All-Star Is It A Failure To Not Progress?

[Cheer Dad]

I took it as apathy towards improving, not towards the activity in general.

That was my thought process in the question.

 

[311cheermom]

As the role of Devil's Advocate, in the sport of AS Cheerleading, shouldn't all athletes participating want to reach for the highest level possible in the sport... the reason I initially looked this post up of progress* because exactly, is being a L5 athlete should be everyone goal in AS Cheerleading and if you know that you do not have the goods to reach that level, why not try something else... I was just wondering? IS AS Cheerleading a SPORT or just a FUN activity to do to stay fit and socialize with your friends?

It is doubtful, but not out of the question, that my L2/3 twelve year old will ever have "the goods" to make L5. Maybe it's because she started at age 10. I don't have a reason to have her try something else because a. She is getting in top physical shape. b. Rec cheer does not have the high level of competition that drives her. c. Rec cheer does not have her amazing gym owner/coach. d. She is not interested in other sports. e. Nothing else has given her the sense of accomplishment and team that AS cheer has. f. The time management, mental and physical discipline, and sense of commitment are qualities that will last through college and the work world. g. We love travelling to competitions together...She will have those memories for a lifetime. h. etc. etc. etc. I could list many more.

But I should say, the Rec cheer she started with at a younger age, in our area, was not competitive enough. I am learning from others on the board that it is quite competitive in some places.

 

[311cheermom]

I'm so glad you keep pointing out that you're in the devils advocate role here. I'm relieved for your cp that you don't actually think this way. If you did I'd direct you, post haste, to my open letter to Susie Moms in the parent section and suggest a close reading.

Thankfully, as devils advocate, you wouldn't need to do that.


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One of those times I wish I could shimmy the same quote more than once!

 

[Pebbles49]

It is doubtful, but not out of the question, that my L2/3 twelve year old will ever have "the goods" to make L5. Maybe it's because she started at age 10. I don't have a reason to have her try something else because a. She is getting in top physical shape. b. Rec cheer does not have the high level of competition that drives her. c. Rec cheer does not have her amazing gym owner/coach. d. She is not interested in other sports. e. Nothing else has given her the sense of accomplishment and team that AS cheer has. f. The time management, mental and physical discipline, and sense of commitment are qualities that will last through college and the work world. g. We love travelling to competitions together...She will have those memories for a lifetime. h. etc. etc. etc. I could list many more.

But I should say, the Rec cheer she started with at a younger age, in our area, was not competitive enough. I am learning from others on the board that it is quite competitive in some places.

I agree with everything you posted in your a-g list of reasons to pursue this sport... To be honest, I have limited knowledge of Rec cheer, other than I know that it is considerably cheaper than AS cheer...Right away, I must admit, my daughter has an advantage to some athletes like your daughter, who are starting late with tumbling, etc...She started gymnastics at around 4, was selected to be on a gymnastic team at around 5 and had most of her tumbling skills, at least up to layouts at around 8... In terms of gymnastics, she peaked at age 8 after falling out of love with the balanced beam and bars... I encountered a lot of pressure to force my daughter to continue with gymnastics, but I wanted her to love what she was doing and I had heard at the time something alarming, there were young girls intentionally hurting themselves to get a break from the sport of gymnastics (broken legs and arms, etc),,,which I definitely did not want my daughter to think, she needed to go to this extreme for me to listen to her wants...
BTW,
I agree wholeheartedly with your point 'G'...I love the closeness that my daughter and I developed through our travels together to competitions and in fact, I learned how to drive cross country and use a GPS system and with my daughter's (navigator) help with reading road maps (before the GPS system) and setting up the GPS system for the road trips, we are now 2 chicks flying down the road....You know, before AS Cheer, we never traveled more than 5 or 10 miles from our house and if we needed to travel farther than that, my husband will take us. So, yes, through AS cheer, we both progressed in so many ways other than in her tumbling skills and/or levels, etc...

PS: The lack of progression=failure pertained to me too with my driving... I refused to drive too far away from home (comfort zone) and even at night until AS Cheer came into our lives and forced me to learn how to drive and expand my horizon... So I guess, there is never failure when you give 100% effort...

 

[hercheermomma]

I define my cp's success in allstar cheer, not by what she does IN cheer, but what she will take with her when she leaves it.

She has learned the value of hard work and the rewards. She has also learned, no matter how bad you want something, no matter how hard you work, that things go wrong and how to move on and be stronger. She has learned how to deal with grief, losing a team mate to a car accident this year. She has learned to work with people she may not really like. She gas learned to speak up for herself and solve problems without mommy or her coach.

This season will be our 7th year. She's spent two years each on level 2, 3 and 4. While this is the only year she hasn't gained any NEW skills, she has perfected her level 4 tumbling. Her team was awarded a summit bid. She didn't get her full yet, but I sure think she's a helluva success.

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[NEliteSteven]

CSP tweeted today that they are revamping their Level 1-4 coaching techniques.......Interesting....

 

[BlockHead]

I don't believe that my CP bases her cheerleading success on her personal skills or how many wins her squad has under her belt. She left a highly successful large gym to attend a small gym who struggles to not get last place. She does not care. She just wants herself, her coaches, and her teammates to do their best and take pride in that. This is her 4th season in all-star, and she has the choice to move onto a more successful gym if she wants to. She wants to stay where she is at. She is happy with her current situation. To me, that is success!

 

[BlockHead]

@xtremeteal4life I totally get the point you are trying to make.... I have known Courtney for years, and watched her gym from the ground up. We did open teams together with CEA when my family first started allstars. But I just feel some kids will not progress. That is why allstars now has levels. When we started it was divided allgirl and coed....youth , jr, and senior. Now we have 5 levels, so someone else realized not all kids will be level 5. You will always have someone better than you, but should quit or have your parents be the judge you don't have the talent. In the long run $3000 dollars is pretty cheap to keep your child fit and out of trouble. I would never wanna squash my child's dream. As for your varsity/jv example. I have watched young kids do soccer and baseball their whole life and not make the high school team. Micheal Jordan did not make Laney High School at first....We will never agree so I will call it truce.

Exactly. Mark Buehrle (major league baseball pitcher) went to my high school. He didn't make the high school baseball tram one year. Didn't squash his dream. He (and his parents) did not give up. He went on to throw a no hitter and is an all-star pitcher.

 

[BlockHead]

I think you understand exactly what I'm saying though....I'm saying if it were obvious my child wasn't going to progress past a certain point after a few years, then maybe she's not meant to do it competitively. Now if she wants to do it for fun, the beauty of REC sports is exactly the same w/o the hefty price tag, leaving me the opportunity to explore other options for her if she so chooses. I also disagree w/the certain level of subjectivity you're suggesting. Now if a high school girl starts all star w/o any experience in her life and never makes it past a level two, I'd be more inclined to understand. If however, a person was introduced earlier on to the sport, and did not make it past a level 2 after 10 years....well, like I've said, that would be like the equivalent of paying for expensive singing lessons when it's clear your child cannot really sing.

My CP is in her 4th year of all stars. She was born with cerebral characteristics in her brain that has resulted in low muscle tone. She did not walk until she was 2 years old. This has definitely affected her ability to progress. No...after 6 years of taking both gymnastics (including 2 years of privates) and being in all star, she still has no back handspring. But she has a gorgeous back walkover that I am so proud of!! Will she ever get her BHS? Who knows? But that is no reason to take her out of an activity that she adores. She is on a level 2 squad because that is the lowest level her current gym has. But if she was having fun and gaining confidence on the same level 1 squad for 10 years, then so be it. She is a great cheerleader, whether she is level 1 or level 5!

 

[justpeachy]

I'm so glad you keep pointing out that you're in the devils advocate role here. I'm relieved for your cp that you don't actually think this way. If you did I'd direct you, post haste, to my open letter to Susie Moms in the parent section and suggest a close reading.

Thankfully, as devils advocate, you wouldn't need to do that.


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PREACH

 

[justpeachy]

Hey Cheer Dad, quite the contrary, my cp is progressing rapidly without putting in the amount of work that I think is expected...

With all due respect, maybe it's time for you to back off and let her decide. This is, after all, for the kids.

 

[cheernerd5678]

PS: The lack of progression=failure pertained to me too with my driving... I refused to drive too far away from home (comfort zone) and even at night until AS Cheer came into our lives and forced me to learn how to drive and expand my horizon... So I guess, there is never failure when you give 100% effort...

You and my mom both! She's gotten better but night trips usually involve at least 2 stops for coffee



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[Cheermom1969]

Cats, people! I need cats!!!!

 

[xtremeteal4life]

My CP is in her 4th year of all stars. She was born with cerebral characteristics in her brain that has resulted in low muscle tone. She did not walk until she was 2 years old. This has definitely affected her ability to progress. No...after 6 years of taking both gymnastics (including 2 years of privates) and being in all star, she still has no back handspring. But she has a gorgeous back walkover that I am so proud of!! Will she ever get her BHS? Who knows? But that is no reason to take her out of an activity that she adores. She is on a level 2 squad because that is the lowest level her current gym has. But if she was having fun and gaining confidence on the same level 1 squad for 10 years, then so be it. She is a great cheerleader, whether she is level 1 or level 5!

Perhaps you should have read my reply a few pages ago before replying to this one- I changed my perspective since my original posts and readily admitted to it after reading another poster's recent reply on how interesting it is to see how some posters appeared to have changed their original perspective

Eta-it's on page 17

 

[Pebbles49]

With all due respect, maybe it's time for you to back off and let her decide. This is, after all, for the kids.

If you read any of my other posts, if my daughter is not in the driver's seat in wanting to do AS cheerleading and If I was forcing and choosing for her, my daughter would still be doing and hating gymnastics, but clearly, she not... Cheer is her life and sport, maybe because it comes so easy to her is a testament of her love for what she is doing!
PS: This point has become clearer to me by reading all the comments made on the fierceboard site...