We wrapped up the first week of football and cheer camp yesterday. For the most part, I think it went well. I am hoping for pretty much the same next week. Right now, my squad is the perfect size, but I know that I have at least one addition (maybe two). I've already got most of my half time routine figured out, but now I will have to make some adjustments now that we are adding on. I'm hoping to keep it an even number, because if I have an odd number, I am going to make some people mad. I already see a few headaches coming my way in the next couple of weeks (not just routine related). Allow me to share them with you...
1. If I do have an odd number in my squad, I will not be able to pair all the girls up like I originally have in my routine, one will obviously be alone. I have decided that if this is the case (and I am truly hoping it isn't) that it will be my daughter, Tehya. There are a few reasons behind this. First, she has the advantage of learning the routine sooner than the rest of the girls because she lives with me. In fact, I kind of use her (or her body I should say) to see if certain things will work, especially tumbling stuff-since I am too old and my body doesn't forgive me like it did once upon a time. This leads me to my second point, if I have an odd number and she isn't paired up, then I can have her do some of her tumbling moves that the other girls can't do. I don't single her out because she is my kid. Every practice after warm ups and stretches, I have all the girls go through different tumbling moves-somersaults, cartwheels, round-offs, cartwheel/round-off combos, back bends (by going into them backwards, not doing what is called a "bridge" where you lay on the ground and push yourself up), and back-bend walkovers. While a couple of the girls can do a back-bend, she is the only one that can do a back-bend walkover. I also let them freestyle a couple of times to show me what they like to do. Most of them stick to simple things, but Tehya pushes herself. I know this will have parents thinking I am showing her favoritism, but in all actuality, I am harder on her than anyone else on the entire team (including the older girls). I am doing a skills assessment on all the girls the first week of the regular season-which is the week of the 29th, so that is about 2 1/2 weeks away. Both my assistant coach and myself will score the girls on their abilities and I average them out to give them a score. She's the only one that can do the walkover, so why should I not allow her to do it if she's the only one that can? If it were someone else and not her, I would make that girl do them. Then again, my attitude has always been "if you don't like how I run things, you should've volunteered when you had the chance." But this isn't the headache I am worried the most about...
2. As I stated earlier, I know there is at least one more coming to my squad, but I could tell from my 5-minute talk with the girl's mother (the girl was not present) that the mom has a serious attitude problem. Upon meeting her, I hand her a cheer info packet (like I did with all the cheerleaders the first night of practice) that contains rules, dress code, a list of excused/unexcused absences, disciplinary/reward actions, and information about our cheer competition. This packet has two sheets that need filled out and signed, then returned to me. The first sheet is just basic info about the cheerleader (like allergies, previous injuries, or any information that coaches need to know so they know how to work with the kids-like ADHD, shy, etc.) then the second page is for the parent and cheerleader to sign stating they understand everything that is in the packet and they will follow it. Every sport or club has something like this. She immediately rolls her eyes at me, then says "There's rules? Oh my F***** God, are you serious?"...Um yeah, I am serious. I told her I run a tight ship, but that all the girls know this. Then come to find out this girl has learning disabilities, is dyslexic, and (I already knew) she never cheered before. But then the mom says "she MIGHT be at practice the week of the 29th"...Um, that's the start of regular season, attendance starts counting at that point and yes, I take attendance and I am a bit of a stickler for it. You need to understand that cheer is a team sport, and when one girl misses, it affects the rest of the girls who are there every day. I can really see me and this mom butting heads, because I have a game plan in place and I don't plan on budging from it much, especially if I already have to re-do the routine to fit her kid into it! I mean, I am willing to work with her a little bit, but at the same time, the mom needs to work with me or it won't work out at all. What is really bad (for me) is that she-the mom, is friends with two of the Board Members, so I am sure she is going to try to get them to pull strings. So I have decided that I am going to have a talk with them while I am working the concession stand with them tomorrow about it. Like I said, I am more than willing to work with her, but she has to work with me. She needs to understand that the rules I have put in place are for everyone, including her. If she doesn't like it, she can go.
3. This issue I am not quite as concerned about as I was a week ago, but there is a lady who messaged me on Facebook about signing her daughter up (if she does, she will be there Monday). She said she never cheered before, etc. etc. which isn't a big deal. The issue is that I recognized her picture, so I decided to do a little bit of stalking (yes, I am guilty of that). Come to find out, she went to school with me, and is/was friends with the ex-boyfriend I was with before I started dating my husband. That guy was abusive, which is one of the biggest reasons why I broke it off with him (once I got the courage to do it). Well, this chick threatened to beat my ass, and all this other stuff...I am just hoping that either she doesn't remember me (I don't look like I did in high school, nothing close) or she, like myself, has grown up since then and won't make it an issue. Then if she does sign up, then I will have an even number again, so then issue #1 won't be an issue anymore.
So, those are the problems I am facing all within my first week as the Cheer Advisor and Head Coach of the JV squad. I am hoping to be able to resolve them all within the next few days, then I think it will be fairly smooth sailing from here on out. Thanks for letting me rant and rave for a moment, have a great weekend bloggers and followers!
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