Im Looking To Start My Own All Star Sqaud. What Do Parents Look For When Picking An All Star Squad.

[Vikki]

I am interested in finding out what parents look for when picking an all star squad for their cp. For example, what types of credentials, prices, locations do you expect? Please feel free to add any thing else that is important when choosing a gym. Thank you very much!

 

[CoachMandiCF]

From being in the industry for longer than I'll admit due to revealing my age (haha), I'd say the top things I hear from parents that come in are:

1) Cost - no hidden charges & the ability to fundraise
2) Family Atmosphere - they want their kids to feel part of a family, not just a number or kid on a team
3) Equipment - proper training equipment
4) Travel - no ridiculous travel competitions back to back or near the holidays
5) Coaches - proper safety & certifications
6) Communication

 

[paintdog1]

Those are great points. I might add parents would want the team to achieve a certain level of success, but maybe this is not as important as the other points.

 

[dawgshow]

Mandi Spina covered most of it, but personally I also look for age appropriate team placement, choreography and uniforms. Location should be easy to get to, such as off a main road.
I would look at other gyms in the area and try to differentiate yourself from them.

 

[alexamarysouza]

my mom's big thing was always that there's ENOUGH coaches. After years and years with maybe 1 coach at practices, and not knowing what coach was going to show up.

 

[Mom2Cheergirls]

For me I want may daughter's on teams that the coach can see what they have at the beginning and works with them to develop skills and push them to try more (but here is the key -- does it safely and with the proper progression). That balance of challenging but keeping them safe and letting them succeed at the same time. So yeah I want it all -- that said I am at a gym that is small in size, big in heart, great in family, with coaches that my kids not only love but respect and are challenged by their coaches appropriately ---- I live to gyms closer and fancier but I go here because of the coaches.

 

[stephaniepan1]

Its very important that you as a coach KNOW how to score a routine. I've watched coaches tell girls they were fine then act shocked when they get deductions for simple things like jewelry, or rude jestures that they meant as funny. I just moved up to Michigan (near Detroit) and there are very few allstar gyms here. So I am wasting my money right now just to keep my dtr active till we move back down south.

 

[stephaniepan1]

That sounded bad it wasnt meant to.

 

[TheTalkedAboutMinor]

Know what you're doing. Know how to teach and make a routine that will WIN. So study scoresheets a LOT. I don't know about the rest of the board, but if I were picking a new gym, I'd really want a coach that can train kids to be amazing athletes and can make winning routines. Everyone wants to be a champion, so be a champion so that people recognize your program. Also, be nice to the kids and give them nice corrections. You can be tough and strict, but you can't belittle them. Think from a parents perspective, "If it was my kid, I would want her to have a coach that I could trust. While I was grocery shopping during practice, I wouldn't want to be thinking, "What if Susie is crying because her coach is yelling at her? What if Susie hurt herself because her coach didn't supervise her?" Basically, you just want to have a positive relationship with your cheerleaders.

 

[Sierra]

Its very important that you as a coach KNOW how to score a routine. I've watched coaches tell girls they were fine then act shocked when they get deductions for simple things like jewelry, or rude jestures that they meant as funny. I just moved up to Michigan (near Detroit) and there are very few allstar gyms here. So I am wasting my money right now just to keep my dtr active till we move back down south.

try Premier Athletics' Michigan Extreme its a great place to go.

 

[CheerBank]

This is not necessarily in order of importance:

• location - not just where it is but how easy it is to get to during scheduled practice times
• practice times
• prior success with different levels and age groups - you may have level 4 & 5 teams but if only your level 2 teams win, that says a lot
• cost
• crossover requirements (is it frowned upon if you do not want your cp to dd)
• full cheer floor & springboard floor in good shape
• air conditioning
• availability of tumbling and other classes
• website, facebook page, general availability of info about gym
• communication with owners and coaches

 

[cheermum24]

Safety!!I remember bringing my daughter to try out for a new team and their practice space was in a church on an area with hardwood floor, they did alot of stunting (levels 2-4) and no mats. Two coaches, too many girls, and neither were certified. They also had a high turnover rate of girls.

 

[tumbleyoda]

From being in the industry for longer than I'll admit due to revealing my age (haha), I'd say the top things I hear from parents that come in are:

1) Cost - no hidden charges & the ability to fundraise
2) Family Atmosphere - they want their kids to feel part of a family, not just a number or kid on a team
3) Equipment - proper training equipment
4) Travel - no ridiculous travel competitions back to back or near the holidays
5) Coaches - proper safety & certifications
6) Communication

Excellent response!:chestbump:

The only thing I would elaborate is under communication. This is not just to communicate with parents information about practices, competitions, fundraisers, responses to e-mails, etc. Inevitably there will always be those few who claim they never got the e-mail, text, call, voice-mail, FB notice or webpage update. It is far better to communicate as many ways as possible to ensure your message reaches the greatest percentage of your client base.

It is to be intentionally and purposefully clear as to your goals as a gym, your goals for each team, and ideally each athlete. Not every gym aspires to win Worlds, go to Worlds, or go to the Big Three. This does not mean that they do not desire to be a good gym or a competitive gym, just that that may not be in their immediate plans. These things should be discussed up front. It is far better to recommend to send a prospective parent to a competitors gym that may be a better fit for them competitively speaking, than to accept them in your program when what they desire for their child and what your goals are as a program are diametrically opposed to one another.

It is to communicate about your philosophy on progressions and how teams are pout together and why. Because once you make an exception for one athlete, every parent will want to sooner or later claim that same exemption for theirs to bump them up a level, or to be on a team they don't have all the skill for.

It is to communicate what it means to compete vs what it means to be competitive. How to win humbly and to lose gracefully. At the end of the day no matter how much you prepare to win, want to win and your fans think you deserve to win, you won't win every single time. Sometimes you beat yourself and sometimes you just get beat. Sometimes you just are not ready mentally to win, even if it shows on the scoresheet that you have the skills to be in range for a win. How to handle that and learn from it is even more critical than handling your wins. That only happens with positive communication.