fighting over my comp squad come August too.

I felt very supported until now, but I'm realizing that parents make threats and get what they want-whether or not it is best for the child. I'm totally baffled that a parent wants to set their child up for failure. But, I'm just a cheer coach, and I'm supposed to do what I'm told. I very seriously considered leaving, and I'm still not sure I am making the right choice by sticking around for this. It is what it is-we will see how it all shakes out.

I'm so sorry you are going through this...

 

[Official OWECheer]

It took several months for the criticism of the 10 girls who didn't legitimately make the squad to die down. Tritter comments were especially cruel. A few of the girls still say that it was the worst experience of their high school years and it they had to do it over again, they wouldn't have participated.

What I find ironic is one of the dads that was the most vocal about the situation on Facebook, has posted several articles about how "millennial snowflakes demand participation trophies". I have to stop myself from calling him out for demanding that his "special snowflake" be put on a squad that she didn't actually make. She didn't even make the JV squad.

I feel like a lot of people pull that criticism out of their butts when it's convenient, but as soon as they want (or they want their child) to be a snowflake, it flies out of the window. People often just say it because it makes them feel good.

 

[ErinS]

I don't want to get into too much since this is a public forum...

All of the girls that were cut from the team have now been allowed on, including some with behavior issues. Camp is optional, and I am not allowed to do comp try outs until August. I'm sure I will be back in fighting over my comp squad come August too.

I felt very supported until now, but I'm realizing that parents make threats and get what they want-whether or not it is best for the child. I'm totally baffled that a parent wants to set their child up for failure. But, I'm just a cheer coach, and I'm supposed to do what I'm told. I very seriously considered leaving, and I'm still not sure I am making the right choice by sticking around for this. It is what it is-we will see how it all shakes out.

That's awful. And annoying. You are expecting so if the situation doesn't end/ get better or if the behavior issues/ parents cause undue stress, I would walk away. It's not worth it



To update on my niece, she made the JV squad. Pretty sure all of the rising 7th graders that tried out made it. To be fair it appears that they all have standing BHS or are at least extremely close. She started practice Monday and seems to love it. She's flying (which low key upsets me) but at least she's (over the last 3 days) is taking the required stretching seriously


Also I'm including this picture because she really has been preparing to make this squad the majority of her life


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[Official OWECheer]

That's awful. And annoying. You are expecting so if the situation doesn't end/ get better or if the behavior issues/ parents cause undue stress, I would walk away. It's not worth it



To update on my niece, she made the JV squad. Pretty sure all of the rising 7th graders that tried out made it. To be fair it appears that they all have standing BHS or are at least extremely close. She started practice Monday and seems to love it. She's flying (which low key upsets me) but at least she's (over the last 3 days) is taking the required stretching seriously


Also I'm including this picture because she really has been preparing to make this squad the majority of her life

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

She's adorable!

 

[Official OWECheer]

Good luck!

Seems so late because our last day of school was Friday!

So I was going through old choreo docs, and forgot that I had made you something a year ago and might have forgotten to send it to you. Hopefully 13 months later isn't too late LOL.

Rebels New Crowd Leading Material - Google Slides

 

[emma_tuttle]

Wow I haven't been on here in a long time. I lost me password and couldn't figure out Tapatalk at the time so I wasn't able to get back on. Most of you probably don't know me or remember me, but I was around when we all got into arguments about state shapes and I went through the 1 AM baseball field debacle at Worlds a couple of years ago.

This got really long-I'm so sorry.

Anyway, I'm graduated now (I can't believe it) and I have some insight to how my team does tryouts.

We have 3-4 days of clinics starting in Monday and then on Friday or Saturday tryouts happen. Day 1 is working jumps and learning first the cheer and then the dance from graduating seniors (this year we also had an alumnus who graduated last year but has stayed really involved with the program and now coaches the middle school who was a major help to everyone). Then we split girls by where we think they should go (base, backspot, flyer) and then put some girls together to get an idea of some stunting. This part is where veterans and rookies are specifically intermingled. Unfortunately, my area does not have tumbling resources so the most required is an attempted cartwheel or roundoff, which is scored on technique. Girls are given their own copy of the scoresheet on the first day so that they understand what is expected of them on tryout day. Then on day 2, candidates draw numbers. This is the order they try out in, and this is how groups are given. So 1-4 are a group and they have to figure out how they work as a stunt group. So for example, 1-4 this year were 2 sisters who are the tallest on the team, a flyer, and another girl who is significantly shorter than the sisters and doesn't like basing. They had to figure out how they would stunt together as a group. All you have to do is a prep so it's nothing too much, but you can't be scored as a backspot so you have to figure out two ways to make it work so that each girl who backspots also bases or flies. You get these groups early so that you can start working and figure out how your group is strongest. It also shows flexibility in stunt groups. Each day the dance and cheer are gone over once or twice at the beginning and then the music is left on through the gym so that anyone who wants to practice the dance can jump in whenever (unless no one is working on it after a while, in which case a coach just turns it off). You also need an "extra"-something to show the judges that isn't used elsewhere on the scoresheet. So you can do an extra stunt (anything from a shoulder sit to a basket), a jump (that you didn't use for the scoresheet), throw any tumbling you have (you can use a forward roll, the cartwheel/roundoff you didn't use on the sheet directly, or a BHS if you have it and there were some girls who did cartwheels into the splits), or anything else cheer related (like a needle if you had it). You work on that throughout clinics, as well.

Come tryout day, all of the candidates have a warmup/quick material review before they are sent out to the hallway and called in one group at a time (1-4, 5-8, etc.). They do the dance and the cheer as a group, and they all do both at least twice-two girls in front the first time, and then the other two the next time. Then they do the "group prep." They do each way at least once. If everyone likes everything they've done, 2-4 are sent out and 1 does her individual stuff. She does her roundoff or cartwheel, and we require a double toe and a jump of their choosing (other than a toe touch). Then for the "extra" she can do whatever she wants, with any group she wants of girls also trying out. If she wants to fly a basket, she can bring in 13, 17, 20 (and 8 if she wants a front spot). So those girls come in, and a coach will ask if anyone else wants this to be their extra as well, so that they don't have to come back in and do it again. They might have the group turn to get a better look at the candidates they are judging. Then 2 comes in and goes through the same process as 1. Then 3 and 4, and 5-8. After anything a candidate does, they are asked if they would like to do it again. This goes for the dance, cheer, or stunt with their groups, or any of their individual stuff. This way each prospect knows that they have done the best they could. They are also asked an interview question (things like leadership and how to get students involved at games) and are evaluated on how eloquently they answer the question.

We bring in (usually 3) coach-picked judges. This year we had 2 local coaches (one that graduated from my school and has worked with the team for longer than I was on it and one that we didn't know) and the third was a friend of a coach who I didn't know, so I don't know her background in cheerleading, but my guess is that she was looking for effort and looking like they knew the material. The judges are given scoresheets to evaluate each candidate's abilities and then that sheet is given to the coaches who are totaling each judge's sheet after each person. The scores are immediately entered into a spreadsheet where the judges scores are totaled along with GPA and teacher recommendations on work ethic, attitude, character, etc. This year, the coaches made the decision that only one coach would be involved with scores at all, because the other coach had a freshman daughter trying out. While anyone that knows this girl knows she is the Kenley Pope of this small town (not nearly as talented skill-wise, but same situation: coach mom, at her first game with her mom when she wasn't even months old), she wouldn't touch scores because she knows some parents would cause issues if she made it over her daughter. After all of the scores have been totaled, we put letters into sealed envelopes by number.

We had a really really talented group of freshmen come up this year, so on a team of 13, there are 6 freshmen, 2 sophomores (1 alternate), 1 junior, and 4 seniors. It's definitely not a rebuilding year, though. Or at least it won't feel like one. The freshmen hit a lib by themselves at tryouts. I'm insanely excited for this team (and slightly envious).

Anyway, that's enough 3 AM rambling from this proud alum :,) goodnight all, even though you'll probably be reading this at a reasonable time


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[Cheerfun2]

That's awful. And annoying. You are expecting so if the situation doesn't end/ get better or if the behavior issues/ parents cause undue stress, I would walk away. It's not worth it



To update on my niece, she made the JV squad. Pretty sure all of the rising 7th graders that tried out made it. To be fair it appears that they all have standing BHS or are at least extremely close. She started practice Monday and seems to love it. She's flying (which low key upsets me) but at least she's (over the last 3 days) is taking the required stretching seriously


Also I'm including this picture because she really has been preparing to make this squad the majority of her life

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh my goodness, what an adorable child! And is that you with her? You are so pretty! She looks like you!

 

[ErinS]

Oh my goodness, what an adorable child! And is that you with her? You are so pretty! She looks like you!

Thanks! Nope, that's her with my younger sister....but I'm sure the same picture exists of me and my younger sister (she and our niece are the same years apart in age as she and I )


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Twinklestars]

So I was going through old choreo docs, and forgot that I had made you something a year ago and might have forgotten to send it to you. Hopefully 13 months later isn't too late LOL.

Rebels New Crowd Leading Material - Google Slides

Yay! I will show this to my cp.

Thank you!


Always are needing new cheers!

 

[Official OWECheer]

Yay! I will show this to my cp.

Thank you!


Always are needing new cheers!

No problem! I'll put together more when I can.

 

[EWalsh1029]

Tryouts are complete for me! I ended up taking 23 on Varsity Game Day and 13 on JV Game Day. 2 have quit JV so far and I have an uneasy feeling about a few other girls on JV - so we will see what the final count is come August (it's only our 3rd year with a JV team - but it is so frustrating trying to convince the girls that JV is not a bad thing... coaches with JV teams... whats the mentality around your JV?)

Come August I will probably take about 15 (may bump down to 14) on Varsity Competition. All of the other Varsity alternates will have the opportunity to compete on JV (can have up to 20 girls on the mat). But thats just my though process from the initial tryout. Will have to see what skills everyone has come August to make my official final decision.

I haven't received any angry/upset responses yet from parents - so thats good! However, did have a sweet girl fracture her ankle on the first day of tryouts - doing a roundoff - felt so bad for her! She will be eligible to tryout once she is healthy and cleared by her doctor.

 

[Official OWECheer]

(it's only our 3rd year with a JV team - but it is so frustrating trying to convince the girls that JV is not a bad thing... coaches with JV teams... whats the mentality around your JV?)

I think this is a REALLY good question to ask. Some coaches have the whole 'JV is just a holding tank but Varsity is the real team' mentality and it shows in their treatment of the teams.

 

[Twinklestars]

No problem! I'll put together more when I can.

We have our megaphones and were planning on painting them. I liked the half red/half grey idea.

The girls have been trying to talk their coach into new poms. They currently have metallic red and silver mixed and are on the third or fourth year of use.