All-Star Too Much Money Not To Win?

[SL&AM]

So, I've been sitting on this question for a few weeks now and figured I'd posed it to people who have far more experience than I do.

Our gym is letting girl's come in throughout the summer to see if our gym/team is for them. Since we're in a military town, PCSing is heavy over the summer so the few we've lost, have already been replaced by some new fresh faces.

A few weeks ago, a mom brought her daughter in and while sitting in the Parent's area; after figuring out I was a returner mom, point blank asked me how our girl's placed last year. For a second, I sat there and considered the question before answering her question, also including that my CP was on a team that our gym doesn't have this season and the team she moved up to, was something totally different last year so it was really hard to answer since obviously she wants the expectations of the team her CP would be on now.

I ended up asking her why she was curious and she basically said it's too much money to spend if the team doesn't win. I just nodded my head and didn't continue on with our conversation, frankly because I wasn't sure what to say.

If this were a bigger gym, a more well known gym even, maybe I'd understand that more. But I also feel like cheer teaches so much outside of winning, that the cost is definitely worth it even if they don't always win. Since our team does not travel out of state, financially it's not nearly as bad as what I expect to pay as CP ages.

How would you have responded?

 

[Persephone]

(...) But I also feel like cheer teaches so much outside of winning, that the cost is definitely worth it even if they don't always win. Since our team does not travel out of state, financially it's not nearly as bad as what I expect to pay as CP ages.

THIS would´ve been my answer if I wouldn´t have been too open-mouthed to give an answer at all.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

My opinion is winning is a perk but it isnt everything. I live on the uk and im currently belong to a programm with 4 teams and roughly 75 athletes. I love they may not always win but its a good place to be.

As im moving to wales I am going to have to travel atleast 2 hours to a cheer programm and have some very successful teams to chose from but I have currently chosen a very small program with aporox 40 athletes and 3 teams I want to develo my skills and I think a small team might do me good but im looking at other options aswell so I can make a well balenced decision

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Well, every all star team is expensive and not every team can win. I would agree that it's too much money not to do reasonably well. I wouldn't pay for a team that will come in dead last at every competition BUT cheer teaches so much more than athletic skills. In fact, I hope every team loses at least once so that they can understand how to respond appropriately.

I do use the "you pay too much money" line on some of the parents in the gym.
"You pay too much money for your child not to come to practice."
"You pay too much money for your kid not to give 100%."
"You pay too much money to be on a hopeless team."

I've NEVER said "you pay too much money to lose." And I really like winning. I think my response would be something like this: "Success in cheer spans across the child's entire life. When your child loses, she learns to accept it, move on and work harder. She learns not to be a sore loser and to congratulate those who won. She learns that there will always be someone better somewhere. When your child practices, she forms friendships and learn to trust her teammates. She learns to respect her coaches. She learns that safety comes first. When your child competes, she learns the confidence to perform. She learns that life throws unexpected things at us, like a dropped stunt or vomit on the floor. She also learns that hard work pays off."

 

[Cheer Dad]

THIS would´ve been my answer if I wouldn´t have been too open-mouthed to give an answer at all.

Nice answer


Ones perception is not always reality.

 

[Tator tots]

It's expensive. Way too expensive. Cheer teaches a lot of life lessons, but some people just want to win. Unfortunately thats never guaranteed so I find it a silly question.

If you're going to a new gym looking to win, then this person should've already known what the gyms stats are.

 

[ACEDAD]

Winning is never guaranteed no matter how much money you spend. Striving to win is a discipline that can be learned and is worth almost any price.


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[BlockHead]

We have been at both kinds of gyms. CPs first gym had a reputation of winning (which I didn't even know a darn thing about it when she joined). She cheered there for two seasons. She was used to her team placing high. But sometimes with that comes a lot of stress. Some kids can handle the stress. My daughter can not.

She is now in her 2nd season at a small gym (currently they have 20 girls). They struggle to not get last place. My daughter does not care. She loves her coaches. She loves her squad. She loves going to practice. She loves how close she is to practically every girl in the program. They do their best at competitions. Their skill level generally is not to the level of their competitors, but this program is still a great program.

I don't really consider it a waste of money for me. If CP is happy, then momma is happy!

 

[BlockHead]

[QUOTE="retiredl5cheer, post: 907897, member: 1737"
"You pay too much money for your child not to come to practice."
[/QUOTE]

Can we borrow you at our gym? Some parents do not seem to have this concept down! ;-)

 

[retiredl5cheer]

[QUOTE="retiredl5cheer, post: 907897, member: 1737"
"You pay too much money for your child not to come to practice."

Can we borrow you at our gym? Some parents do not seem to have this concept down! ;-)[/QUOTE]
It doesn't always work... but it was usually paired with their kid being removed from anything meaningful in the routine. So then when they complained that "I pay too much money for my child not to do anything," I would respond with, "Yup, and you also pay too much money for your kid not to come to practice." Boom.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

We have been at both kinds of gyms. CPs first gym had a reputation of winning (which I didn't even know a darn thing about it when she joined). She cheered there for two seasons. She was used to her team placing high. But sometimes with that comes a lot of stress. Some kids can handle the stress. My daughter can not.

She is now in her 2nd season at a small gym (currently they have 20 girls). They struggle to not get last place. My daughter does not care. She loves her coaches. She loves her squad. She loves going to practice. She loves how close she is to practically every girl in the program. They do their best at competitions. Their skill level generally is not to the level of their competitors, but this program is still a great program.

I don't really consider it a waste of money for me. If CP is happy, then momma is happy!

I like you. Some people forget that this is a recreational children's sport. Yes, you want your kid's team to be competitive, but at what price? The child's happiness is much more important.

 

[SL&AM]

Can we borrow you at our gym? Some parents do not seem to have this concept down! ;-)

It doesn't always work... but it was usually paired with their kid being removed from anything meaningful in the routine. So then when they complained that "I pay too much money for my child not to do anything," I would respond with, "Yup, and you also pay too much money for your kid not to come to practice." Boom.[/QUOTE]

I could have used that last season

Not to say our girl's did bad, because they didn't have a bad season...I was just shocked to be asked so bluntly I guess. And when I tried to explain that CP's team doesn't exist, so the team she is looking at is essentially brand new at this gym, I'm not sure if that sunk in. She's kept coming back so I guess what I said was okay, but I really hope that if our team does poorly at a comp (can happen to anyone) that she doesn't just pull her CP from it.

We had that issue last year. Two Susie's Moms got very vocal after our girl's had a bad showing...they got last and frankly, deserved to get last. They forgot a lot of the changes that got made to the routine and compared to our competition, it was noticeable. One parent pulled their child. Had they stayed, and gone to the next comp with us and seen how amazing they did and how much higher they placed, maybe they wouldn't have been so quick to respond...but I attribute that to the two problem parents we had.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

@SL&AM that's when you should be thankful they're gone! I wonder if the team had done as well with negative nelly parents still around... Things to think about. Cutting dead weight can sometimes make an entire team soar.

 

[mollymags]

I don't think a "if you're not first, you're last" mentality is good to have but I do think this sport is too expensive to not have your child on a team that can be competitive, at the very least. There can only be one winner on any given day in any given division and it's rarely always going to be the same team. You can't always judge success and "getting your money worth" by the number of jackets or rings or first place trophies. But I think (in most cases) you can judge whether you're not getting your bang for your buck if your kid's team finishes last every weekend.


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[Official OWECheer]

I don't think a "if you're not first, you're last" mentality is good to have but I do think this sport is too expensive to not have your child on a team that can be competitive, at the very least. There can only be one winner on any given day in any given division and it's rarely always going to be the same team. You can't always judge success and "getting your money worth" by the number of jackets or rings or first place trophies. But I think (in most cases) you can judge whether you're not getting your bang for your buck if your kid's team finishes last every weekend.


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Maybe because those consistent last-place finishes would be a testament to the sub-par training at that child's gym.