2007-2008 cheer parent thread

[brenrn]

Hi Brenda.............sorry I missed you!! Stephanie did not have to be there until 3:30 on Saturday and 5:30 on Sunday. She was the last team to go on Sunday (or close to it!!).

I was able to catch Sparks Senior 3!!! AMAZING and congratulations to them on the National Champ, Choreography award and Grand Champ in Level 3!! It was well deserved.

Stephanie's team had 2 falls day 1 and some touch downs. Day 2 all stunts were up but last tumbling pass (#1 tumbler) busted. I guess he had been vomitting all weekend!!

Steph did well. This was her first time back since December!! She stunted and did jumps, a standing back tuck, motions and the dance. She 'faked' the jumps to tuck!!! LOL!! She said that wwas the most stressful of all for her!!! She has never had to 'fake' the tuck after jumps and she said her timing was off!!

She is doing well. They are doing the Graston technique on her ankle to break up the scar tissue to give her more movement and make the ankle not so stiff!! She is crossing her fingers in that she will be performing fully in the routine. She has already figured the double full is out but the single full should be in for Worlds!!! She is afraid to push it with the double full in case she lands a little crooked on the ankle!! It has been a long haul and the worst injury she has ever had in cheering..........hopefully the last!!!

She is excited about Worlds...........loves her team and the gym...........is happy and for the first time in her cheer career..............looking forward to next year!!! Usually by this time, she is hemming and hawing about having to tryout again for the next year and the thought of starting over is daunting to her. She is super excited this year!! Makes me happy!!!

Brenda............are you going to Jamfest in Springfield either next week or the week after??? Not sure if we are.

Hope Gemz, Tumblebeez and all my other favorite teams are finishing up their seasons with a WIN!!!!

Hi Rosemary!

I think I caught Steph's team on Sat. I always forget which one it is though!!! Is she on limited or unlimted coed? I saw limited on Sunday! I'm so glad to hear she's on the mend!!! I will definitely be cheering them on from here for Worlds!!!

This was the weekend for our Senior 3!!!! They've had a really tough season and just haven't been able to pull it together until this weekend! They looked awesome yesterday! I'm so happy for them! I left after their performance but was on the phone live for awards! The girls were just beside themselves...it was awesome! Ry's team did well...they weren't as clean as usual on Sunday (no drops or anything just a little sloppy) but still managed a 1st! Yay! I had Celebrity's Mini 2 in second and was SHOCKED when they announced them in 3rd Our poor Junior Coed 4 is usually amazing but they had a rough weekend! They ended up having to go out missing a flyer last night because she was vomiting and was so sick in warm-ups. They tried to throw someone else in last minute and it just wouldn't work.

Yes! We'll be at Jamfest! That's Sparks' final comp every year and is SO much fun!!! Hopefully, we'll see you there! It'll just be me and Ry and I plan on staying late on Sunday to see EVERYONE since it's the last comp of the season!!!

 

[rbuzzotta]

Maybe we will get to meet up if Steph's team goes. Her team is the unlimited coed 5. The white uniforms!!

I saw the Coed Sparks team and figured either the flyer got sick or injured!!! Tough weekend. Lots of stomach bugs going around...............hey, I say rather now than at Worlds!!

Steph is on the mend but does admit she has her work cut out for her in the next few weeks!!!

Congratulations to your daughter............does she love her fleece jacket??? Steph didn't get her's yet but I told her to get it in my size as she already has one from WSF Indy!!!!! Finally a return on my money!

 

[brenrn]

Maybe we will get to meet up if Steph's team goes. Her team is the unlimited coed 5. The white uniforms!!

I saw the Coed Sparks team and figured either the flyer got sick or injured!!! Tough weekend. Lots of stomach bugs going around...............hey, I say rather now than at Worlds!!

Steph is on the mend but does admit she has her work cut out for her in the next few weeks!!!

Congratulations to your daughter............does she love her fleece jacket??? Steph didn't get her's yet but I told her to get it in my size as she already has one from WSF Indy!!!!! Finally a return on my money!

LOVES LOVES LOVES the jacket!!! Finally one that fits her! Usually, they are 3 sizes too big LOL!

 

[JRoglitz]

Had a wonderful weekend at "Reach the Beach National Championships" in Ocean City, Maryland! My DD Junior Level 1A team took first place. We were all so excited! They have never done this well before. They even got jackets and medals. Seniors took 3rd, but did well too. The best thing is that both teams qualified to go to Final Destination in Virginia Beach.

Here is my girl...I'm such a proud cheer mom!

 

[brenrn]

Had a wonderful weekend at "Reach the Beach National Championships" in Ocean City, Maryland! My DD Junior Level 1A team took first place. We were all so excited! They have never done this well before. They even got jackets and medals. Seniors took 3rd, but did well too. The best thing is that both teams qualified to go to Final Destination in Virginia Beach.

Here is my girl...I'm such a proud cheer mom!

Yay!!! What a great pic!!!

 

[undercovermom]

How many of you actually go to Final Destination? My daughter the cheerleader - her team didn't qualify - but my other dd, the dancer - her team earned a bid for Final Destination. Coach ver briefly considered going, but it's a school team and they already did two different Nationals this year.

 

[brenrn]

How many of you actually go to Final Destination? My daughter the cheerleader - her team didn't qualify - but my other dd, the dancer - her team earned a bid for Final Destination. Coach ver briefly considered going, but it's a school team and they already did two different Nationals this year.

I'm bummed. My daughter's team was scheduled to compete to get a bid and one of the girls on her team broke both her arms the week before the comp. They ended up not going so they didn't get a bid! I wish we were going! My daughter's team is something this year and it would have been really nice to see where they stack up against the rest of the country!!!

 

[JRoglitz]

How many of you actually go to Final Destination? My daughter the cheerleader - her team didn't qualify - but my other dd, the dancer - her team earned a bid for Final Destination. Coach ver briefly considered going, but it's a school team and they already did two different Nationals this year.

Our seniors went last year, but our youth/juniors have never gone so they are so excited because it is on TV.

 

[disney or bust]

How many of you actually go to Final Destination? My daughter the cheerleader - her team didn't qualify - but my other dd, the dancer - her team earned a bid for Final Destination. Coach ver briefly considered going, but it's a school team and they already did two different Nationals this year.

My daughter cheers for a recreational team and they won a paid bid for Final Destination and will be attending .

 

[JRoglitz]

My daughter cheers for a recreational team and they won a paid bid for Final Destination and will be attending .

Where are you from in Maryland? We are on the Eastern Shore near Ocean City.

 

[disney or bust]

Where are you from in Maryland? We are on the Eastern Shore near Ocean City.

Hello fellow Marylander!! We are in Pasadena, Maryland--Anne Arundel County. My daughter cheers for AA Raiders.

 

[JRoglitz]

Hello fellow Marylander!! We are in Pasadena, Maryland--Anne Arundel County. My daughter cheers for AA Raiders.

Neat...small world! I guess we will see you at Final Destination. We are Coastal Xtreme All Stars. We are a small non-profit team and this will be the first time for our youth/juniors so they are soooo excited. Good Luck!

 

[disney or bust]

Neat...small world! I guess we will see you at Final Destination. We are Coastal Xtreme All Stars. We are a small non-profit team and this will be the first time for our youth/juniors so they are soooo excited. Good Luck!

Good luck to your girls as well!! We also are a small organization---I think this year we had 42 cheerleaders total in all age groups. My daughters team 8 and under--has only 14 members! Our girls are really excited and are really hoping for warm weather so they can enjoy the beach

 

[JRoglitz]

Good luck to your girls as well!! We also are a small organization---I think this year we had 42 cheerleaders total in all age groups. My daughters team 8 and under--has only 14 members! Our girls are really excited and are really hoping for warm weather so they can enjoy the beach

Sounds alot like our squad. My daughter's team has 13 and they are 11 and under and our senior squad has 18.

Warm weather would be nice. This past weekend at Reach the Beach it was really yucky!

 

[fltwinmom]

Hi All....

I'm new here. I have a quick question for you all....

Here's a little background: I have a good friend who is a really good friend of the owner of a gymnastics gym in the city I live in. They own the whole building, but for the past couple years have been renting half of it out to an All - Star cheer squad. The squad decided a couple of months ago to move into a bigger building due to the overwhelming amount of girls on the teams.

The owner of the gym has decided to start her own all-star cheerleading team now because she has the space back. She has asked my friend (who has cheered in HS and college) to help get it up and running. My friend has put a TON of work into this and has spent many man hours putting together a team information packet, outlining costs for the year, as well as finding the best competitions in our area for the girls to compete in.

Here's the problem: because this is a new squad, the owner of the gym is not really willing to pay coaches at this time. She is looking for volunteers. Because I have twins, and they are constantly begging to cheer (and I keep putting them off because of the price ) she offered to let me be the coach of the mini squad (ages 4-8) and allow my daughters to be on the team for free.

I have cheered in college and in high school - but that was a LONG time ago. I have never in my life been to a cheerleading competition. I honestly know nothing about coaching, although I do know a lot about how to deal with kids that age.

I have already halfway committed myself to it - because they really can't find anyone else at this time. (And I have to admit that letting my kids cheer for free is a pretty nice incentive as well) I am worried that I will be terrible at it. I am worried that I will have parents that are angry that I never competed in cheer competitions. I am worried that I will have no idea what to do with these kids once season starts, which is in June.

So... for all you cheer coaches out there - tell me honestly. Am I in too deep with this? Should I just pull out of it and hope someone else will volunteer their time? It is definately official though - if I'm not the cheer coach, my kids wont be cheering. I got a look at the pricing schedule and almost died!!

 

[brenrn]

Hi All....

I'm new here. I have a quick question for you all....

Here's a little background: I have a good friend who is a really good friend of the owner of a gymnastics gym in the city I live in. They own the whole building, but for the past couple years have been renting half of it out to an All - Star cheer squad. The squad decided a couple of months ago to move into a bigger building due to the overwhelming amount of girls on the teams.

The owner of the gym has decided to start her own all-star cheerleading team now because she has the space back. She has asked my friend (who has cheered in HS and college) to help get it up and running. My friend has put a TON of work into this and has spent many man hours putting together a team information packet, outlining costs for the year, as well as finding the best competitions in our area for the girls to compete in.


So... for all you cheer coaches out there - tell me honestly. Am I in too deep with this? Should I just pull out of it and hope someone else will volunteer their time? It is definately official though - if I'm not the cheer coach, my kids wont be cheering. I got a look at the pricing schedule and almost died!!

Okay, problem number one could be where the established All-Star program is moving to. Is it going to be close-by? If so then the new owner has a big problem on her hands right out of the gate! It's really tough to run 2 all-star programs very close to each other. First of all she's going to have a problem recruiting athletes if the other gym is already established and successful. Secondly, there always tends to be friction between gyms that are very close to each other.

Secondly....you would have your work cut out for you as a coach but it's definitely doable. You just need to make sure to get out there and do your homework. I'd try and get out to a few comps very soon so you can see what all star cheer competitions are all about....it's no joke LOL! Make sure you know the rules and study score sheets so you can max out the skills you have on your team.

Good luck to you!

 

[5Slays]

Hi All....

I'm new here. I have a quick question for you all....

Here's a little background: I have a good friend who is a really good friend of the owner of a gymnastics gym in the city I live in. They own the whole building, but for the past couple years have been renting half of it out to an All - Star cheer squad. The squad decided a couple of months ago to move into a bigger building due to the overwhelming amount of girls on the teams.

The owner of the gym has decided to start her own all-star cheerleading team now because she has the space back. She has asked my friend (who has cheered in HS and college) to help get it up and running. My friend has put a TON of work into this and has spent many man hours putting together a team information packet, outlining costs for the year, as well as finding the best competitions in our area for the girls to compete in.

Here's the problem: because this is a new squad, the owner of the gym is not really willing to pay coaches at this time. She is looking for volunteers. Because I have twins, and they are constantly begging to cheer (and I keep putting them off because of the price ) she offered to let me be the coach of the mini squad (ages 4-8) and allow my daughters to be on the team for free.

I have cheered in college and in high school - but that was a LONG time ago. I have never in my life been to a cheerleading competition. I honestly know nothing about coaching, although I do know a lot about how to deal with kids that age.

I have already halfway committed myself to it - because they really can't find anyone else at this time. (And I have to admit that letting my kids cheer for free is a pretty nice incentive as well) I am worried that I will be terrible at it. I am worried that I will have parents that are angry that I never competed in cheer competitions. I am worried that I will have no idea what to do with these kids once season starts, which is in June.

So... for all you cheer coaches out there - tell me honestly. Am I in too deep with this? Should I just pull out of it and hope someone else will volunteer their time? It is definately official though - if I'm not the cheer coach, my kids wont be cheering. I got a look at the pricing schedule and almost died!!

I am not a coach, but a mom. I think it really depends on what the level of the squad will be. If you're a level 1, I think with your previous cheer knowledge, you should be o.k. But you may want to do some research. YOu can go to http://www.usasf.net/ which is the governing body rules that most competitions (at least the ones that we go to) use. This will give you an idea of what is expected. Then I would go to youtube or some other video website and do some research as to what other squads of the same size and age are doing. HTH

 

[fltwinmom]

Okay, problem number one could be where the established All-Star program is moving to. Is it going to be close-by? If so then the new owner has a big problem on her hands right out of the gate! It's really tough to run 2 all-star programs very close to each other. First of all she's going to have a problem recruiting athletes if the other gym is already established and successful. Secondly, there always tends to be friction between gyms that are very close to each other.

Secondly....you would have your work cut out for you as a coach but it's definitely doable. You just need to make sure to get out there and do your homework. I'd try and get out to a few comps very soon so you can see what all star cheer competitions are all about....it's no joke LOL! Make sure you know the rules and study score sheets so you can max out the skills you have on your team.

Good luck to you!

I think the owner of the gym has thought this through - at least I hope so!! She has a well established gymnastics gym. And in my city, there are a couple of all-star squads. And in some of them, not all the girls are allowed to compete with the squad. With this program, we would have a spot for everyone on the competition teams. I'm not sure what that means as far as winning, but at least all the girls would get the chance to know what competing is all about.

I am not a coach, but a mom. I think it really depends on what the level of the squad will be. If you're a level 1, I think with your previous cheer knowledge, you should be o.k. But you may want to do some research. YOu can go to http://www.usasf.net/ which is the governing body rules that most competitions (at least the ones that we go to) use. This will give you an idea of what is expected. Then I would go to youtube or some other video website and do some research as to what other squads of the same size and age are doing. HTH

I don't think I have the knowledge to coach anything but level 1. I have looked at the usasf website. And the girls on youtube competing at level one are AWESOME. I know it takes a lot of time and practice to get that good, but it's a little overwhelming, you know?



The thing I am most worried about is the money issue. People are paying to let their girls be on a team - and I know that winning is very important to a lot of parents. If this was a summer rec squad that cost $30 for the season to join - I'd have no problem. But, it's not. The uniforms alone are going to cost nearly $300.


Lol, sorry to unleash all of this on you guys, but I'm really torn on this.

 

[JRoglitz]

Just make sure that your girls are in the level that best suits them. We were competing at a level 2 and were having alot of trouble since we don't have alot of tumbling and the girls were getting frustrated. Sometimes there were 15 to 20 teams in that division. We have since moved to a Level 1A and are much more competitive. It has helped to boost the girl's self confidence and they are doing so much better now. Try out some smaller competitions first and then work your way up to the bigger ones.

Cost is always an issue. We are non-profit and do alot of fundraising. You can also get local sponsors. You can shop around for uniforms. Our uniforms were around $175, plus shoes and bows and they are really cute.

 

[brenrn]

I think the owner of the gym has thought this through - at least I hope so!! She has a well established gymnastics gym. And in my city, there are a couple of all-star squads. And in some of them, not all the girls are allowed to compete with the squad. With this program, we would have a spot for everyone on the competition teams. I'm not sure what that means as far as winning, but at least all the girls would get the chance to know what competing is all about.



I don't think I have the knowledge to coach anything but level 1. I have looked at the usasf website. And the girls on youtube competing at level one are AWESOME. I know it takes a lot of time and practice to get that good, but it's a little overwhelming, you know?



The thing I am most worried about is the money issue. People are paying to let their girls be on a team - and I know that winning is very important to a lot of parents. If this was a summer rec squad that cost $30 for the season to join - I'd have no problem. But, it's not. The uniforms alone are going to cost nearly $300.


Lol, sorry to unleash all of this on you guys, but I'm really torn on this.

As far as the uniforms go you can definitely outfit a mini squad in great uniforms for less than $300! Especially, since this is the first year...something the owner might want to consider!

As far as the money goes...as long as you (as a coach) run structured practices where the kids are learning and progressing that's all parents really want. Sure it's great to win but it's not everything. We left a gym last year because the gym itself was a mess and they had no idea what they were doing. My daughter's team was last or next to last at every competition. It wasn't so much about winning...just being somewhere in the middle of the pack you know? This year she's at a phenominal gym on an amazing mini level 2 team. The winning is just the icing on the cake though! I love the gym owners and the way the program is run! That's what's important.