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Lisa Welsh
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By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
Sometimes it’s fun to look back to gain perspective which is what this Cheer Mom did. Here’s one from July 30, just a month after CHEERMaD launched and soon became the No. 1 site for cheer moms and cheer dads.
Rachel’s been struggling to get her tuck. Like many All Stars she is harder on herself at 9-years-old than I could ever be on her. Her coaches tell us “she’s got it” so it’s just a matter of time before she executes it.
When Becky was a little older than Rachel, she broke her radius bone just above her wrist and it was years before she got her round-off back-handspring.
Children’s bones are soft and tend to get buckle fractures. These are incomplete fractures on one side of the bone. The radius and ulna (the bones in the forearm) may buckle or break just above the wrist. In Becky’s case, her body shifted at just the right (or wrong) angle and the bone snapped. I heard it from across the room and I know I’ll never forget it.
Years later, her coaches (and private instructors) assured her that she was technically “there” but she couldn’t get past that moment. And I didn’t blame her. But for years, Becky was frustrated with herself.
After awhile, she accepted her tumbling level and stopped taking privates until a new coach broke down the mechanics of the tumble for her at practice and she “got it.” One lesson with Paul DesBois and Becky was a tumbler.
Becky’s round-off-back-handspring; A sight to behold, not for what it is, but for all it represents.
It was her second-to-last-year as an All Star but she got her tumble pass. She didn’t give up, she showed what perseverance is and what can be accomplished with hard work.
I believe that kids like Becky are in the majority of cheering. They are the foundation of the sport even if they don’t get the attention the great tumblers do.
I’m not sure what is holding Rachel back, but lately, she’s returned from practices calling her teammates proteges (her word) and mad at me for not making her stay in All Stars the three years she stopped. I’m not a pushy mom and I let her take the lead but with other kids her age “passing” her on the mat, I wonder if I did the right thing.
But that didn’t happen at tonight’s practice.
Jason Graham, ProAthletics’ gym owner had called Rachel out from her teammates and thanked her for being so “clean” during the routine. He praised her in front of her entire team and recommended that a couple of other kids watch Rachel and learn from her.
“And they have their tucks and almost got their full,” Rachel told me, surprised that even though she doesn’t have those skills yet, she was being singled out as an important member of the team.
That shot of encouragement goes far anI know will make Rachel work even harder on the skills she hasn’t mastered. But tonight she felt good about herself and about the unique talents she brings to her team.
ShowStoppers' Center Dancer
That’s why I love being a CHERMaD. Not the competitions won but the time put into and achieving those milestones. I love watching my kids grow, develop and show themselves what they are capable of, right before my eyes.
Postscript:
FAST FORWARD TO THE END OF THE SEASON, MAY 2012: Not only has Rachel mastered her back-handspring-tuck but also her standing-tuck and layout. Her “clean” performances also earned her the center point position during last season’s dance segment.
In celebration of CHEERMaD’s one year anniversary on June 19, we’re posting fan favorite blogs like this one. Original post date was July 30.
By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
Sometimes it’s fun to look back to gain perspective which is what this Cheer Mom did. Here’s one from July 30, just a month after CHEERMaD launched and soon became the No. 1 site for cheer moms and cheer dads.
Rachel’s been struggling to get her tuck. Like many All Stars she is harder on herself at 9-years-old than I could ever be on her. Her coaches tell us “she’s got it” so it’s just a matter of time before she executes it.
When Becky was a little older than Rachel, she broke her radius bone just above her wrist and it was years before she got her round-off back-handspring.
Children’s bones are soft and tend to get buckle fractures. These are incomplete fractures on one side of the bone. The radius and ulna (the bones in the forearm) may buckle or break just above the wrist. In Becky’s case, her body shifted at just the right (or wrong) angle and the bone snapped. I heard it from across the room and I know I’ll never forget it.
Years later, her coaches (and private instructors) assured her that she was technically “there” but she couldn’t get past that moment. And I didn’t blame her. But for years, Becky was frustrated with herself.
After awhile, she accepted her tumbling level and stopped taking privates until a new coach broke down the mechanics of the tumble for her at practice and she “got it.” One lesson with Paul DesBois and Becky was a tumbler.
Becky’s round-off-back-handspring; A sight to behold, not for what it is, but for all it represents.
It was her second-to-last-year as an All Star but she got her tumble pass. She didn’t give up, she showed what perseverance is and what can be accomplished with hard work.
I believe that kids like Becky are in the majority of cheering. They are the foundation of the sport even if they don’t get the attention the great tumblers do.
I’m not sure what is holding Rachel back, but lately, she’s returned from practices calling her teammates proteges (her word) and mad at me for not making her stay in All Stars the three years she stopped. I’m not a pushy mom and I let her take the lead but with other kids her age “passing” her on the mat, I wonder if I did the right thing.
But that didn’t happen at tonight’s practice.
Jason Graham, ProAthletics’ gym owner had called Rachel out from her teammates and thanked her for being so “clean” during the routine. He praised her in front of her entire team and recommended that a couple of other kids watch Rachel and learn from her.
“And they have their tucks and almost got their full,” Rachel told me, surprised that even though she doesn’t have those skills yet, she was being singled out as an important member of the team.
That shot of encouragement goes far anI know will make Rachel work even harder on the skills she hasn’t mastered. But tonight she felt good about herself and about the unique talents she brings to her team.
ShowStoppers' Center Dancer
That’s why I love being a CHERMaD. Not the competitions won but the time put into and achieving those milestones. I love watching my kids grow, develop and show themselves what they are capable of, right before my eyes.
Postscript:
FAST FORWARD TO THE END OF THE SEASON, MAY 2012: Not only has Rachel mastered her back-handspring-tuck but also her standing-tuck and layout. Her “clean” performances also earned her the center point position during last season’s dance segment.
In celebration of CHEERMaD’s one year anniversary on June 19, we’re posting fan favorite blogs like this one. Original post date was July 30.
