High School High School Tryouts

[Official OWECheer]

Short answer: hell yea

Long answer:

I've watched the program at one of our rival schools unravel over the last five years because of similar garbage. Sometimes it takes a long time, but no program can survive a coach that pulls that crap and be successful for very long.

I mean, the program at the school where I'm about to start my third year as head coach had unraveled for the same reasons which led to my employment.

The failure of such coaches is inevitable, but sometimes what goes around takes its sweet time to come around.

Short answer: Yes it does. Maybe not immediately but I always see programs deteriorating over time.

As coaches, they may be pleasing the parents, but eventually cheer becomes a joke to the point that you can't pay kids to try out. Because even sideline cheer programs suffer once kids know they'll always make it and skills don't matter.

This is comforting to hear. Though I'm sure the wait sucks.

 

[Pebbles49]

My biggest problem withextracurricular recs, and I'm trying HARD to get rid of them, is that teachers HATE doing them.

Speaking as a MS teacher, I feel ambivalent about writing recommendations for any extracurricular activities. I tend to write positive recommendations to all that asked, optimistically hoping and recognizing that many time these extracurricular activities can and have positive end result on a student's behaviors in the classroom, especially, cheerleading. I had girls, who will skipped school, cut classes and/or failed classeses, but once making a cheerleading squad, comes to school, applied themselves and turned themselves around because they felt like a role model. This is the same with the boys too.
However, I noticed in the boys' activities, the coaches choose the best athletes and only rely on teachers' input when they have ties or apprehensive about an athlete's potential. I noticed too, in boys sports, the coaches rely on students report cards, which already have teachers' comments about the students attitude and potential...
So, I think having student submit prior year and current report cards, provides enough info. Instead of teacher's recommendations.

 

[cheerisloving]

Short answer: Yes it does. Maybe not immediately but I always see programs deteriorating over time.

As coaches, they may be pleasing the parents, but eventually cheer becomes a joke to the point that you can't pay kids to try out. Because even sideline cheer programs suffer once kids know they'll always make it and skills don't matter.

My HS was mostly for sideline and competed at districts because you could. Never had the talent or guidance to really do well until my freshman year. Old coach let any girl make the team, and normally it was the loudest with the best jumps got Varsity, my New coach let that slide for one year sideline, but wasn't afraid to tell someone that they couldn't compete. Since then she's set a standard for making Varsity and has successfully rebuilded our program so that there are freshman and JV teams. Girls know that they can't just show up and make the team like in my day, and the team atmosphere is as serious as our championship winning teams. We are one of the teams that people are looking at for at districts and have a competitive drive. All because one coach made the call to cut, not let people get their way.

 

[Pebbles49]

I definitely agree with @cheerisloving, sometimes person or coach insisting on standards and quality will make a difference in the success of a program and the reputation of a program. I have witnessed a group of moms trying to stronghold a coach for making decisions that does not benefit their child and that coach quit. The whole squad of girls, who deserved their spots on the team, also quit in protest or support for the coach... These pushy Susie Moms realize real quick, cheerleading is a team sport and Susie cannot be 1 person on a team sport...

However, in my situation, the Coach got her job back, an apology and no one ever try to overstep her authority on the team again...

PS: If you are a Coach, stand up for yourself and not allow anyone to run your team..,If you quit, there are other teams out there for you...

 

[Official OWECheer]

I definitely agree with @cheerisloving, sometimes person or coach insisting on standards and quality will make a difference in the success of a program and the reputation of a program. I have witnessed a group of moms trying to stronghold a coach for making decisions that does not benefit their child and that coach quit. The whole squad of girls, who deserved their spots on the team, also quit in protest or support for the coach... These pushy Susie Moms realize real quick, cheerleading is a team sport and Susie cannot be 1 person on a team sport...

However, in my situation, the Coach got her job back, an apology and no one ever try to overstep her authority on the team again...

PS: If you are a Coach, stand up for yourself and not allow anyone to run your team..,If you quit, there are other teams out there for you...

Wow! What happened to the program afterwards?

 

[Pebbles49]

Wow! What happened to the program afterwards?

The particular coach, who quit and the rest of the team quit in protest and support, got her coaching job back and the administrators apologize and now she is doing even better than before...I really admire this teacher/coach because she stood her ground...

PS: She quit being the cheer coach, but she still worked in the school as an English teacher

 

[SparkleSpankies]

Having a hard time understanding how high school cheer politics work! Here are the scenarios we encountered and I am trying to figure out if this is the norm.

Suzy A is an automatic varisty returner with an injury so could not tryout at all at "mandatory" tryouts

All star Suzy B was away at comp and was allowed to submit a video for tryout and skip "mandatory" days and automstically made Varsity

Suzy C has a back handspring which is the minimim requirement for Varsity but has a family everyone loves so she came and went for "mandatory" tryouts and got a Varsity spot

Suzy D has terrible cheer skills, sloppy tumbling but weighs 60lbs so she was put on Varsity as an incoming freshman. She is at least 15 inches shorter than the rest of the team.

Suzy E can do back hand spring but is a sloppy cheerleader and does not like spotting but has a Varsity spot.

Then we have Suzy F,G and H who fell repeatedly in tryouts but made Varsity spots because of who they know. (Coming from their own mouths, stating they knew they had spots on Varsity)


I just heard from a woman who was one of the judges last year at the high school. That all judges scoring was totally dismissed and tons of bottom ranking girls were put on Varsity because of similar reasons as above from this year.

Why have judges at all? Why not put the best people on the team if you constantly stress how much you want to win?

I assumed my kid would make a team based on her skill level and that it would be fair. No such luck.

For any coaches out there, or parents or girls who witnessed it first hand, have you ever seen the favoritism come back and bite the coaches in the butt?

OK, I have some examples, however, I consider myself a fair coach.

Suzie A - ACL surgery, rising senior.. couldn't tryout. Received a number, showed up to the tryouts did work with the trainer, helped me sort uniforms. Her number is listed under Varsity pending injury clearance and ability once healthy.

Suzie B - rising junior, not a bad cheerleaer, no handpsring, but this just started recently, we had it since 7th grade and now nothing.. mental block of some kind, had terrible tryout. Varsity game, competition consideration pending backhansdpring. (note I said consideration)

Suzie C - rising sophomore, really good cheerleader, weak stunting and needs work, NO TUMBLING. All rising Sophomores have at least handsprng series or tuck. JV.

Suzie D - rising senior, never misses a practice/event, always 15 minutes early, last to leave after mats are rolled up. Dr note, very sick for tryouts, was not in school. Met up with me Satruday afternoon to show me material and do her skills. Varsity, considered for varsity competition.

Suzie E F G H I - Rising juniors do not have the skills, JV

I get politics and last year I took 2 rising freshmen on varsity, they are like 80 pounds each, but they both had tucks + and we graduated 2 flyers and the upperclass flyers weren't ready to take those roles... I use judges scores for the obvious bubble kids and also back-up if there are issues and what is funny, is the scoring is always right. Always exactly where we mentally placed.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

OK, I have some examples, however, I consider myself a fair coach.

Suzie A - ACL surgery, rising senior.. couldn't tryout. Received a number, showed up to the tryouts did work with the trainer, helped me sort uniforms. Her number is listed under Varsity pending injury clearance and ability once healthy.

Suzie B - rising junior, not a bad cheerleaer, no handpsring, but this just started recently, we had it since 7th grade and now nothing.. mental block of some kind, had terrible tryout. Varsity game, competition consideration pending backhansdpring. (note I said consideration)

Suzie C - rising sophomore, really good cheerleader, weak stunting and needs work, NO TUMBLING. All rising Sophomores have at least handsprng series or tuck. JV.

Suzie D - rising senior, never misses a practice/event, always 15 minutes early, last to leave after mats are rolled up. Dr note, very sick for tryouts, was not in school. Met up with me Satruday afternoon to show me material and do her skills. Varsity, considered for varsity competition.

Suzie E F G H I - Rising juniors do not have the skills, JV

I get politics and last year I took 2 rising freshmen on varsity, they are like 80 pounds each, but they both had tucks + and we graduated 2 flyers and the upperclass flyers weren't ready to take those roles... I use judges scores for the obvious bubble kids and also back-up if there are issues and what is funny, is the scoring is always right. Always exactly where we mentally placed.

This is why we don't have tryouts to place athletes on teams. We have tryouts to place athletes in the program. After we have established who is in the program, we start trying to sort out how they're going to compete. I coach them as one large group for most of the summer. Then as we start focusing on competition routines and it becomes necessary, we split our practices a little more. My assistant coaches and I coach both teams. I think we are going to end up with an all girl and a coed team this year. Last year we had a traditional all girl and a non tumbling all girl. I'm not sure if our coed team this year will be a traditional coed team or a non tumbling coed team. The way I see it, I don't have to make those decisions until I sit down to do their choreography. The teams a designed to maximize stunting ability as a priority (after all stunts/pyramids are twice as many points as tumbling on both of our scoresheets), then we attempt to score as well as we can in tumbling. We drill all of the other aspects of the routine as hard as possible in order to maximize our score in those areas (ie: jumps, dance, cheer, etc). You can carry a team a long way on cheer section alone in UCA's format.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

This is why we don't have tryouts to place athletes on teams. We have tryouts to place athletes in the program. After we have established who is in the program, we start trying to sort out how they're going to compete. I coach them as one large group for most of the summer. Then as we start focusing on competition routines and it becomes necessary, we split our practices a little more. My assistant coaches and I coach both teams. I think we are going to end up with an all girl and a coed team this year. Last year we had a traditional all girl and a non tumbling all girl. I'm not sure if our coed team this year will be a traditional coed team or a non tumbling coed team. The way I see it, I don't have to make those decisions until I sit down to do their choreography. The teams a designed to maximize stunting ability as a priority (after all stunts/pyramids are twice as many points as tumbling on both of our scoresheets), then we attempt to score as well as we can in tumbling. We drill all of the other aspects of the routine as hard as possible in order to maximize our score in those areas (ie: jumps, dance, cheer, etc). You can carry a team a long way on cheer section alone in UCA's format.

Knock on wood, I have very few issues, it is typically a formality, they know the requirements they know things change, I have minimal issues. I'm lucky, but I also am in a school where sports is huge and where is best for the athlete is the right answer. Maybe some day we can split your way but we just aren't there yet.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

OK, I have some examples, however, I consider myself a fair coach.

Suzie A - ACL surgery, rising senior.. couldn't tryout. Received a number, showed up to the tryouts did work with the trainer, helped me sort uniforms. Her number is listed under Varsity pending injury clearance and ability once healthy.

Suzie B - rising junior, not a bad cheerleaer, no handpsring, but this just started recently, we had it since 7th grade and now nothing.. mental block of some kind, had terrible tryout. Varsity game, competition consideration pending backhansdpring. (note I said consideration)

Suzie C - rising sophomore, really good cheerleader, weak stunting and needs work, NO TUMBLING. All rising Sophomores have at least handsprng series or tuck. JV.

Suzie D - rising senior, never misses a practice/event, always 15 minutes early, last to leave after mats are rolled up. Dr note, very sick for tryouts, was not in school. Met up with me Satruday afternoon to show me material and do her skills. Varsity, considered for varsity competition.

Suzie E F G H I - Rising juniors do not have the skills, JV

I get politics and last year I took 2 rising freshmen on varsity, they are like 80 pounds each, but they both had tucks + and we graduated 2 flyers and the upperclass flyers weren't ready to take those roles... I use judges scores for the obvious bubble kids and also back-up if there are issues and what is funny, is the scoring is always right. Always exactly where we mentally placed.

You all make me feel so mean! I'm a horrible person. I don't allow kids with mental blocks or injuries to be placed based on previous tumbling (for a number of reasons.)

If they can't tumble, their scored tumbling during evals is scored as zero. I can't justify having them scored higher than someone who is physically able to throw clean skills.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I also do not think that at this point, non-tumblers can even make our JV team. Tumbling is optional but most trying out have a BHS.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

You all make me feel so mean! I'm a horrible person. I don't allow kids with mental blocks or injuries to be placed based on previous tumbling (for a number of reasons.)

If they can't tumble, their scored tumbling during evals is scored as zero. I can't justify having them scored higher than someone who is physically able to throw clean skills.

She got credit for a cartwheel and a round off... she is a varsity game cheerleader, nice motions, good jumps, etc... she is not a varsity competition cheerleader for more reasons then her lack of tumbling... with that being said, we try and keep some peace, makes it less stressful :-)

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

You all make me feel so mean! I'm a horrible person. I don't allow kids with mental blocks or injuries to be placed based on previous tumbling (for a number of reasons.)

If they can't tumble, their scored tumbling during evals is scored as zero. I can't justify having them scored higher than someone who is physically able to throw clean skills.

AMEN; "mental blocks" are nonexistent in my world because I don't cater to the idea that being mentally weak is "ok" as long as "you know you could do it before." You either got it or you don't.

I told a kid one day that I was going to tell my next code blue patient that "I'm sorry, but I have a mental block starting IV's today."

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

I also do not think that at this point, non-tumblers can even make our JV team. Tumbling is option but most trying out have a BHS.

I take a couple every year who are close to their backhandspring (they do not get scored for it, they just have a high enough total score based on other things to make the team).

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

She got credit for a cartwheel and a round off... she is a varsity game cheerleader, nice motions, good jumps, etc... she is not a varsity competition cheerleader for more reasons then her lack of tumbling... with that being said, we try and keep some peace, makes it less stressful :)

I think making them non-competing is a good compromise! My alternates do not compete and cheer games only.