A Parent’s Guide to Dealing with Routine Placement from Cheer Parent Central. iCupids proudly supports this parents forum and Colors of Hope. http://www.cheerparentscentral.com
When routines are choreographed during the summer, an athlete’s placement is based upon their skills at that time. As weeks and months go on and competition season is fast approaching, those spots are constantly being evaluated by coaches. How do coaches evaluate where and when an athlete will be switched in a formation? How long does your child have to gain or lose skills? How, as a parent, should you handle your child being moved up or back in a routine?
I like to give my teams deadlines for everything. I feel this sets a realistic goal for both the team and the individual athletes to maintain, perfect and execute skills. Athletes are placed during choreography based on the skills they currently have and projected skills come competition time. My Small Youth Level 2 routine was choreographed August 4-5. Our first competition for that team is December 1. I gave the team a deadline of October 1 to have every necessary skill, jump and stunt before changes would be made and placements would be altered.
My teams know that this is a COMPETITIVE sport and you must COMPETE for your spot on a weekly basis. Our gym offers more than enough outside tumbling classes, private lessons and weekly team tumbling at very low costs to all members. We have provided our athletes with every resource needed to be successful in their current level. The deadlines for routine placement may seem a bit harsh to some parents, but if we want our teams to succeed and demand the same equality in tumbling and stunting, it’s a necessary step.
The opening tumbling pass for my Youth 2 is a squad front walkover, round-off handspring, half turn, stop, standing handspring, back walkover back handspring. As of this past Saturday’s practice, I have 10 of my 16 who can complete this pass and execute it perfect. I have 4 who cannot do the front walkover and 2 who cannot do the back walkover. Their deadline is October 1. If they cannot execute those moves, they are pulled from the sequence until they obtain the necessary skills.
Whether your gym sets deadlines or not, here are some helpful tips for parents if your child is pulled from a spot in the routine:
- Don’t freak out. I’ve personally experienced parents who fly off the handle if they see their child removed from a spot. They rip the coach, gym and team’s record apart before they even speak to the coach.
- Talk to your athlete. Ask they why they feel they were pulled. For my teams, they’ve been made well aware of the deadline for skills and know weeks in advance that the evaluation is coming.
- Schedule a meeting with the coach. Usually there is a very simple explanation as to why your athlete was pulled from or switched in the routine. There also may be some things that you athlete hasn’t told you about practice that the coach can shed light on.
- Remember that in all-star cheerleading, just as in any sport, things change from day to day. Spots are not guaranteed even when they are switched. This is a competition team and a competitive sport.
- Be your athlete’s biggest support system no matter their spot in the routine. Yes, you may have been moved to the back for jumps, but you’re the point for the dance. Every athlete has their strengths and brings different elements to various parts of the routines.
- Remind your athlete (and yourself) that this is a TEAM sport and that judges don’t score individuals, they score teams.
- Don’t bash the athlete who took your child’s spot. That athlete worked hard for his/her spot.
- Don’t bash the coaches to other parents. This can only make you look bitter or petty. And if your athlete gets moved back into their spot later on in the season, it may look even worse. Give yourself a 24 hour cooling down time. This goes for parents and athletes.
- Trust your coaches!! We are the masters of score sheets and see things at practice that parents may not. A coach's mind set is to hit the score sheet and put the best routine on the mat.
There will be highs and lows during any team’s season. There will be the elation of getting the last pass in tumbling and the low of being moved in the dance or jumps. As coaches it is our job to put the best routine on the mat. That may mean that some feelings get hurt because of routine placement. But the joy on your athlete’s face when they hit that routine is priceless!!
