So this morning sitting I had an epiphany, so could “Worlds” itself be the culprit in all this unsafe business??? I have been in allstars for 17 years, as a parent, watching both my daughters grow up as awesome cheerleaders.
Today it occurred to me that when Worlds began, I myself thought this is awesome!!! Showcase the Best of the Best. What a great idea. Now this morning I am saying hmmmmm...
It is now, OMG I have to get my child on a Worlds team, to the point people fly, drive hours upon hours just to be at a gym with an awesome “Worlds Team” . Nothing wrong with that I was drinking the kool-aid too!! But now I am wondering, is this the cause for the unsafe teams with scary stunts, bad “janky’ tumbling?? It is to the point we start at smaller gyms that either can’t field a level 5, so they lose elite athletes. Or they create the best level 5 team they can with 8 kids that have NO business being on it, 7 maybes, and 5 TRUE level five athletes. But if they don’t field that team, they lose the kids to the bigger gyms because they are 12 or older and deserve to be on a what??? A “Worlds Team”!! People get mad if they have to be on lower level team or not on the senior team. We all hear the mom of the 12 year with the full (and only a full) saying my daughter better make the a Sr 5 team or we are leaving blah blah blah... People are blindsided once again due to that “Worlds” stigma.
We keep pushing the small gym to throw unsafe routines to keep athletes happy, we have the bigger gyms fielding teams with crossovers for bids, only to be replaced by those more inexperienced to get what to “Worlds”
Maybe, just maybe Worlds should be changed a little and let the best of the best go in all sr. aged levels?? Not give out as many bids, and do the top 20 teams in every Sr. level. I know there is an all levels, but that does not carry the same stigma as the almighty “Worlds” and I don’t know that this will be the fix, but something needs fixed in our industry because it is definitely broken!!
I think you hit on one part of the problem. Personally I believe there are many culprits with each one pointing fingers at the other saying it is not my fault, while not acknowledging their role in the madness. In the words of Pogo - We have seen the enemy - he is us.
The biggest issue I see IMO is we want Worlds to be a sporting event best of the best only, while those that run it (USASF/Varsity) see it primarily as a business enterprise. As a business they have to sell the dream that you are one of the best of the best to more people because that is how they make their $$$. The chase for the dream is lucrative. They don't care about that team from Janktastic All Stars that got a last minute bid, or You Gotta Be Kidding Me Cheer who is paying their own way on an At Large. Who cares if they only compete one day? Because they are putting $$$ in the pot for them.
We blame the coaches of teams like this for not realizing it, or setting their kids up for disappointment because they wont win Worlds yet we have no problem with the larger gyms recruiting the talent out of small gyms so they can never really build a team up. We dont understand why the small gyms wont just be content being a small Level 1 and 2 gym and sending everybody else up the road to another gym where they can "really shine." Which is nothing more than a backhanded pimp slap at the small gym. They sell the dream of your child needs to be on a Senior 5 team now so they can go to Worlds. If your gym doesn't have one it is a waste of your tine and money to stay there and build one, but go somewhere else.
There is minimal Industry wide training for coaches as well as certification. It either can't be afforded or is too cumbersome to deal with. So where do these coaches go that want to get better? Who want to build a program up the right way? Who want their coaches to be properly trained and certified to whatever levels they have? What about the bi-vocational coaches that can't afford to take off of work to go to the likes of Dorral?
Gyms are routinely dogged out for not having level 5 teams, for not being in Worlds Divisions, not getting a bid, etc. It is not just the kids doing it either. Adults participate as well. We have created the unfortunate mindset that the first time a gym puts together a Level 5 team they must be able to hit the scoresheet tghe first time out like Stingrays, SOT, Cali, or else they should be in the restricted division or in level 4. That to me is pure foolishness. A baby has to grow at the proper rate otherwise it becomes dysfunctional and deformed. Same with gym programs. It takes time to grow a program. We have no patience and no time to let them grow. We all want it all and we want it right now. Patience is no longer seen as a virtue but a vice. The first team I was one of the coaches of that went to Worlds had no doubles on the floor at Worlds. None. The comments we heard in the community and those posted on YouTube, the old boards, etc from the kids from many programs and some adults were beyond painful. If they hurt me as an adult, you know they hurt the kids. Yet that same program has been to Worlds every year since and last year tied for 7th in their division. So the experience of going apparently did them pretty good. Yet we want to deny gyms that ability to have the experience, never knowing what the future of that program will be.
Level 5 has become the holy grail. Any mention of any other division is almost an afterthought, unless it is an issue of excessive crossovers or sandbagging. On this personally I think there should be something more for these levels - even if it is not Worlds so to speak, but the argument is always raised about the costs of flying younger teams all around the country for one event. That parents won't pay that kind of money. And of course that Worlds is only for level 5. So again we put the carrot in front of them that says if you want to be "special" you got to become a level 5.
Then there are some parents that blamed that are pushing for their kids to be promoted faster than they are ready. They are more worried about social promotion of their kids so they can keep up with another child rather than just progress at the safe and proper rate for them. They haven't yet perfected BHS yet they want to be in a Tuck class. Their layout is nothing but a whipped over BHS with no hands yet they are pushing the coaches to get them twisting. They threaten the coaches with leaving if they don't get their way. How can they do that? Because they have already consulted with the other gym and have a placement for their child on the team they want - or so they think. Many times that child will get to practice with the higher team during the summer, only to be dropped down at the end of the summer if they don't fix the skills.
Lastly instead of dealing with the matters that really matter in fixing our rules and governance, the USASF violates its own process to hand down another tone deaf edict that they have to retract and rework. And they still don't get that with the majority while not happy with the rule changes they would adjust, it was the process that ticked everyone off. You say you are doing it for the betterment of the sport - when you only see it as a business - without our input. You offend a majority segment of your client base that you still haven't apologized to, and now you are probably thinking how to keep them from jumping ship.
Rant over. We all need to step away and see what we can do to make it better. Not just for us as individuals but for the industry. If it takes another governing body, so be it. I will continue to make my stands where I can. I will continue to encourage the small gyms and small gym owners to hang in there and don't lose their dream to the power of the conglomerate. I will continue to teach and train athletes patiently knowing I do this because I love working with kids and seeing them successful, whether it is a cartwheel, a front walkover or a double full. To see the smile on their face and to know I positively impacted their life is enough for me to keep at this. I will continue to train the new staff that come to me for help and guidance. I will continue to believe in the power of my dream. To be better today than I was yesterday.
