Spirit Of Cheerleading

[almostdone]

I know there is a large amount of money spent on Allstar Cheer and it is a super-competitive sport with tons of hard work and talent involved. My concern is this....What will our children take away from their experiences? In some cases it will be friends for life and positive life lessons; however, I have seen a much uglier side to this sport that is probably not exclusive to this sport but also to many other sports. This is a team sport, not an individual sport. Each part of that team should support and encourage other members and certainly parents and coaches should do the same. Unfortunately I have seen a very cut-throat side where favoritism is rampant, children and parents run the show and coaches act like frat/sorority members on all-night benders. Talented siblings are used as bargaining chips for where their brothers/sisters end up being placed as opposed to being placed like everyone else based on skill, cliques are formed and any outsider bullied off the team and/or out of the gym, etc. I have watched self-assured, confident children diminished to self-doubting, depressed individuals and it scares me to think that this type of behavior is not only being practiced but endorsed in some places in the industry. There need to be serious and I mean serious repercussions for this type of behavior. This is an elite sport with top athletes in the World. Let's make sure we hold our teams, parents and coaches to this standard and send a message that any bullying, inappropriate examples, etc will NOT be tolerated. It will only serve to promote Allstar Cheerleading as a sport. Bottom line is there is life after cheer and for the sport to be used to do anything other than build up a child's self-esteem is not teaching a positive life lesson.

 

[mamabear]

If that is the all star world that you are experiencing, I would say that you need to change gyms or quit the sport :( That sounds extreme and like an very unhealthy environment,

 

[quitthedrama]

All star cheer is private industry. I am sure there are gyms that you have described that exist, but I feel they are in the minority. There are far more gyms that are run professionally. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure their child is in a safe and productive environment. Gyms such as what you described can only stay in business if the parent allows it.

 

[cheer25mom]

I have definitely seen the types of behavior you are describing, and it isn't pretty. In my experience gyms that tolerate that kind of behavior rarely last long. I have watched 2 gyms in my area close in recent years because they allowed parents to dictate and coaches to act unprofessionally, both in and out of the gym. I think that every program gets its share of drama mommas, and that they gym's response to them determines what the climate is going to be. If they don't tolerate foolishness, they will either shape up or go elsewhere. Our gym has managed to weed out most of the drama.

 

[CheerBank]

At the end of the day, if you are at a gym (or involved with any sport) that you feel is destroying your child's self-esteem, then you really need to take a moment and question why as a parent you are allowing this - and silently supporting this - by staying there.

 

[almostdone]

All star cheer is private industry. I am sure there are gyms that you have described that exist, but I feel they are in the minority. There are far more gyms that are run professionally. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure their child is in a safe and productive environment. Gyms such as what you described can only stay in business if the parent allows it.

Well this parent pulled her child and put her at another gym.

 

[almostdone]

I have definitely seen the types of behavior you are describing, and it isn't pretty. In my experience gyms that tolerate that kind of behavior rarely last long. I have watched 2 gyms in my area close in recent years because they allowed parents to dictate and coaches to act unprofessionally, both in and out of the gym. I think that every program gets its share of drama mommas, and that they gym's response to them determines what the climate is going to be. If they don't tolerate foolishness, they will either shape up or go elsewhere. Our gym has managed to weed out most of the drama.

I cannot speak for other parents we went elsewhere as did over one half of the nameless very noteworthy and talented team.

 

[almostdone]

At the end of the day, if you are at a gym (or involved with any sport) that you feel is destroying your child's self-esteem, then you really need to take a moment and question why as a parent you are allowing this - and silently supporting this - by staying there.

We didn't stay. We left. I just wish it had been sooner.

 

[almostdone]

If that is the all star world that you are experiencing, I would say that you need to change gyms or quit the sport :( That sounds extreme and like an very unhealthy environment,

It is extreme and unhealthy and we changed gyms to one that is positive and fantastic.

 

[CheerBank]

We didn't stay. We left. I just wish it had been sooner.

But you left and that's what matters. I wish I'd pulled my kids from our first gym at least a year sooner than I did, but I've forgiven myself and fortunately we moved on. I'm glad your cp is happier now.