All-Star Not All Star Related But I Need Thoughts

[mamabear]

what year is your cp, @allstarmama?

And I am curious, what are the schools that are considered powerhouses in MA? who do you think would be in the eight? I grew up there, but cheer was the farthest thing off my radar back then.

 

[allstarmama]

My CP is a sophomore.

There are a lot of great teams in MA now. Two powerhouses that come to mind are Dracut and Burlington though. They have been consistently good for a while. Lots of up and coming teams that have worked really hard to grow their programs though and that's part of what frustrates me about this. If you want to compete with the better teams......put in the time and effort to grow your program rather than complaining about all the barriers you face in doing so. Hire coaches that know the score sheet and can teach stunting. It's hard to teach tumbling at the high school level. You're not going to take your team of BHS and turn them into fulls overnight. But if schools work on growing their programs, (which is a ton of work. You need to have AD's and administrators on board and have parents that are willing to put in the work to help) they will attract kids with more skills.

 

[EWalsh1029]

I would say, within the past few years: Dracut, Whitman Hanson, Burlington, Shepherd Hill, Leominster, Bridgewater Raynham, Ipswich, Grafton

^Thats just my opinion, I'm sure other people in MA will have different opinions

 

[allstarmama]

I would say, within the past few years: Dracut, Whitman Hanson, Burlington, Shepherd Hill, Leominster, Bridgewater Raynham, Ipswich, Grafton

^Thats just my opinion, I'm sure other people in MA will have different opinions

And I just need to point out that just about all those towns fall in the lower half of per capita income in the state....they are not wealthy towns with big budgets.

 

[Fiercecheermom]

So after reading this thread I have come to the conclusion that every state does things differently. It is a shame that some high school programs don't have the resources that others do. Unfortunately, that is life...there is always going to be someone/something more talented/richer/thinner/luckier/etc. Doing your best and working hard is sometimes it's own reward. I imagine it is frustrating that the same teams win year after year but that is just the way it is. I saw above that Coach Hanna stated it is about the experience/hard work and are happy with whatever placement they get. Those athletes are learning more than any competition could teach them. We have the same issues here with the same schools consistently placing/winning every year. Does it stop us from trying or wanting to "change the rules" so others can "win"? Nope...because when a new school starts to become more competitive, it is exciting and offers incentive to the other teams in the state to keep working because it will happen. In VA, we divide the districts/conferences by school size as well. Not sure about other states, but within those divisions, Coed and All Girl compete against each other. Doesn't always seem fair, but it's the way it's always been. We have some "coed powerhouse" high school teams that win each year, but it hasn't stopped our team from working hard to compete against them.

 

[Onfire381]

I don't necessarily disagree there. But just because a team is coached by an all star coach doesn't mean the school has a huge budget for cheer. I know at CPs school we (parents) pay for our own camps,choreography and practice wear. We also have to fundraise for uniforms and any other "extras". We also pay a "user fee" that is $300.

Exactly. Our high school team has a head coach and asst. coaches but they practice at an all star gym and the coach of the all star gym choreographs their routine and is there at every practice helping. The school budget is $3,000 for the cheer team (comp and football) which all goes to the head coach. The funds necessary for everythnig else comes from fundraising and we host a big competition each year. Practice is 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hrs. each day. The cost for each cheerleader is $100 per month (Sept. - Feb.) to practice/tumble/stunt which is paid 1/2 by the parents and 1/2 by the cheer parent org. In addition to this cost each cheerleader pays $295 for the summer program June - August which includes routine choreography. We have come a long way in the last few years with tumbling and stunting, but because of the cost and time commitment involved we have lost girls to other sports or all star teams.

 

[Tealxblack25]

^^My exact face reading this whole thread.

 

[Official OWECheer]

So now that I have done a bit of research and spoke with a few people the original post for this thread and the other thread started is not exactly accurate. There is a whole lot of irony here :confused:

???

 

[Official OWECheer]

I apologize...that was not my intent. I don't doubt that you and your athletes work hard. I'm just really frustrated by this whole thing. My CP's high school does not have some crazy cheer budget. They have not been a powerhouse year after year. Parents got together and petitioned for changes and we got a great coach. Like I said before I think States should be the best of the best. Regardless of how hard you work I don't think a team with 10% BHS belongs in the top 3 at States. I realize that may be offensive to some. In no other sport do you have novice level teams competing for a state title. Implementing this new rule will take away the prestige that state title holds. Just like all the "Nationals" in All Star. It's a joke...just about any team can hang a national champion banner on their wall because there are so many. It's come down to the big two that really matter (NCA and Cheersport). It's part of the reason why people don't take cheerleading seriously.

To be fair, cheer sin't like other sports. It's easier to detect skill disparities between team in cheer than in other sports.

My CP is a sophomore.

There are a lot of great teams in MA now. Two powerhouses that come to mind are Dracut and Burlington though. They have been consistently good for a while. Lots of up and coming teams that have worked really hard to grow their programs though and that's part of what frustrates me about this. If you want to compete with the better teams......put in the time and effort to grow your program rather than complaining about all the barriers you face in doing so. Hire coaches that know the score sheet and can teach stunting. It's hard to teach tumbling at the high school level. You're not going to take your team of BHS and turn them into fulls overnight. But if schools work on growing their programs, (which is a ton of work. You need to have AD's and administrators on board and have parents that are willing to put in the work to help) they will attract kids with more skills.

Which is a pipe dream for most schools. That's the sad truth. Lot's of AD's dislike cheer. Your program is lucky. Other people, like @MHSCheercoach (I think?), have been in situations in which they needed the AD for backing b/c of parent issues, but couldn't go to the AD for support like other coaches because the AD was looking for the first reason to cut cheer.

 

[allstarmama]

So now that I have done a bit of research and spoke with a few people the original post for this thread and the other thread started is not exactly accurate. There is a whole lot of irony here :confused:

What exactly is the irony here? PLEASE post the accurate information....I'd love to have it!

 

[Doctorcheer]

This thread is getting pointless. in reality I don't think anyone likes the way they are doing it cause I don't. However, because I'm seen as a supporter of this and then the threads OP gets irritated I support it. We all have different viewpoints which is okay. Why dont we all just wait until official word comes out rather than just gossiping about it.

 

[allstarmama]

This thread is getting pointless. in reality I don't think anyone likes the way they are doing it cause I don't. However, because I'm seen as a supporter of this and then the threads OP gets irritated I support it. We all have different viewpoints which is okay. Why dont we all just wait until official word comes out rather than just gossiping about it.

Not at all irritated with you...just sayin :)

 

[kristenthegreat]

For the record: CT does do it by size, and yes, the same teams tend to be top in your division whether that's conference, state, etc.

 

[twincheermom]

No mention of any division changes today.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Will there be any more discussion tomorrow.