All-Star Venting (all Star Subjects)

[Nothanks]

I guess you can ask my kids - but as a coach, Im fairly certain that I have the fear of god in them to even think about letting a flyer hit the ground... I realize mistakes happen, but if someone hits the ground or even clips the ground, the whole group has conditioning based on how bad the fall, how much I feel it was the bases fault, etc.

I have to ask the question, if your flier repeatedly doesn't fix a problem that could cause injury to her bases, what do you do? like a flier repeatedly not keeping her arms in and literally hitting every one of her bases in the head every time she doubled?...This past season a girl I was backing in the pyramid (single braced back tuck) wouldn't keep her ankles together and kicked out EVERY. TIME. I got a foot/knee to the arms, shoulders, neck, collarbone, cheek, and finally the temple. she kicked me so hard that she kicked me out of the stunt, I fell over, and blacked out for a few seconds. She got mad at me because I "dropped" her--when a flier repeatedly makes these mistakes that it threatens the safety of her bases, how do you approach that? You can only make the same correction so many times.

 

[cupieqt]

I have to ask the question, if your flier repeatedly doesn't fix a problem that could cause injury to her bases, what do you do? like a flier repeatedly not keeping her arms in and literally hitting every one of her bases in the head every time she doubled?...This past season a girl I was backing in the pyramid (single braced back tuck) wouldn't keep her ankles together and kicked out EVERY. TIME. I got a foot/knee to the arms, shoulders, neck, collarbone, cheek, and finally the temple. she kicked me so hard that she kicked me out of the stunt, I fell over, and blacked out for a few seconds. She got mad at me because I "dropped" her--when a flier repeatedly makes these mistakes that it threatens the safety of her bases, how do you approach that? You can only make the same correction so many times.

I know u asked Rudags but I'll answer too bc I DO come down on my fliers pretty hard about things like that. I applaud u for staying in there and fighting for the stunt even knowing the painful results. I'd pull her out of the stunt and train the movements for awhile until i was confident she had the muscle memory in place, then I'd take the backspots place until I felt it was safe for her to step back in and the group could move ahead safely.

 

[Nothanks]

I know u asked Rudags but I'll answer too bc I DO come down on my fliers pretty hard about things like that. I applaud u for staying in there and fighting for the stunt even knowing the painful results. I'd pull her out of the stunt and train the movements for awhile until i was confident she had the muscle memory in place, then I'd take the backspots place until I felt it was safe for her to step back in and the group could move ahead safely.

painful results is an understatement...haha not only were we having that problem with that, but kick doubles and elbows/bailing too. i looked more than abused, and had a lot of people asking me questions about my arms that were more black/blue/purple than they were skin colored.

i applaud you going in for the back. i've never had a coach take over for very long.

 

[all_starPek312]

When new girls to the sport try to tell you that you're basing wrong and that when the stunt falls, it's all our fault. -____-
Also when athletes back talk to the coaches. Just shut up, say ok, and fix it next time.

 

[CoachARobz]

As a parent who is paying a great deal of money for cheerleading, I believe that I do have the right to question you. I think if more coaches would be willing to explain to parents why their CP didn't make a certain team, maybe that would give the CP the push they need to work on the correct skills. Sometimes a parent may see their child one way and be a little surprised to see that the coach doesn't see them the same.

once again i don't have to but if i do you may not like what and how things are said... decisions was made in the best of the team... unless the coach is petty and has something against your CP... if they were truly best fit for what was needed than they would have made that team. in most cases coaches don't need to tell you what skills your cps need to be at a certain level. if your asking ?'s and pointing out the XYZ's that they have, you more than likely know what is needed to be secure at that level.

 

[Rudags]

I have to ask the question, if your flier repeatedly doesn't fix a problem that could cause injury to her bases, what do you do? like a flier repeatedly not keeping her arms in and literally hitting every one of her bases in the head every time she doubled?...This past season a girl I was backing in the pyramid (single braced back tuck) wouldn't keep her ankles together and kicked out EVERY. TIME. I got a foot/knee to the arms, shoulders, neck, collarbone, cheek, and finally the temple. she kicked me so hard that she kicked me out of the stunt, I fell over, and blacked out for a few seconds. She got mad at me because I "dropped" her--when a flier repeatedly makes these mistakes that it threatens the safety of her bases, how do you approach that? You can only make the same correction so many times.

If the flyer is repeatedly not fixing something - She clearly isnt ready ready to be progressed to that skill. With the conditioning I give my flyers and bases who dont make corrections that I give them, I normally dont have to repeat myself twice. I think a few of my kids on here can attest that I give out 'frog jumps' or 'squat jumps' by the hundreds like they are candy. Have you ever done 100 consecutive frog jumps? You'll fix anything I asked you to after doing 100 of them out of fear to get another 100.

To answer your question specifically. Your coach, in my opinion, should have had your flyer doing conditioning for not squeezing her ankles together. If after a time or two it was not corrected, she should have tried doing a DOUBLE BRACED flip. If that still didnt solve the problem Id tie her shoe strings together for a couple goes at it. Im telling you from experience though, extreme conditioing gets results, at least in my experience. It also gets the body tone and in shape along the way. Its a win win for everyone. I can tell you the kids at my gym are getting RIPPED!

 

[cupieqt]

If the flyer is repeatedly not fixing something - She clearly isnt ready ready to be progressed to that skill. With the conditioning I give my flyers and bases who dont make corrections that I give them, I normally dont have to repeat myself twice. I think a few of my kids on here can attest that I give out 'frog jumps' or 'squat jumps' by the hundreds like they are candy. Have you ever done 100 consecutive frog jumps? You'll fix anything I asked you to after doing 100 of them out of fear to get another 100.

To answer your question specifically. Your coach, in my opinion, should have had your flyer doing conditioning for not squeezing her ankles together. If after a time or two it was not corrected, she should have tried doing a DOUBLE BRACED flip. If that still didnt solve the problem Id tie her shoe strings together for a couple goes at it. Im telling you from experience though, extreme conditioing gets results, at least in my experience. It also gets the body tone and in shape along the way. Its a win win for everyone. I can tell you the kids at my gym are getting RIPPED!

Anything that works to improve the skill is key! With all of those methods applied in conjunction, it is no wonder you get amazing results. I'll be remembering this and upping the intensity of the drills when I'm in these situations!

 

[CaptainoftheCheerocracy]

I have to ask the question, if your flier repeatedly doesn't fix a problem that could cause injury to her bases, what do you do? like a flier repeatedly not keeping her arms in and literally hitting every one of her bases in the head every time she doubled?...This past season a girl I was backing in the pyramid (single braced back tuck) wouldn't keep her ankles together and kicked out EVERY. TIME. I got a foot/knee to the arms, shoulders, neck, collarbone, cheek, and finally the temple. she kicked me so hard that she kicked me out of the stunt, I fell over, and blacked out for a few seconds. She got mad at me because I "dropped" her--when a flier repeatedly makes these mistakes that it threatens the safety of her bases, how do you approach that? You can only make the same correction so many times.

Again, I know you asked someone else, but in the case that you described, as a coach I would do 2 things. First, I do go into the stunt and back spot while we try to fix the problem. That will keep everyone safe. THEN if the flier continues to ignore feedback and won't put in the effort to solve the problem, I will takes steps towards replacing her as a flier. We are NEVER short on girls who want to be in the air and will work 10 times harder, so that will solve the problem...it either makes her work harder to keep her position, or we get a better flier that is pumped to work even harder for her team.

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

I will takes steps towards replacing her as a flier. We are NEVER short on girls who want to be in the air and will work 10 times harder, so that will solve the problem...it either makes her work harder to keep her position, or we get a better flier that is pumped to work even harder for her team.

This ^^ is what keeps my CP on top of her game in the air. This mentality alone. She KNOWS there are a half dozen other girls on her team who are itching to get in the air. She was bummed when the season first started because she was front spotting- she is bigger than about 1/3 of the kids on the team, and they are just minis, so that is understandable. The coaches were cycling through all of the "flyer eligible" kids on the team during practices, feeling them out in the air. She talked to me in the car one night after practice about wanting to fly, since she had the previous two seasons. I reminded her that I had told her prior to this season that there was a chance she may not, and she would probably just have to accept it, and hope for the best when she ages into youth next season. I also told her that when, and if, they give her a chance she needed to be on point, and not give any lip even if they asked her to do new stuff since the coaches would be right there when she was trying it. Well, lo and behold, she got her chance and I must say banged.it.out. Girlfriend was out there tick-tocking like it was nobody's business. Now she is a flyer this season. She knows in the back of her mind she is easily replaceable, and it keeps her going. Is she a good flyer- yeah. But I really think that her determination, maturity, and body control in the air are what got her in the air, despite being one of the oldest and certainly not the smallest on a mini team. The coaches mantra- no spot is ever guaranteed. CP keeps that in the back of her mind too.

 

[CaptainoftheCheerocracy]

This ^^ is what keeps my CP on top of her game in the air. This mentality alone. She KNOWS there are a half dozen other girls on her team who are itching to get in the air. She was bummed when the season first started because she was front spotting- she is bigger than about 1/3 of the kids on the team, and they are just minis, so that is understandable. The coaches were cycling through all of the "flyer eligible" kids on the team during practices, feeling them out in the air. She talked to me in the car one night after practice about wanting to fly, since she had the previous two seasons. I reminded her that I had told her prior to this season that there was a chance she may not, and she would probably just have to accept it, and hope for the best when she ages into youth next season. I also told her that when, and if, they give her a chance she needed to be on point, and not give any lip even if they asked her to do new stuff since the coaches would be right there when she was trying it. Well, lo and behold, she got her chance and I must say banged.it.out. Girlfriend was out there tick-tocking like it was nobody's business. Now she is a flyer this season. She knows in the back of her mind she is easily replaceable, and it keeps her going. Is she a good flyer- yeah. But I really think that her determination, maturity, and body control in the air are what got her in the air, despite being one of the oldest and certainly not the smallest on a mini team. The coaches mantra- no spot is ever guaranteed. CP keeps that in the back of her mind too.

Glad to hear it! We always tell our teams that no spots are guaranteed and we work on stunt groups like a puzzle. They are all pieces of the puzzle and we need them where they fit best.

 

[MyDaughterCheers]

once again i don't have to but if i do you may not like what and how things are said... decisions was made in the best of the team... unless the coach is petty and has something against your CP... if they were truly best fit for what was needed than they would have made that team. in most cases coaches don't need to tell you what skills your cps need to be at a certain level. if your asking ?'s and pointing out the XYZ's that they have, you more than likely know what is needed to be secure at that level.

I see what you're saying, but I guess I'm talking about the situations where a girl does have the skills needed for a certain team and was still not placed on it. Was it because someone else is a stronger flyer/base/back/tumbler, is it maturity, is it personal, etc. Those are the types of questions I'm referring to when I say that I deserve an answer. Maybe as a parent I think my CP is a pretty strong back, but as a coach, you think X, Y and Z are her weaknesses. Sometimes parents need slapped upside the head with the truth!

 

[cheer4ever0522]

If the flyer is repeatedly not fixing something - She clearly isnt ready ready to be progressed to that skill. With the conditioning I give my flyers and bases who dont make corrections that I give them, I normally dont have to repeat myself twice. I think a few of my kids on here can attest that I give out 'frog jumps' or 'squat jumps' by the hundreds like they are candy. Have you ever done 100 consecutive frog jumps? You'll fix anything I asked you to after doing 100 of them out of fear to get another 100.

To answer your question specifically. Your coach, in my opinion, should have had your flyer doing conditioning for not squeezing her ankles together. If after a time or two it was not corrected, she should have tried doing a DOUBLE BRACED flip. If that still didnt solve the problem Id tie her shoe strings together for a couple goes at it. Im telling you from experience though, extreme conditioing gets results, at least in my experience. It also gets the body tone and in shape along the way. Its a win win for everyone. I can tell you the kids at my gym are getting RIPPED!

Yes u defiantly HAVE put me in pain on my off days *cough* 800 frog jumps because of standing tucks and jumps to tuck *cough* plus keeping people after practice to condition because they wouldn't throw something and also constantly fixing a flyers position in double down while I get hit CONSTANTLY!!!!!! Aw all the pain!

 

[MNCheerMom]

once again i don't have to but if i do you may not like what and how things are said... decisions was made in the best of the team... unless the coach is petty and has something against your CP... if they were truly best fit for what was needed than they would have made that team. in most cases coaches don't need to tell you what skills your cps need to be at a certain level. if your asking ?'s and pointing out the XYZ's that they have, you more than likely know what is needed to be secure at that level.

I don't understand the "don't question my authority" attitude -- why would you NOT want to have open, honest communication with the parents of your organization? Sometimes taking two seconds to explain things to a parent can make a big difference. Sometimes coaches can be wrong. I am not targeting you personally, as I don't know you, but I am again talking in general terms here.

 

[cheer4ever0522]

i like how our coaches have done it the team sat down and talked about how we all felt and how we could be more of a bonded team

 

[CoachARobz]

I see what you're saying, but I guess I'm talking about the situations where a girl does have the skills needed for a certain team and was still not placed on it. Was it because someone else is a stronger flyer/base/back/tumbler, is it maturity, is it personal, etc. Those are the types of questions I'm referring to when I say that I deserve an answer. Maybe as a parent I think my CP is a pretty strong back, but as a coach, you think X, Y and Z are her weaknesses. Sometimes parents need slapped upside the head with the truth!

I agree with that statement... I've lately been dealing with insane cheer parents... who think that their CP is golden...

I don't understand the "don't question my authority" attitude -- why would you NOT want to have open, honest communication with the parents of your organization? Sometimes taking two seconds to explain things to a parent can make a big difference. Sometimes coaches can be wrong. I am not targeting you personally, as I don't know you, but I am again talking in general terms here.

Like I said, I will tell them but they may not like what I have to say. But over all its annoying. If they came in said "how can my CP improve" would be different. Because someone is placed on a certain team doesn't mean they can't be moved later on. get your A game on and you never know what could happen. But when they come to me with "why didn't my CP make this team when she has xyz..." and than try to through another child under child under the bus... completely unnecessary! and that when i get angry.