High School Tryout Season

[CheerBank]

Religion and character are not synonymous.

There are a variety of ways to teach character without making an attempt to indoctrinate an athlete or teach theology.

@AScheer can feel free to correct me if I'm putting words in her mouth, but what I get out of what she's saying is that the FCA lessons that are being taught are not heavily theological (ie. teaching religion), but rather speaking more about character.

Virtually every school, public or private, in our area has an FCA chapter. If they had a set of resources I could use with activities designed to teach character. I would jump all over it, Biblical references or not. Whether you see the Bible as the infallible "Word of God," or just a collection of fiction written by a bunch of quacks 2000 years ago, there are words of wisdom to be found within it on a variety of topics: teamwork, personal finance, work ethic, sacrifice, etc. Using quotes from it to reinforce character lessons is really not that different from using quotes from Vince Lombardi or reading "The Little Engine that Could."

Which Bible are we referring to? We can start with that, or just agree to disagree.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

Which Bible are we referring to? We can start with that, or just agree to disagree.

Knowing that "those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still," it's probably best to just agree to disagree.

I respect you for offering that as an option, unlike the moron I was arguing with about basket toss technique a few days ago.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

Which Bible are we referring to? We can start with that, or just agree to disagree.

By the way:

You're dead up accurate when you say your geographical region influences your views on such topics.

In KY, one can win a gubernatorial election based solely on a promise to stop abortion and suppress the rights of the LGBT community. That's not necessarily a concept I support, but it's the world within which I live.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I honestly got dejavu by reading that. Have you or someone else posted that before?

I have heard it before but this is my first time hearing it or posting about it this season.

 

[RileyElizabeth99]

The past two years we have had FCA character coach at the practices for my team. My junior year, she would come once a week and we had about 3 practices a week and this year we were down to maybe one practice a week so it was a bit more scattered. I have personally enjoyed the lessons and the woman who does them with us is as sweet as can be. I am also in KY so we are in the bible belt so most of the girls on my team are at religious least somewhat(Enough to put bible verses as instagram captions) She really puts a huge amount of time and effort into planning what to say to us and I think that there is a perfect balance between faith talk and character and often time the only 'faith' aspect is her request to pray for us at the end of the meeting.

However, there have been a few issues with it in my opinions. Most of the girls do not respect the woman who comes in to speak to us and really want nothing to do with it. They sit on their phones, talk and just are flat out rude to her. Our coach helps with after school traffic flow so he is often times not present to witness this but when he is, he sits on his phone. She also has made a point to come visit us at ballgames and other events and often times I will hear girls complaining about the fact that she is there or make snarky comments. Attitude has and continues to be an issue with the girls on my team though so I suppose this is to be expected.There has never been the issue of 'too much' religion from the FCA lady but there have been several instances of my coach using religion at practice outside of FCA that could be seen as 'pressing religion' or not exactly needed but weren't done with ill intent.

** Edited a bit so that my post is a bit more clear. Thank you to @OldskoolKYcheercoach for pointing out that my words seemed a bit snarkier out on the web than they sounded in my head**

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

Now that I have cheered my last game on my squad I feel as if I can speak my mind a bit more about the bull crap that has gone down over the 4 years I cheered at my high school as it wasn't the most positive experience for me and for many others which is a bit of a shame.

The past two years we have had FCA character coach at the practices for my team. My junior year, she would come once a week and we had about 3 practices a week and this year we were down to maybe one practice a week so it was a bit more scattered. I have personally enjoyed the lessons and the woman who does them with us is as sweet as can be. I am also in KY so we are in the bible belt so most of the girls on my team are at religious least somewhat(Enough to put bible verses as instagram captions) She really puts a huge amount of time and effort into planning what to say to us and I think that there is a perfect balance between faith talk and character and often time the only 'faith' aspect is her request to pray for us at the end of the meeting.

However, there have been a few issues with it in my opinions. Most of the girls do not respect the woman who comes in to speak to us and really want nothing to do with it. They sit on their phones, talk and just are flat out rude to her. Our coach helps with after school traffic flow so he is often times not present to witness this but when he is, he sits on his phone. She also has made a point to come visit us at ballgames and other events and often times I will hear girls complaining about the fact that she is there or make snarky comments. Attitude has and continues to be an issue with the girls on my team though so I suppose this is to be expected.There has never been the issue of 'too much' religion from the FCA lady but there have been several instances of my coach pressing religion on us outside of these FCA.

Riley,

Since I know your program and your coach, I would ask you this:

Do you feel as if he has good intentions but poor execution?

If it's still the same guy, I know he knows his technical stuff. However, I have learned that teaching character and truly building an intentional, positive team culture is more work than most people give credit.

 

[RileyElizabeth99]

Riley,

Since I know your program and your coach, I would ask you this:

Do you feel as if he has good intentions but poor execution?

If it's still the same guy, I know he knows his technical stuff. However, I have learned that teaching character and truly building an intentional, positive team culture is more work than most people give credit.

Yes I do, I suppose my post does not reflect that and I will edit to help that point. Looking back at my four years in the program I am met with a lot of frustration and I am graduating with lots that I wish was different. My 4 years of high school cheer for the most part were filled with frustration and disappointment more than happy moments and that is owed to several factors beyond coaches.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

Yes I do, I suppose my post does not reflect that and I will edit to help that point. Looking back at my four years in the program I am met with a lot of frustration and I am graduating with lots that I wish was different. My 4 years of high school cheer for the most part were filled with frustration and disappointment more than happy moments and that is owed to several factors beyond coaches.

I am graduating kids who have had similar experiences. I believe your coach and I started with our respective programs at about the same time. I would encourage you to sit down with him and talk about these things. Sometimes the hardest part about fixing a problem is recognizing that A. There is one and B. How it impacts the people who do the right thing.

I came into my program knowing there were problems. It's taken me 3 years to really formulate and develop a plan to fix the culture.

 

[RileyElizabeth99]

I am graduating kids who have had similar experiences. I believe your coach and I started with our respective programs at about the same time. I would encourage you to sit down with him and talk about these things. Sometimes the hardest part about fixing a problem is recognizing that A. There is one and B. How it impacts the people who do the right thing.

I came into my program knowing there were problems. It's taken me 3 years to really formulate and develop a plan to fix the culture.

I have had several meetings with him over the last 4 years with and without parents involved and I still remain with the same opinions of how things are run in my program. It's just extremely frustrating to be in the situations that I have been in over the last 4 years and I don't think that it would look good on my half to post my dirty laundry or problems with my experience on the boards but I could send you a summary if you prefer. However, all in all I just hope things change for the girls coming behind me and I wish that things would have been different for me but now I am simply looking forward to my next chapter and hopefully having a wonderful college cheer experience.

 

[dat.jpp]

Knowing that "those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still," it's probably best to just agree to disagree.

I respect you for offering that as an option, unlike the moron I was arguing with about basket toss technique a few days ago.

I thought you didn't call that person it a moron but more of a dangerous individual? I'm still laughing about that, I found that way funnier then it should have been.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

I have had several meetings with him over the last 4 years with and without parents involved and I still remain with the same opinions of how things are run in my program. It's just extremely frustrating to be in the situations that I have been in over the last 4 years and I don't think that it would look good on my half to post my dirty laundry or problems with my experience on the boards but I could send you a summary if you prefer. However, all in all I just hope things change for the girls coming behind me and I wish that things would have been different for me but now I am simply looking forward to my next chapter and hopefully having a wonderful college cheer experience.

No, young lady, I don't want to know the dirty laundry. I was more trying to spare the future athletes from your school the same fate. One of the hardest things for me to learn....was how to deal with teenage girls. You're not like teenage boys. Sometimes, my first year, I would look up and find someone crying for no reason. My response, "WHY ARE YOU CRYING?!?" I learned after that year that all was better when I would just send them off the floor and allow one of the female coaches to deal with whatever hormones were overflowing at that moment.

I understand your frustrations, and though we never actually met, I wish you the best of luck in your next step.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

I thought you didn't call that person it a moron but more of a dangerous individual? I'm still laughing about that, I found that way funnier then it should have been.

I tend to forget disagreements after about 24 hours, no matter how heated they get. I don't find it worth it to even go back and look, but I feel as though you are probably right.

 

[coacha]

I'm trying to imagine the level of backlash I would get if I invited an FCA leader into my practices once a week. He/she might never crack a Bible but the fact that the C in FCA stands for Christian would likely be enough to approach DEFCOM 5 levels.

The differences in different parts of the country...

We have an FCA (fellowship of Christian athletes) team huddle every Monday during season. We alot the first 20 minutes of practice. I consider this time to be crucial in our success as a team. We are a public school, so while there are references to faith, it's primarily about character building. We go through everything; boy stuff, teenage girl stuff, drinking, partying, sex, home life, being better teammates and of course cheer related stuff. The girls love Mondays. It's a safe space and really bonds them together while learning and discussing what they're going through. I can't recommend something similar enough!!

Having said that, if I could figure out a way to do this in my practice without daring to relate it to a specific faith at all, I'm all over this. If anyone has some materials I could look at or point me to a source, I'd be appreciative.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

I'm trying to imagine the level of backlash I would get if I invited an FCA leader into my practices once a week. He/she might never crack a Bible but the fact that the C in FCA stands for Christian would likely be enough to approach DEFCOM 5 levels.

The differences in different parts of the country...



Having said that, if I could figure out a way to do this in my practice without daring to relate it to a specific faith at all, I'm all over this. If anyone has some materials I could look at or point me to a source, I'd be appreciative.

www.proactivecoaching.info

I have posted about this organization so much on this board that at some point someone is going to accuse me of being one of their paid speakers. I am not, but I have become a strong believer in the concepts they present. If you specifically want materials about teaching character through sport, Coach Brown has a book entitled "Teaching Character Through Sport."

If you want more comprehensive materials about developing an intentional, positive culture in your team year over year, I suggest starting with his "Captains and Coaches workshop" DVD. All of the other booklets are designed to supplement this DVD.

There are other organizations that produce similar materials, the biggest, most famous one that comes to mind is the Positive Coaching Alliance. I shall outline some differences:

1) Cost - I think I paid $95 for the Captains and Coaches Workshop DVD. It's about 2-3 hours long, but there are parts where, if you're using it as intended, you will pause the DVD and discuss the materials with your captains or team leaders who are present. You could get a good start on the process with just this DVD. The series of videos on Positive Coaching are all $30 a piece and I believe there are five of them. Proactive Coaching's booklets are all $5 and you get a discount on them (in my last conversation with him, Coach Brown offered to sell me enough of the leadership booklets for my whole team at the cost of printing them $3 each). Positive Coaching's books run anywhere from $7-$20 each on Amazon, except for the very first one which can be had used for about $0.95.

2) Customer Service - Within 30 minutes of purchasing the DVD, I had an email in my inbox from Coach Brown thanking me for my purchase, and asking me to email or give him a call if I needed anything. He also told me to let him know when my team developed our "Core Covenants," (a key concept within the materials), and he would email some examples of how other teams have used similar Covenants and developed them into standards for their team. Also, a little different from Positive Coaching, Coach Brown had materials that had been developed from other cheerleading and dance programs. I'm not sure I would have gotten that from Positive Coaching.

3) I'm not sure how to label this one, because it's sort of intangible, but over the course of the year that I have been using Proactive Coaching Materials, I have emailed back and forth with Coach Brown occasionally. He NEVER fails to respond. On three separate instances, I've had extended conversations with him on the phone. He takes the time to hear out whatever team issues we might be having, and pulls from his 40 years as a head coach and athletic director to offer insights. I enjoy hearing how these things have been done in other sports, because I feel strongly that if cheerleading coaches treated their teams more like other sports' coaches, we would all have less cheer drama. Positive Coaching's core employees are all famous people. They may be famous people of whom you are a huge fan and that may be a deciding factor for you, but I doubt I could get Phil Jackson or Tony LaRussa to sit down and talk to me on the phone for an hour on a Monday morning about my little piddly cheer team from Kentucky.

If you are SERIOUS about developing a positive culture within your team, and you are ready to put in the work, I suggest dropping the money on some of the materials from Proactive Coaching. I will warn you, though....I discovered in my first year of attempting to implement this stuff, that it's much more WORK than I ever thought. I have a tendency to expect people to mostly do the right thing, but I have learned that you really have to pull teenagers in today's world in that direction. I've been preparing for tryouts and our first month of conditioning for about 6 weeks to get myself ahead of the game.

 

[Elle B]

Our school has individual sport booster clubs: football, basketball, baseball, softball, even band. I'm not sure about soccer

Cheer can not have a booster because they are not a sport. Our band is highly competitive and band counts as a physical education credit.

We are on our own for fundraising

Thanks! When I was in high school (in California) Dance Team and Cheer may not have been official sports but we absolutely had our own booster clubs to raise money and pay for everything including outside coaches. And it remains that way today. (And despite not being a sport dance and cheer still got varsity letters. Our marching band also got PE credit but no letterman jackets

My main question is: Can CIF can stop sideline cheer from operating as they always have? And if the addition of an official sports team for competitive cheer requires a change to the way sideline teams operate.