All-Star Thinking About Leaving Allstars

[a0159945]

Don't blame the gym; most of the time the negativity starts with parents who feed their kids and in cases sometimes get the coaches involved is situations that should have never been escalated. It part of the business, my daughter has been dealing with drama for the last two years and it almost caused her to quit the sport but then she remembered why she loves to cheer.

 

[Underestimated]

For example, my 4 yr old (then 3) was being ripped apart by parents in the viewing area with their older children joining in. I coach this team, but sure ended up hearing. I've tried not to be overly sensitive, but it's gotten ugly.

Not to sound rude or anything but you're going to find this everywhere.. whether people want to admit it or not! its just what comes not only in this sport but everywhere else.. if your daughter is the best on the or the weakest its going to happen no matter what.. you cant ever win!

if you want help in looking for a new gym around your area feel free to PM ME! or if you just want to talk about this a little more.

 

[Trolldance]

I blame the culture that our owner created by not dealing with the negativity. We love cheer as well, but a healthy environment is our first priority. I understand that we will find negativity wherever we go, I'm not fool enough to think that, but there are many more examples that I didn't list. it's just about making the best choice I can for my family and doing my best to protect my daughters self esteem.

 

[12stepCheermom]

My daughter spent her first 3 years (mini age 6-8) at a gym here in NC. When we were young cheer parents and didn't have a clue about...basically anything....we thought it was great. We overlooked the yelling that went on toward the kids (it didn't generally come at mine), bought the "scoring is just political" lines when we lost...which was a lot... and we kindof kept to ourselves so we didn't really hear the drama and negativity....that was until the last year when it got so intensely negative no one could avoid it.

In short, we found another gym that opened up at the end of that year. That was 2.5 years ago (our new gym is in year 3) and it was the best decision we ever made. I only wish we'd done it a lot sooner....it took 18 months to break my daughter of poorly trained tumbling habits. We got an added bonus when our son decided to try it (the former gym doesn't allow boys because they don't think it's proper that boys should have their hands on girls...at least that's the party line).

The level of negativity, lack of sportsmanship and downright slander that comes out of our former gym toward our new one (we weren't the only ones that left...about 70% of the gym did if that tells you what the previous environment was like) even 3 years later is epic. No one at our gym talks about them anymore - we've moved on. They, on the other hand, have decidedly not. We've just learned to ignore the name calling and lies because at the end of the day - we made a business decision in the best interest of our child. It wasn't personal. It was business. She was topped out (at level 2) in that establishment and although it gave her the fire for competitive cheer, it didn't have the skills and abilities to fan it into the inferno it is now. We found the place, and the coaching staff, that could do that.

Are there negative people...heck yes. I dare you to find a gym that doesn't have it. But, here's the key - the negativity is NOT in the coaching staff or 90% of the parents and I just learn to ignore or avoid the ones that always have something to say.

Here's the bottom line as I see it....if you had to even ask the question here...you've already made the decision, you're just looking for moral support and confirmation. If you were happy where you were, this thread wouldn't exist. So, go with your gut. Is is uncomfortable to break ties...yes. Will it get uglier between you and them...probably...but in the end, it's about whats best for your child and if this thread exists...you already know it's not where you are.

Be strong. I'm in NC if you are here, PM me. I'm pretty familiar with the gyms around the state.