OT What Would You Do If Called Out On Fb?

[Diamond]

It's best to ignore it. This happened to my coaches a while ago. A girl (who left becuase she was mad that she wasn't placed on the level 5 team & had no level 5 skills what so ever) called my gym and my coaches out on fb. This was after I had stopped cheering. My coaches were cleary pissed, but only replied saying things like "it makes me sad that you would say something like this." Not only was the girl trash talking our gym, so was her mother! So my coaches kept it classy and my sister and I added the girl on fb, told her off for our coaches and then deleted her lol...and no our coaches had nothing to do w/ it. We just couldn't sit there and read that stuff about the gym we cheered at. We also included how bad it looked on the new gym that the girl was at because she was actually saying things that included her gym name beating our gym name. Funny thing is, yes she went to a great gym, but she still wasn't placed on a level 5 team. No surprise though.

 

[southerngirl90]

Definitely ignore it. When you respond, you give it life and credence. As a gym owner, I recognize that people will always criticize, question and say things to be hurtful. The worse is knowing that you gave your best to those families and you genuinely care about them even though they feel the need to post the statuses and make their comments. My best advice for you is to Forgive, forget, and move forward. At the end of the day, if they are REAL, they will call YOU directly and discuss their issues with you and/or your gym. All else is just MESS!

 

[L5cheermom]

If it is directed at the gym and not an individual athlete then I would let the gym owner handle it. If it is personal let the person involved handle it. if it is against you then i believe you should aggressively defend yourself. We had a very traumatic separation from our first gym. There were things happening there that we felt were morally reprehensible. After trying to address it and being ignored we decided to separate. In an effort to justify our leaving - and cover up their actions - they decided to attack our reputation and question our integrity. We still had friends there waiting out the end of the season who kept us informed. I responded aggressively to EVERY instance that I became aware of. Eventually they decided it was easier to just keep their mouths shut than to deal with my responses

 

[Zinger_bebe]

Ignore it and it will stop. Feed the fire and it will continue as long as you are willing to respond. Nothing will aggravate them more than ignoring the post. It also makes them look petty and dumb if they have something snarky out there that is unacknowledged.

 

[ChoreographyInTheBack]

I would call them a cotton-headed ninnymuggins then move on with my life.

 

[ufomom]

Ignore it.

 

[INeverStopCheering]

If it's another cheerleader and they're being excessively and repeatedly rude, vulgar, or offensive (more than just XYZ Allstars stink!) I would email the gym owner or a parent with the copy of the message reminding them politely of the values of sportsmanship.

If it's an adult, parent, or other coach, I would post a status about how in a sport with so much negativity and childishness, it's so nice to see people acting in a sportsmanlike manner. Kill them with kindness/sarcasm, and then let it go.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you use good grammar, don't retaliate and insult them, and stay calm. This happens often where I am, and it usually goes away as soon as the children get bored.

 

[UKCheerdad]

I would call them a cotton-headed ninnymuggins then move on with my life.

An exceedingly good piece of advice!