All-Star Mental Blocks Effecting Placement?

[dohnutt]

@dohnutt @glittergirl @createmagic

Wow I never realized that. I certainly wish anyone who has had one the best of luck. I really thought working a skill everyday considering no bad injury would keep someone mental block free. I'm so wrong I see. I certainly hope my daughter never experiences that she is her worst critic. It would be so hard on her.

Thanks for y'all's input as now I understand it a little bit better.
I still feel I would want my daughter moved down though if she had one to be fair to everyone!

I agree with the moving down, as long it is not in the middle of the season. I have been fortunate enough that I have never really stopped my standing tumbling (still throwing jumps to back all the time and two to full most of the time) and am strong enough in other areas that it didn't effect my placement.

 

[cheerleader-woo]

being an athlete who DID have a mental block with jumps to back, my coach DID remove me from the team, but instead of putting me on a lower level team, he kept me on level 5, but put me on kind of a probation.

at that practice, i threw jumps to back a MILLION times it felt like, but he wouldn't put me back on for atleast another week to make sure i would still throw the skill. i'm sure i'm not the only one who is like this, but by putting that fire under me made me work 10x harder, and it was a reality that i needed to get it together.

 

[cheerflyerz2]

I'm not sure what gym would place an athlete based on "potential." Maybe there are some. My cp has the potential to throw a one to double...once she can get 1 1/2 more twists from what she has now...

This would only work if the coach and child is willing to work up to that potential. Otherwise it means nothing. We had tryouts and I told my boss "she NEEDS to move up or she will hold herself back she has the potential to do it" the only reason he did it is because that child is in the gym every single day working to get it and is not afraid. A week after tryouts...she already got above and beyond what we had expected for the first competition.

Im willing to coach any child willing to put in the time and effort. Idk usually a coach can tell which ones are going to be ready and who needs a full year to prepare. We will put a child who might take longer on the next lower team and put them as an alternate on the higher level team. We give them 30 days to prove they can perfect that skill and they will be completely moved up, otherwise they stay an alternate but not automatically...they can even be removed from an alternate position and be replaced by another kid we has worked harder and perfected their skills. In an event that an alternate is needed we obviously choose based on skill, learning ability, and work ethic because they will then be double competing.

This is what we have found to be most effective...if the child wants it they will get it in time, otherwise they just simply arent ready and that is perfectly fine. It prevents blocks and stress on our athletes.

 

[cheerflyerz2]

I don't think the coaches are wrong! Cheering is a total package sport! I would not expect my daughter to make a level 5 team if she could fly level 5 but not tumble!! There is more than just a tumble pass- what about jumps to tuck? standing back handsprings??? Are you going to just let them duck in the back for everything??? If the gym has kids who have all the skills needed those kids should get the spot first. My cp cheers for Fame and I have never seen the coaches send a kid home or kick them off of a team. We have a kid going through a block and was on a level 4 team and remained there all season. I don't think she was placed on a team that required that level of tumbling this season! Is that wrong? She was placed on what her abilities are now not in the past!

Right! If we could tell when an athlete is going to block and when they will be okay for a season it would be perfectly fine to place them where ever we wanted. We dont have that luxury and neither do they. They dont even know when they will tumble again. Its better for everyone if they are put on a lower team. It really takes a lot of stress off the athlete. It also gives them something to work toward and keep their mind on getting back to where they were and know what they can do rather than not putting them on a team at all which might tell them they dont have to do anything at all because they arent even on a team. Its really just finding out how to make it positive for them because chances are they is a lot of negative already built up they dont need more.

 

[Fameous MOM]

Right! If we could tell when an athlete is going to block and when they will be okay for a season it would be perfectly fine to place them where ever we wanted. We dont have that luxury and neither do they. They dont even know when they will tumble again. Its better for everyone if they are put on a lower team. It really takes a lot of stress off the athlete. It also gives them something to work toward and keep their mind on getting back to where they were and know what they can do rather than not putting them on a team at all which might tell them they dont have to do anything at all because they arent even on a team. Its really just finding out how to make it positive for them because chances are they is a lot of negative already built up they dont need more.

YES!!!!:cheering:

Btw that is an amazing bow in your avatar!!!!!

 

[Mamarazzi]

I agree with the moving down, as long it is not in the middle of the season. I have been fortunate enough that I have never really stopped my standing tumbling (still throwing jumps to back all the time and two to full most of the time) and am strong enough in other areas that it didn't effect my placement.

Think for a second, though. Let's say you're on a team that was created for the sole purpose of maxing out a scoresheet - 1000% tumbling, everyone has doubles, ridIculous stuff. A cheerleader blocks a month before Worlds. Everyone works with the athlete to get the skills back, but she just can't. Meanwhile, Betty Beast on a lower team has all the skills the blocker had and knows the routine. I would expect the coaches to pull Betty up and move the blocker down.

Just like any other rule, the gym had sense enough to put it in writing that scenarios can happen, not that they WILL pull (see @Fameous MOM 's example) but that they CAN if necessary. Plus it eliminates Susie or her Mom running and crying about being leveled down.

 

[MissCongeniality]

I think of a mental block as an "injury". What would you do with an athlete who breaks their ankle mid-season? They wouldn't perform in the routine (most likely) until they were healed, right? Not guaranteed, of course. I have seen some kids in boots out there doing what they can. But if the team needed someone who could tumble and jump... then the broken ankle athlete would be watching from the sidelines.

Not a perfect example as a mental block could still be hugely beneficial on a lower level team or even in many categories on the higher level team. But if you think of it as an "injury", I think it eliminates some of the "just get over it and get out there and throw it" mentality as well as the "i can't believe I got pulled from the team because I lost all my tumbling" stigma

 

[dohnutt]

Think for a second, though. Let's say you're on a team that was created for the sole purpose of maxing out a scoresheet - 1000% tumbling, everyone has doubles, ridIculous stuff. A cheerleader blocks a month before Worlds. Everyone works with the athlete to get the skills back, but she just can't. Meanwhile, Betty Beast on a lower team has all the skills the blocker had and knows the routine. I would expect the coaches to pull Betty up and move the blocker down.

Just like any other rule, the gym had sense enough to put it in writing that scenarios can happen, not that they WILL pull (see @Fameous MOM 's example) but that they CAN if necessary. Plus it eliminates Susie or her Mom running and crying about being leveled down.

This is true, I did not think of it this way. I guess it just depends on each athlete and the situation, and I may be a little to close to the topic to see it from every angle.
Now, if you do move the child down and they regained their skills consistently before the next competition, do you put them back on the team? Or do they stay on the lower level the rest of the season?

 

[IMO]

I honestly do not think ONE person not tumbling is gonna effect the team, as long as they are pull their weight at stunting, jump, dancing. Because I can guarantee that not everyone on cheer extreme/world cup tumbles. But due to amazing choreography you cannot tell.

 

[Mamarazzi]

This is true, I did not think of it this way. I guess it just depends on each athlete and the situation, and I may be a little to close to the topic to see it from every angle.
Now, if you do move the child down and they regained their skills consistently before the next competition, do you put them back on the team? Or do they stay on the lower level the rest of the season?

Dealing I hypotheticals, I would say, of course! And if the gym thought enough to put this policy in the handbook, I would think they would have the forethought to approach the "replacement" the way they would if they replaced for an injury. "When (blocker) gets her skills back, she will return to the team."

 

[cheerchickxoxo]

i had a mental block for almost a year. i feel that mental block shouldnt mattter where your placed or if your gonna be kicked off the team. Yes mental blocks are bad for tumbling, but it also matters about everthing else the cheerleader has to offer. maybe they do have a mental block that keeps them from tumbling but that same cheerleader could also be the teams strongest stunters or maybe gives the audience/judges the best facials and attitudes, or it could also be their jumps. the team could maybe not have enough great jumpers as they would like. the coach should put other things except tumbling into consideration.

 

[cheerflyerz2]

YES!!!!:cheering:

Btw that is an amazing bow in your avatar!!!!!

Thank you, that was last spring at our NCA staff training week in Florida.

 

[garretttt]

I was meandering through different gyms tryout packets, as I was just curious. And I was reading one gyms packet and it said, "No mental blocks…they are destructive and contagious…if your child has a mental block, your child may be asked to leave practice and up to possibly being removed from the team"

I feel being removed from a team because of a mental block is absolutely horrible. The last thing someone with a mental needs is negative feedback like that. The thing is everyone will eventually get a mind block of some sort, and the BEST way for the athlete to get over one is by coaches understanding and helping them. Not by removing them, as they cannot get over it if they are not able to work on/through it if they are asked to leave.

any thoughts?

not really smart of the gym. that could freak out the athlete about getting a mental block....and then get a mental block.

 

[cheer4ever0522]

i had a mental block at tryouts i had the "twisties" (i had a full working on a double and lost full) i did a 1 1/2 to my butt and still made a level 5 team so i think it just depends on the gym:jawdrop:

 

[Angelica]

There's something like this is spirit packet too