Cheerleading banquet/awards--tiny vent

[Rock'n Robin]

Tonight was the cheerleading banquet. DD#1 was a freshman cheerleader this year. She never missed a game or practice, although for a few weeks she was not allowed to jump due to a sprain in her back.
She had musical practice tonight so I let her stay for an hour and then took her to the HS down the road. I went back and picked up her awards.
The 9th graders just get certificates now. They do not get numerals. She got one for "cheerleading" and one for "basketball", meaning basketball cheerleading.
The tiny vent I have is that there are 2 coaches awards for the 9th graders,one for each season. DD was elected captain of the squad, and the coach then named another girl co-captain. Well, this girl got BOTH coaches awards--2 plaques! This girl is very bossy and is known as a major suck-up (I've known her for a few years). It's not even that I think DD should have gotten an award, but there was another girl who worked her butt off also, making signs, treat bags, etc. who would have been just as deserving. There were only 6 of them who cheered for both seasons; couldn't she have picked 2 girls to get awards?
OK vent over.
Now they wait 2 more days to find out who made JV for next year. Tryouts were last Friday. This Friday they will have typed, sealed letters for everyone to pick up after school to open there, or take home, or whatever. Which means DD will miss the bus and I have to leave work early. She is totally freaked out because fewer girls make it now (10th and 11th graders are up for JV and only 8 football and 6 basketball spots are open). Since she knew the other girl got both awards(they were just out on the table for the whole evening) she said "I guess Caroline made it!" Which in her mind means only 5 spots left. She's a nervous wreck.
Robin M.

 

[Imagine Ears]

to your DD. I am sure she will make it. It is typical to be nervous like that in a situation where it's so close.

It always seems like the suckups and the people who are "very nice" to the mentors get the awards and not the people who really deserve it. (like the girl you mentioned who worked really hard)

 

[Linzybrooke]

As a former Dance Team coach I think you are very right to feel that the coach unfairly awarded one girl both awards. When it came to awards we were very careful that if you deserved an award you got an award, and the only way to get two was to win the "All-Around" award which was voted on by the team. Girls at those ages are a sensitive and showing severe favoritism is damaging to them. The way we picked awards was thus: The coaching squad would each nominate 3-4 participants for each award, then combine our nominations and narrow the pool down to those girls that got the most nominations in each catagory and then we voted on that award.

 

[momof2inPA]

If both coaches thought the one girl deserved the awards, then they had the right to give her the awards. If you would like to decide who gets the awards, you should be the cheerleading coach. This probably isn't the response you're looking for, but it's my opinion on the situation. I think your daughter's right about the other girl already having a JV spot.

 

[momof2inPA]

I'm bumping the threads I inadvertently killed.

 

[Daxx]

It's not even that I think DD should have gotten an award, but there was another girl who worked her butt off also, making signs, treat bags, etc. who would have been just as deserving. .

I have to say that I truly like this part of what you wrote and appreciate your honesty in that your vent isn't b/c your DD didn't get it but b/c there were other girls just as deserving as the double award winner.

With that said, I totally hate those awards b/c sometimes they truly are unfair. Esp. when it's evident that there was more than one person who honored what it takes to receive that award.

W/o being there and knowing the girls, it's tough for me to make any calls. However, I do appreciate your honesty in your post.

Good luck to your DD. Sending pixie dust her way for a spot on next year's squad!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

If both coaches thought the one girl deserved the awards, then they had the right to give her the awards. If you would like to decide who gets the awards, you should be the cheerleading coach. This probably isn't the response you're looking for, but it's my opinion on the situation. I think your daughter's right about the other girl already having a JV spot.

 

[missypie]

I was thinking of starting a thread entitled "Is anyone dreading the end of the year school 'awards season'?"

The middle school dance team awards are all voted on by only the students....there are maybe 8 awards. Last year, one 7th grade girl got three of the 8! She is the most "popular" girl on the team by a long shot.

This year, I talked to the sponsor, and she told me that she was not going to let anyone get more than one award, and if someone qualified for more than one, she would give her the most pretigious of the awards. However, the same girl still got two awards! I'm assuming that the voting wasn't even close for either. (I mean really, if one girl gets 15 votes and the next highest gets 2, you really can't give it to the girl who got 2 votes!) My daughter (the captain) ended up getting the "big" award, but I still have very mixed feelings about awards ceremonies.

DS16 has Asperger's Syndrome. He's smart, and muscially talented, but he's not the type who will ever get an award for anything. I have learned that we have to celebrate his getting into groups (like the highest choir in the school).