All-Star We're Not Going To Win Anyway...

[kfans88]

As a coach I have never set expectations for placements before we walk into a competition, maybe in my mind I would expect top 3 or top 2, but I would never share it with my athletes or team. I generally tell them from the very beginning, every competition our goal is to hit every single stunt, but for such and such competition it is to up our overall impression score from the last competition. Or to get 8's and 9's for motions and dance. I generally set goals on the simpler stuff, less pressure than expecting them to achieve something they only have so much control over. One competition my goal simply was to put up four stunt groups that did the entire stunt, rather than 3 and our "mini" group that did half the stunt and it was a simplified version at that.

Even after they compete when they ask me what place they came in, I usually say "i didn't watch all of your division, so it would be hard for me to say" except if they don't come in first, I generally can give them a clear cut answer based on the other teams performances, haha.

If when I cheered, my coach said we're not going to win, or even place top 3 anyways, I would probably have asked my mom to remove me from the team, ha. I can always remember just having goals, sometimes it was place in the top half, sometimes it was simply to perform the best we could to that point.

 

[AScheer]

Even after they compete when they ask me what place they came in, I usually say "i didn't watch all of your division, so it would be hard for me to say"

This is what I say now, but I learned that lesson the hard way! Earlier this year at our local cheersport competition we went on and had 1 drop, 2 bobbles, a tumble fall, and in general they just didn't perform. The other teams went out and hit. As well all know everyone stresses that the only way to win cheersport is to hit clean. So when parents and kids asked I honestly told them I thought we had last. I told my girls not to expect much in awards just so they wouldn't be upset. We ended up winning, by a lot actually, and it was shocking to all of us. Apparently even though we dropped and weren't clean the difficulty compared to the other teams made up for it and then some. I felt ridiculous bc I had been talking about how we would for sure get last, so now I don't voice my opinions on what I think we may place!

 

[newcheerdad]

If anything with my daughter, I'm more about managing her expectations - not getting her too hyped up about winning. Especially when it comes to individuals, which she takes *very* seriously.

My daughter recently performed an individual with a bunch of girls in the mini division. She did well (far better than I would've expected actually) but she was more concerned about her friends and teammates that didn't place than the fact that she did. She thought everyone should've gotten a medal, for some reason.

 

[WisconsinIsFierce]

We were told at one of our bigger competitions that we wouldn't even have a chance unless we hit. I'm positive he wasn't meaning it in a negative way at all, but it came out that way to us and we didn't do well both days. Then at a smaller, local competition we were told to just go out and perform and most importantly, have FUN and you know what? It was our best performance of the year. It could've just been a coincidence, but the mood set was completly different. I understand the sense of working to win, but we are doing this sport for fun and because we love it, not just to bring back a trophy. At least I am.

 

[cheerdiva22]

some people might act differently but i know that if my coach told me we were going to lose i would try and prove them wrong being the hard headed person i am

 

[cheerdiva22]

some people might act differently but i know that if my coach told me we were going to lose i would try and prove them wrong being the hard headed person i am

since it wont let me edit

some people might act differently but i would have to prove my coaches wrong if they told my team we would lose, which they wouldnt. on days 1 and 2 our coaches said all they wanted us to do was to hit a deduction free routine it didnt matter if we won

 

[we_stand_alone]

when i was on a younger team, at a small gym we would ALWAYS get upset when we had to go against georgia, and our coach would always say the same thing that always made us feel better : "Why are you getting upset, there isn't anything they can do, that you can't. Are you not both in the same division? Then you play by the same rules." Obviously teams are going to be better than others, but when you are on a youth age team, this sounds pretty good. And it's still true.

 

[ACEDAD]

While I'm not a fan of the phrasing, I do believe in being honest. In some of our early years, we didn't really get that honesty and I think it would have been better.

 

[drewpate]

While I personally wouldn't put a team (non level one since you have new cheerleaders and can't necessarily count on squad skills) on the mat that didn't have at least a snowballs chance of winning against just about any team in the country if I do my job right (basically cleanliness and experience usually lose it for us, but we're getting better) I set realistic goals for my teams. i give them teh hardest routine they can perform solidly, and if I do my job cleaning it up I do believe we can beat some really great teams, however i am a firm believer in not telling your kids that they are always the best and setting their goals too high. Case in point, spirit celebration last weekend, it was our first time competing as a majority of the program in texas, and Cheer athletics, spirit of texas, and pro spirit were all there. In the weeks before we were honest with the kids and told them that they would see some of the best cheerleading they had seen, and that if we hit solid routines we would place top 3 or four, maybe higher. The only one that didn't stand a chance was the junior 1 (coincidentally they were the ones i made a head shaving bet with ) i however also told them that with any mistakes they would lose. Sure enough, three teams hit and took 3rd and fourth, with j1 getting last even though i couldn't have been prouder. The other two teams dropped 3 stunts a piece and received last and next to last, both of them having raw scores placing them in the top three though.

its just a balance of honesty, wording, and doing what is fair to the kids. Getting their hopes up too high is unhealthy, but degrading comments can be worse. (what i hate even more is coaches not taking responsibility and blaming it on the judges IN FRONT of the kids, even if you don't understand the scoring, which i believe most coaches never realize why they get some of the scores they get, sportsmanship is a much more valuable lesson, and owning up to your own shortcomings is a great example to kids)

 

[AScheer]

The only one that didn't stand a chance was the junior 1 (coincidentally they were the ones i made a head shaving bet with ) i however also told them that with any mistakes they would lose. Sure enough, three teams hit and took 3rd and fourth, with j1 getting last even though i couldn't have been prouder. The other two teams dropped 3 stunts a piece and received last and next to last, both of them having raw scores placing them in the top three though.

End up shaving it? I personally will be holding a lock-in next week. My team had been begging for one and I promised team if they got zero deductions at nationals we would have a lock in. Sure enough they got zero deductions and I will gladly pay the price of spending the night with 25 loud crazy girls for the accomplishment! Oh the things coaches do!

 

[east2westandbackagain]

I had a parent come to me today and say ' we know we are getting last place this weekend and we told our kids to expect it' I thought that was awful.

 

[Num1Stunta]

While I personally wouldn't put a team (non level one since you have new cheerleaders and can't necessarily count on squad skills) on the mat that didn't have at least a snowballs chance of winning against just about any team in the country if I do my job right (basically cleanliness and experience usually lose it for us, but we're getting better) I set realistic goals for my teams. i give them teh hardest routine they can perform solidly, and if I do my job cleaning it up I do believe we can beat some really great teams, however i am a firm believer in not telling your kids that they are always the best and setting their goals too high. Case in point, spirit celebration last weekend, it was our first time competing as a majority of the program in texas, and Cheer athletics, spirit of texas, and pro spirit were all there. In the weeks before we were honest with the kids and told them that they would see some of the best cheerleading they had seen, and that if we hit solid routines we would place top 3 or four, maybe higher. The only one that didn't stand a chance was the junior 1 (coincidentally they were the ones i made a head shaving bet with ) i however also told them that with any mistakes they would lose.

I have had a tattoo bet going with my team since last season, 1st place at MAJOR national=team logo tattooed on my ankle. I actually really want the tattoo, so it's kind of been bumming me out that we haven't broken past that 2nd place mark at a major yet LOL

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

We get that feeling... every competition! My daughter's team is a half-year team. We have the same coaches as the full year teams, same caliber routine, but we only practice during the school year. This year we had about half returning from last year, and half new. A lot of work needed to be done in three short months. Needless to say once the competitions rolled around, this mom was very nervous. Tumbling was good, dance ok- not high energy, but clean. Our pyramid was... not so great. They have never dropped it, but they only went to waist height and then they drop down and do some floor based thing. Anyway, we have been doing great with placements because a lot of the other mini teams we compete against have been dropping stunts, etc. So, you just never know what will happen. Sometimes it isn't about having the most technical, scoresheet-pushing routine and muddling through it. The routine they have is solid though. You must have faith!! I would never tell my daughter that I don't think they will do well. (Even though I almost puked when I saw the schedule for Myrtle Beach next weekend, and who was in their division )