All-Star Discussion - Cheer Perfection Tlc

[CheerBank]

This show make's me sick! They aren't even portraying what REAL all-star cheerleading is about. It is just a bunch of parents, and this coach who want their 5 minutes of fame. We spend enough time defending that this is an actual sport and show off our major talents and now we have this show where it's a bunch of little girls who really can't defend or stand up to their parents as their parents push them to the max and "lives through her child." When is TLC going to get a clue? Enough with the little girls and parent's drama. Show a REAL competitive team where the cheerleaders want to be there and win for themselves and where coaches are supporting and helping their team while still being Disciplinary, Not this show about a bunch of drama filled moms and a wacked out coach.

We're not going to get the real cheer show we all seem to want from TLC. I don't recall what channel Cheer Nation was aired on (I will laugh if it was TLC!) but I think we all agree that it showed you can incorporate reality tv and drama with the true aspects of a top notch cheer program. Now let someone do that with an all star program, and although I think we'd still have plenty of things to talk about, our complaints would not be focused on how the show was reinforcing every negative stereotype that already exists about our sport.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

I also keep seeing on here that as per some of the kids' tweets (kids from the gym, including Brooke) that they were told to do or say a certain thing by Alisha or by their parents.

If this is true - then it just keeps looking more and more like TLC had a predetermined vision of what they wanted to film and show to their viewers, such as cheer moms sitting out on the floor of the gym screaming at their kids, and kids trying desperately hard to make the same team regardless of the blatant discrepancy in skills, rather than the inner workings of an all star cheer gym, and that the owners/coaches and parents obliged to fulfill TLC's vision rather than show what really takes place in their gym.

This show was not meant for us, all star athletes, parents and coaches - but rather for the Toddlers & Tiara's viewers who know nothing about competitive cheer. I think TLC underestimated the all star cheer community on the whole and perhaps did not think we would watch this and question everything from why the parents were sitting on the floor to why kids with fulls were trying out for the same team as kids who were too old who only had level 1/barely level 2 tumbling skills. And this is why we are seeing the coaches and kids at CTR defending their gym and program to us and not to the general viewing public.

EXACTLY. Scripted! Not for cheerleaders... for people who like watching Train Wrecks on TV. UGH, this post is talking in circles.

 

[Coach Amy G]

Bottom line is TV shows are created for money and I think it is safe to say that 1.1 million viewers = money. This show was not created for the cheer world and the general viewing public does not know that a full, a half, or jumps to tuck are any better than a forward roll or a BHS, on a cheese, with a spot. They do not know that those skills are a higher level than this youth silver team, in fact they do not know anything about levels period, nor do they care. Yes it is extremely embarrassing to have our sport represented like this, but again the general viewing public doesn’t care. They care about drama, yelling moms, etc. There are a couple things we all need to remember when watching this reality show, or any reality show for that matter.
1. They are never 100% real, and in most situations not even 50% real.
2. The shows creators are targeting a specific group. And in this situation it wasn’t the all-star cheer community……However, they did get us to watch, which brings me to my third point…..
3. MONEY….its all about money. Us watching is making them money…..
4. We don’t know why this gym entered into this situation, and we shouldn’t really judge them too harshly.
5. Yes it is embarrassing, yes it is upsetting, but TLC and CTR probably don’t care….they are getting their paychecks because of us.
6. Bad press is still press…..they got us talking didn’t they?
I can honestly say I didn’t hate hate the show, I disliked many parts of it and HATED when that horrible mother, let that horrible DR tell her vulnerable daughter that she needed to loose weight…..That was just to much!!
Am I upset that they made our sport look like a big joke…yes.
Am I upset that I will have to be on damage control mode with my “non-cheer” friends…yes.
Do I personally think CTR made a HUGE mistake by signing with TLC….yes.
But, I can honestly say I will be watching again, followed immediately by reading this thread, and being thoroughly entertained by both. One final thought……Thank you CTR for showing me as a coach what not to do!!!! Sorry it was so long =)

 

[Coach Amy G]

One more thing....Yesterday evening at our gyms "pool practice" (it was way too hot to be in the gym) the kids were stunting. One stunt group put up one of our very flexible bases in a level 2 stunt and I immediately yelled "YOUTH SILVER!!!" It made for a very hard long laugh by everyone! :D

 

[dawgshow]

They should have done a bigger gym. Cheer athletics or top gun. I hate how the coach said "Arkansas is big in all star cheer" I have never heard of this gym. Or any other Arkansas gym. I wish they would have done a higher level team, then people would see how hard we really work. And what cheerleader cries to help her get on the team? Really? This show is a complete joke. Now nobody will respect our sport.

Just because you haven't heard of the gyms doesn't mean that cheer isn't big there. Without using Google or other internet resources, how many gyms can you actually name? I'm guessing a very very small percentage of total gyms in the US.

 

[12stepCheermom]

Here's a non-popular opinion....

I feel horrible for the girl with the doctors appointment. A little editing there would've been appropriate rather than putting his comments on blast for the entire world to hear. That was TLCs fault. I also think kids being overweight is more a parental issue than a kids if it's not directly medically related (go ahead and flame for that too) kids only eat what they're parents stock from the store, make for dinner and restaurants they choose. If a family has an unhealthy lifestyle they'll teach it to their kids. That's not the kids fault.

But...

The doctor is right. Tumbling is high impact and the higher you go the more body control, muscle and flexibility it takes to do it correctly and safely. If she wants to progress upward, without injury, and with proper technique she should also work on proper nutrition and a medically approved workout program to get in shape....

...and her mother should HELP her, not blow off his comments and offer her candy an hour after a licensed medical professional just told her it would be helpful if she lost some weight. See the above about parental influence in childhood obesity.

Flame away, I stand by what I said.

 

[cupieqt]

Here's a non-popular opinion....

I feel horrible for the girl with the doctors appointment. A little editing there would've been appropriate rather than putting his comments on blast for the entire world to hear. That was TLCs fault. I also think kids being overweight is more a parental issue than a kids if it's not directly medically related (go ahead and flame for that too) kids only eat what they're parents stock from the store, make for dinner and restaurants they choose. If a family has an unhealthy lifestyle they'll teach it to their kids. That's not the kids fault.

But...

The doctor is right. Tumbling is high impact and the higher you go the more body control, muscle and flexibility it takes to do it correctly and safely. If she wants to progress upward, without injury, and with proper technique she should also work on proper nutrition and a medically approved workout program to get in shape....

...and her mother should HELP her, not blow off his comments and offer her candy an hour after a licensed medical professional just told her it would be helpful if she lost some weight. See the above about parental influence in childhood obesity.

Flame away, I stand by what I said.

I'm not going to flame any of it because I agree with you. As soon as the child said her back hurt and her mom said she was taking her to the dr, I looked at my husband and told him that I could save them the time and money because I know why her back hurts. I've had thin girls tell me their backs hurt. It's not just a weight issue, it's a strength issue. You HAVE to have a strong core to stunt and tumble without injury. This poor child would struggle at any level simply because she is not conditioned for the skills she's attempting.

 

[ErinS]

Here's a non-popular opinion....


...and her mother should HELP her, not blow off his comments and offer her candy an hour after a licensed medical professional just told her it would be helpful if she lost some weight. See the above about parental influence in childhood obesity.

Flame away, I stand by what I said.

Nope. I totally agree. I was shocked that her mom automatically tried to twist the doctors comments. The mother obviously has a weight issue as well so its obvious why she tried to sweep what the doctor said under the rug


I'm also willing to bet that this child is one of the ones that never put forth real effort toward tumbling. Every gym has one. The larger girl that loves to cheer, loves to compete, and knows everything about cheer..always claims they are the "best performer" and a "great dancer"....but never puts forth any effort to conditioning, toning and def. never shows up to tumbling. I feel like their whole tumbling story line was just for the show and in reality the girl hadn't attempted any skill in quite some time.

 

[XtremeWpg]

I think a step back needs to be taken.

This was never meant for us. Its not supposed to be accurate, correct, pretty or calm. I'd imagine how we all feel about this portrayal is how a lot of pageant moms and girls feel about T&T, or how the families of hoarders feel about that portrayal or any type of "reality" show.

This show is meant to be about drama, a la Dance Moms. We shouldn't kid ourselves, this is *not* about cheerleading, they aren't even really trying to mask that fact. Its about catty moms and drama induced fights. If it were really about the cheer, they'd explain the levels, the skills, the work. But it's not. Producers are salivating every time someone says 'queen b****' or 'I see nothing wrong with living through my daughters'. This should could be about soccer, hockey, dance, cheer, pole vaulting, and you'd still get the same junk from the mouths of crazy moms.

I don't cheer at CTR, don't even live in the same country, but I don't think we can sit and ridicule an entire program because they showed the jank moments of tumbling on national TV. They obviously have athletes who are successful and are progressing. I think we're all being really quick to judge this book by its cover.

That said, TLC is great at perpetuating stereotypes and highlighting drama. It's their niche. They are at fault for how this has turned out. They edit, they script. I'm sorry, but I don't think for 12 seconds that Torrann dropped that stunt on purpose, I don't think that Olivia won't get on Youth Silver, and I certainly don't hold out hope that these moms will take a pill and go sit in the parent viewing area. Because that show won't sell to the drama mamas out there.

 

[momma2mycheerprincess]

We're not going to get the real cheer show we all seem to want from TLC. I don't recall what channel Cheer Nation was aired on (I will laugh if it was TLC!) but I think we all agree that it showed you can incorporate reality tv and drama with the true aspects of a top notch cheer program. Now let someone do that with an all star program, and although I think we'd still have plenty of things to talk about, our complaints would not be focused on how the show was reinforcing every negative stereotype that already exists about our sport.

I'm pretty sure it was lifetime....
I think TLC was trying to hard to do a show to be like Dance Moms, but the big diference is that on Dance moms they make the Adults involved look bad, but NOT THE KIDS!!! Those girls are all great little dancers and the show lets us see that. They don't humiliate them or make them look bad.

 

[mommy2mygirls]

I think a step back needs to be taken.

This was never meant for us. Its not supposed to be accurate, correct, pretty or calm. I'd imagine how we all feel about this portrayal is how a lot of pageant moms and girls feel about T&T, or how the families of hoarders feel about that portrayal or any type of "reality" show.

This show is meant to be about drama, a la Dance Moms. We shouldn't kid ourselves, this is *not* about cheerleading, they aren't even really trying to mask that fact. Its about catty moms and drama induced fights. If it were really about the cheer, they'd explain the levels, the skills, the work. But it's not. Producers are salivating every time someone says 'queen b****' or 'I see nothing wrong with living through my daughters'. This should could be about soccer, hockey, dance, cheer, pole vaulting, and you'd still get the same junk from the mouths of crazy moms.

I don't cheer at CTR, don't even live in the same country, but I don't think we can sit and ridicule an entire program because they showed the jank moments of tumbling on national TV. They obviously have athletes who are successful and are progressing. I think we're all being really quick to judge this book by its cover.

That said, TLC is great at perpetuating stereotypes and highlighting drama. It's their niche. They are at fault for how this has turned out. They edit, they script. I'm sorry, but I don't think for 12 seconds that Torrann dropped that stunt on purpose, I don't think that Olivia won't get on Youth Silver, and I certainly don't hold out hope that these moms will take a pill and go sit in the parent viewing area. Because that show won't sell to the drama mamas out there.

I totally agree with this EXCEPT for the fact that I think a show like Dance Moms AT LEAST shows the girls working hard - getting new skills and putting on amazing performances. IF that was how this was protrayed as hard working girls with amazing skills - along with the crazy cheer mom/coach drama - I think we would all be able to stomach it a bit easier and feel MUCH differently because at least there would be some RESPECT shown for a sport we all know and love.

 

[0riginal]

Here's a non-popular opinion....

I feel horrible for the girl with the doctors appointment. A little editing there would've been appropriate rather than putting his comments on blast for the entire world to hear. That was TLCs fault. I also think kids being overweight is more a parental issue than a kids if it's not directly medically related (go ahead and flame for that too) kids only eat what they're parents stock from the store, make for dinner and restaurants they choose. If a family has an unhealthy lifestyle they'll teach it to their kids. That's not the kids fault.

But...

The doctor is right. Tumbling is high impact and the higher you go the more body control, muscle and flexibility it takes to do it correctly and safely. If she wants to progress upward, without injury, and with proper technique she should also work on proper nutrition and a medically approved workout program to get in shape....

...and her mother should HELP her, not blow off his comments and offer her candy an hour after a licensed medical professional just told her it would be helpful if she lost some weight. See the above about parental influence in childhood obesity.

Flame away, I stand by what I said.

Definitely not the unpopular opinion, I agree!
Also, these people signed contracts and knew what they were getting into. There probably wasn't much they could have done to prevent cameras being in the doctors office. So while I do feel bad for her, they (or Brooke's mom) signed up for this.


Can I just say this thread shows exactly how crazy cheerleaders/cheer parents can be. In a way, you're kind of backing up what the show is representing. Certainly not everyone, but some people are just flipping out...over a television show.

 

[12stepCheermom]

Nope. I totally agree. I was shocked that her mom automatically tried to twist the doctors comments. The mother obviously has a weight issue as well so its obvious why she tried to sweep what the doctor said under the rug


I'm also willing to bet that this child is one of the ones that never put forth real effort toward tumbling. Every gym has one. The larger girl that loves to cheer, loves to compete, and knows everything about cheer..always claims they are the "best performer" and a "great dancer"....but never puts forth any effort to conditioning, toning and def. never shows up to tumbling. I feel like their whole tumbling story line was just for the show and in reality the girl hadn't attempted any skill in quite some time.

Totally agree with you on mom. Junior psychologist in me immediately thought..."she doesn't want her in shape, there's safety in numbers. If her kid is in shape then she doesn't have an excuse for herself."

They should workout together and build some healthy mom/daughter time. Throw out the pantry together, read nutrition labels together, get a myfitneespal account together.

But that's not drama.

 

[12stepCheermom]

Definitely not the unpopular opinion, I agree!
Also, these people signed contracts and knew what they were getting into. There probably wasn't much they could have done to prevent cameras being in the doctors office. So while I do feel bad for her, they (or Brooke's mom) signed up for this.


Can I just say this thread shows exactly how crazy cheerleaders/cheer parents can be. In a way, you're kind of backing up what the show is representing. Certainly not everyone, but some people are just flipping out...over a television show.

I'm assuming by "you" you mean that generally. I'm not flipping out. And I don't necessarily disagree. There is a lot of flipping out going on, and the random screaming flipping out is exactly what you say. But I think there's at least been some intelligent reasonable conversation about why we don't like the show going on here. I think that kind is a bit different.

 

[cheergirl4444]

1.1 million viewers should be enough to secure their spot especially since it was their first show. dance moms used to have a lot less then that and look at them now.