So mad right now! Is this fair (cheer tryouts related)update/she made it!!

[wdwmom0f3]

It was brought to our attention that three of the girls trying out to be a cheerleader this Friday have already seen the dance several times. They were bragging about it at a birthday party Friday night to the other girls. I can bet that they know the dance & the tryout cheer. The rest of the girls go in tomorrow to start clinic for the tryouts this Friday night. Does anyone else think that this is unfair, or are me and the other moms that know just so mad right now for nothing? Is there anything that we should do? Advice please.

 

[java]

um it's cheerleading. I wouldn't sweat it. It sounds like they will all get a chance to learn the dance at the clinic. But if it does really bother you- I suppose you could ask how the girls found out the routine ahead of time. And perhaps it would be better to go with something that was new to all of them to make the playing field even.
Good Luck!

 

[XYSRUS]

I would stay out of it...it's a life lesson for your daughter.

 

[Magic Mom]

It does sound unfair. What does your daughter say about it?

 

[dakcp2001]

At my HS the team was picked well before the try-outs. It really was sad and unfair for those girls that came and tried out, naive and hopeful that if they did well they would make it. They never had a chance.

Was it fair? Nope! Did anyone care? Nope! My only regret from HS is being a cheerleader. Not really my crowd. Did you see the movie Mean Girls? Get ready....its coming! I promise this will not be the ONLY unfair thing you discover.

 

[golfgal]

No, it's not fair, but neither is life. You are also taking middle school cheerleading, not Harvard rocket science (just to put it into perspective). People cheat and your kids will have to deal with it for the rest of your life. How YOU deal with this is more of the issue then the girls that cheat. Use it as a teaching moment.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would stay out of it...it's a life lesson for your daughter.

Agree.

And anyway, if you say anything you are probably going to be labeled "troublemaker" and that will be it.

It is not like the girls are going to admit to it. They will just label you as crazy.

 

[DisneyLover83]

At my HS the team was picked well before the try-outs.

Same thing at my high school, the coach had the team picked out before the tryout clinic. Looking back I wonder why they even bothered with the whole try out thing as it seems like a waste of everyones time.

 

[dsny1mom]

It was brought to our attention that three of the girls trying out to be a cheerleader this Friday have already seen the dance several times. They were bragging about it at a birthday party Friday night to the other girls. I can bet that they know the dance & the tryout cheer. The rest of the girls go in tomorrow to start clinic for the tryouts this Friday night. Does anyone else think that this is unfair, or are me and the other moms that know just so mad right now for nothing? Is there anything that we should do? Advice please.

Seeing it and doing it are way different. Unless they saw it many times and were given the dance in counts to practice in advance I'd say it really is no big deal.

Also keep in mind these are kids talking. Maybe they peeked in the room where it was being prepared or maybe they were just trying to psych out the competition and really saw nothing.

I'd leave it alone unless your daughter comes home from the first clinic and says the girls that said this already knew the dance when everyone else was just getting the counts down.

Just keep in mind coaches really dislike parental input unless it is asked for.

dsny1mom

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I am just going to let it go. It's not worth the extra stress. It still makes me mad but the other girls will have plenty of time to learn it so they should be fine. OMG, I am so ready for this week to be over already.

 

[kidzmom3]

my girls cheer so I know that this is important to your daughter and to you. People like to put cheering down, so they may down play its importance in some peoples lives. I am not saying it is everything, but my girls have a true passion for the sport.

I do think its unfair, and of course you have every right to be upset. Were they given the dance by the coach, or have they somehow discovered it. This would dictate how I felt about it. In reality, there is not much you can do about it. Just tell her to have confidence in her abilities and do her best.


If you have such a crazy school that they don't choose by talent (which would be surprising for any school that really wanted a competitive team), go to your local all star gym. They recognize talent, put you on the appopriate team, and grow your skills.

My girls and their cheer friends are some of the nicest girls you will ever meet. Dedicated to a sport, active in community service, retaining high academic achievements. I hate when everyone lumps them into the "mean girl" category.

 

[Caradana]

Do you know the girls, and do you know the mothers?
Can a few well-placed and artistically-phrased telephone calls let them know that you are aware of what has occured and are willing to raise it as an issue if bad things happen to your daughter as a result?

 

[ZuZugal]

I would imagine of they know the routine it had to be given to them by one of the coaches, right? Most coaches don't like to be questioned (even when things don't seem fair.)

It will be difficult to do but I agree with the "don't say anything" camp. If your daughter is good then she will have no problem picking it up and doing well.

Good luck!

 

[PlainJane]

If you have such a crazy school that they don't choose by talent (which would be surprising for any school that really wanted a competitive team), go to your local all star gym. They recognize talent, put you on the appopriate team, and grow your skills.

ITA

 

[Luv'sTink]

Yeah make sure you never say anything to anyone for fear of being labeled...

 

[Becky2005]

I had to look at your state, I'm thinking cheerleading might be a bigger sport there.

Our school is nuts -- they made all the girls try out & then everyone made the squad. I was like "WHY did they even bother with try-outs then?" It was a 3 day process and we had to sit there for HOURS waiting for the results -- we were told one time to pick up our kids and then list wasn't posted yet, so had to wait until it was posted which wasn't for at least another hour & DD had told me she was done about an hour before I picked her up.

This was for Middle School cheerleading & Freshman year cheerleading. My DD didn't go out Sophmore year, I've heard that is when cuts are made but who knows. We also have a seperate team for the competitions in HS (there are no competitions in our Middle School -- their season goes from end of October until Christmas break).

Of course, they only had 10 girls try-out in 8th grade. What DD told me was that they took as many girls as they had uniforms for -- in 8th grade, they had extra uniforms.

I also agree, watching it and performing are 2 different things. I guess I would just leave it as without knowing all the details there could be some reason behind it or who knows, the girls could have been staying after for something else and went and watched it? Also, it would depend on how much emphasis is also placed on tumbling which is a seperate try-out (at least it was with DD). In addition, I would wonder how they knew for sure that was the try-out routine and not just a regular cheer that is used regularly.

 

[DisneyLover83]

I had to look at your state, I'm thinking cheerleading might be a bigger sport there.

Our school is nuts -- they made all the girls try out & then everyone made the squad. I was like "WHY did they even bother with try-outs then?" It was a 3 day process and we had to sit there for HOURS waiting for the results -- we were told one time to pick up our kids and then list wasn't posted yet, so had to wait until it was posted which wasn't for at least another hour & DD had told me she was done about an hour before I picked her up.

This was for Middle School cheerleading & Freshman year cheerleading. My DD didn't go out Sophmore year, I've heard that is when cuts are made but who knows. We also have a seperate team for the competitions in HS (there are no competitions in our Middle School -- their season goes from end of October until Christmas break).

Of course, they only had 10 girls try-out in 8th grade. What DD told me was that they took as many girls as they had uniforms for -- in 8th grade, they had extra uniforms.

I also agree, watching it and performing are 2 different things. I guess I would just leave it as without knowing all the details there could be some reason behind it or who knows, the girls could have been staying after for something else and went and watched it? Also, it would depend on how much emphasis is also placed on tumbling which is a seperate try-out (at least it was with DD). In addition, I would wonder how they knew for sure that was the try-out routine and not just a regular cheer that is used regularly.

nevermind

 

[phamton]

When my daughter was a middle school and high school varsity cheerleader, they had to learn the dance first and then teach everyone who was trying out. So she did know the dance before the cheerleading clinic. It always seemed a little strange to me that she was coaching the same girls that she would be trying out against. it would have really stunk to get beat by someone that you were coaching. Luckily that never happened to her but did happen to a few other cheerleaders. She also coached gymnastics and so they often had her work with the girls on tumbling before the tryouts. I don't think knowing the dance ahead of time will make any difference as they are usually given plenty of time to learn it. Try not to let it bother you. Knowing the dance and performing it or two different things. The main advantage any girl has is if she is already a strong tumbler and dancer. My daughter had been doing back-handsprings unassisted since the age of 5 years old. There were several girls trying to learn how to do one the day before try-outs. This was almost impossible to teach at the last minute. Many of them were asking her to teach them how after never having any basics in tumbling. I liken this to asking a concert violinist to teach you to play violin so you can perform the next day. The hard work needs to be started years in advance. The dance doesn't need to be learned early but the basics of dance and tumbling do need to be there ahead of time.

Good luck to your daughter! I'm sure she'll do great.

 

[aprilgail2]

At my HS the team was picked well before the try-outs. It really was sad and unfair for those girls that came and tried out, naive and hopeful that if they did well they would make it. They never had a chance.

Was it fair? Nope! Did anyone care? Nope! My only regret from HS is being a cheerleader. Not really my crowd. Did you see the movie Mean Girls? Get ready....its coming! I promise this will not be the ONLY unfair thing you discover.

That is the same way sports etc are picked here- they KNOW who they are picking for the team ahead of time but they have to hold tryouts anyway. And I TOTALLY agree with you on the "mean girls " thing....same now as it was back when I went to school- only different mean girls LOL...cheerleading is no big thing around here...kids do it but its not like being on a baseball team that goes to the champoinship or anything....much more casual than that.

Same thing at my high school, the coach had the team picked out before the tryout clinic. Looking back I wonder why they even bothered with the whole try out thing as it seems like a waste of everyones time.

Look its the same in school as it is later on in the workplace. When my company has an open position they are required to post it and interview for it...they can interview 100 people (from the company and off the street) but they knew who was getting that job before they even started the interview process. Its a fact of life-not going to change.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I'd wait to see how the practices go. If your DD seems comfortable with the routine, she will be fine. If the other girls dance to perfection on the first try, then you might have a case. Most likely, these girls probably "saw" the dance, but were not taught the dance yet. I'd only bring it up to a coach if you see it causes your DD a problem.