My daughter is a 2nd year varsity cheerleader and 3rd year cheerleader overall. Her skills are pretty good but she has never had the confidence to throw a back tuck. During tryouts this week she threw her back tuck perfectly. However, she was called back and the second time around fell on her face. She has been a dedicated member of the squad for years. do you think the callback will take her off of the varsity squad. I dont think she will be able to overcome such a thing. Cheer has been a part of her life since she was 10. Do cheer coaches discredit their senior squad members? Most organizations reward kids who are committed and have proven that they deserve a place on the Varsity squads. Seniors really don't tryout their membership is a given. I am so scared for her. If she does not make it, what is my next step? She has a new coach by the way who I just don't understand or trust.
Shay
The judges scores are used to determine who makes the team, but the coach can change rank order depending on the needs of the team. My daughter is in the top 10% of her class. Her rank would be higher, but cheer has been her low point class. The time commitment has also affected her grades. I am regretting the decision I made a long time ago to put her in competitive cheer and high school cheer. The costs far outweigh the benefits.
don't have a clue, really, never having been part of the cheerleading crowd. but i would HOPE that the decision will be based on common sense, ability and above all safety, not on 'discredit' and 'reward.'
instead of being 'scared for her', how about being proud of her and supporting her sensibly whichever way it goes?
:/ khairete
S.
Shay
Welcome to mamapedia!!
Why are you scared for your daughter? I don't understand that. Is she that fragile that she can't handle someone saying "NO" to her?
Man cheerleading has changed since I was in high school...
Although one thing has NOT changed...JV and V - your grade doesn't matter. It's your ability. And it wasn't GIVEN.
If your daughter doesn't make it, what are you going to do? You can't force them to take her. If she doesn't make it? Hug her and tell her you still love her and try for something else.
If she can't handle this? She needs to learn that nothing in life is guaranteed. Again, if you are scared for her? She and you both might consider therapy. She needs to learn that life has ups and downs. If she doesn't make it - she can get back up, dust herself off and try again for college.
Oh my, I think there is much too much emphasis on cheerleading. This just may be one hard life lesson for her to learn. Yes, it will be devastating for her not to make the squad, but she can't be perfect at everything either. She will recover if you help her to cultivate other interests. Some of it will be how you approach it with her. If you assume that she will not be able to recover, then that will come across to her. You need to show her how to pull herself up by her bootstraps and do other things. I think that cheerleading is valuable from the standpoint of working on a team. However, she could learn that skill from dozens of other activities.
I suggest that you ask at her school what criteria they use to make that decision. Her school may not use the same criteria. I suggest that the people involved carry their own ideas. It's not as simple as knowing what other schools do to know what her school does.
I suggest that you encourage your daughter to be upbeat and expect to be kept with the team. People manage life more successfully and happier when they have a positive view of life.
My daughter cheered from 7th grade through Varsity and was Co-Captain her 10th grade year and Varsity Captain her senior year. Seniors do NOT automatically make it here. Everyone has a clean slate at tryouts. Oh boy have we seen the drama.
My daughter is a good cheerleader, she is a good leader. She did not do back tucks and flips down the field. She did do a great job wherever the coaches placed her.
She trained professionally 9-12th grades.
Around here, it is out of the coaches hands. Tryouts for Sr. high school and high school are all on same day, morning session then afternoon session. The judges are brought in from NCA and/or ACA
Results are posted and there you go. You can requests the score sheets before the tryouts in order to see how everything is scored and you can request your daughters score sheet but you cannot see the overall score sheets which determine the squad. There is usually a point which acts as s natural "cut off" where they determine the new members.
It's stressful, I've been there but the best you can do is love and support her. My daughter has shed many years for friends who "should have" made it who were close friends. This is a learning experience for both of you.
My daughter is a Sophomore in college now and everyone assumed she would go on to cheer. Her reply .." That was high school". " college is for me to focus on my education and career"
She's been 4.0 since a high school Junior and has consistently made the Dean's list in college with 4.0.
Cheer should not be your daughters life... Although in high school it sometimes feels that way. Focus on academics and more than cheer.
Best wishes to your daughter. I do know how much it meant when my daughter made Varsity squad and I do know how badly you want her to succeed. Good luck and keep us posted!
If she doesn't make it there is nothing you can do or should do. Let her handle it herself.
I teach high school and am good friends with our varsity cheer coach. Our school is large, 3500 students. Here the coaches don't have anything to do with tryouts. Professional cheer judges are brought in to judge tryouts. My friend, the varsity coach, is a judge for other schools, but can't judge her own girls. If it's that way where you are you won't have to worry about the coach you don't like.
Also, some schools have cheer squads and competition squads. If a student is a good cheerleader but not a good tumbler she may be put on the cheer squad.
Good luck to your daughter!
ETA: I agree with the previous poster. If she doesn't make it, let her handle it (if there is anything to handle). Your job at that point is simply to be a positive support for your daughter, but not to get involved.
When I was in highschool cheerleading tryouts were hard. Just because you made it one year didn't mean you would make it the next. You could be the best girl on the squad but have an off tryout and not make it. You could also try and try and try and never make it. In highschool the girls who made it were very very good. One girl tried out each year. She didn't make it fresheman, sophmore or junior year. But she praciticed and kept trying. Senior year she made it and was made captain.
I think if throwing her back tuck is the only thing she can't do then that's not enough reason to keep her off the squad. BUT if there were any other marks against her then it carries more weight.
If she hasn't got her back tuck by now the only way she's going to get it is to go to a tumbling coach for one on one time and work and work and work on just that for hours. She can do it on a tumble trak right? And maybe even n the springboard floor or mats? But not on the regular floor?
If she can't even do it on the tumble trak I wouldn't spend any more time or money on her getting it. She is old enough and has enough years behind her to have gotten it by now
It's a relatively easy trick. Can she do other tricks? If it's just the tuck she can't get but can do other harder tricks those should be counted in her favor.
If she doesn't make it on the squad then she has a choice. I know she may not want to hear it but unless she's able to get over this fear or figure out what's out of line or position when she's going in to it then she isn't going to get it. I think you know her well enough to know if this is a hang up or a physical thing she isn't able to accomplish.
Best wishes to her on her try out.
It may depend on how many spots there are and how many kids are trying out. Do you know how the other girls trying out did?
