For any All Star Cheer family, there is one time of year that produces a ton of anxiety and angst. I am speaking about the sacred ritual of team placements.
Tryouts have come and gone, and many athletes are still questioning if they prepared enough, and how other athletes performed. This may be the longest waiting period of the year for many of you and can be a breeding ground for team gossip. From one cheer dad to another, try your best to keep this at a minimum in your house. Nothing good comes from it.
This date is circled on every calendar, and family functions are often scheduled around this time of year. As the memo or posting time draws closer, cell phones become another extremity to your body. Cheer can be extremely competitive, which is one of the things I love about it. This competitiveness is what makes the team placement process so different. There are many aspects of cheer that make it very different from other sports. For example, each athlete has to try out every year, and team levels are not built around the age of the athlete. A younger athlete can be placed on a higher level team than an older athlete, if the appropriate skills are consistently produced.
The most difficult part of the team placement process definitely falls on the shoulders of the coaches. They are working tirelessly for weeks and months to put a team together that will give that team the best opportunity at success. Notice that I mentioned the team’s success. Coaches work to make our kids better people and athletes as individuals, but cheer is a team sport and the focus is on improving the team. Under this strategy, everyone excels and hopefully wins.
Every gym does the placement process a little different. Team placements can be delivered through a call or email, a social media blast, or even more elaborate reveal parties. No particular way is better than the other, and the moments after each reveal likely show up on cell provider reports.
This process can make the parents more nervous than the athletes. Parents have likely done all the research and plotted out every scenario for their team(s). We may not be able to count past 8, but complex physics equations and engineering comes out of this time of year. This is also the peak of most parents overstating their kid’s skill and ability. That will not be a popular statement, but we all know it’s true. Don’t be the parent that talks about how another athlete shouldn’t be on a particular team, especially if you are not aware of all circumstances. And chances are, you are not.
The day comes, and everyone is huddled around the phone, waiting as if some bearded man in a suit if about to emerge from a chimney. Then suddenly, the announcements start coming in.
There are three primary scenarios that can happen at the end of this process. Your athlete can move up a level, remain where they were last year, or even move down a level. The first two scenarios can be exciting, and the other can create a host of emotions, often leading to unprocessed reactions. We’ve all seen it, so don’t act surprised.
If your athlete moves up a level, congratulations to them! This is likely an earned reward due to hard work and effort. It shows that they have mastered a certain set of skills and/or add value to the new team. While this creates a ton of excitement for our kids, it can also create a level of anxiety and uncertainty.
This new team means (potentially) new people and higher expectations. If the new team is at a senior level, there is also a higher expectation in maturity as well as intensity. Our daughter made her first senior team last year, and she was elated. The part of that team that I did not expect, yet enjoyed quite a bit, was the level of conditioning. Her coaches are a mix of tough love, compassion, and grit, which is perfect for her personality. She thrives on competition and doing “one more”. I remember one practice that we walked in toward the end, and it looked like a war zone. Half the team was laid out on their backs and sucking wind, a few were outside losing their lunch, and the others were looking dazed and exhausted. But they all were soon ready and willing to keep going. I loved it.
Sometimes, the team placement call says that your athlete will be remaining on the same team or level as last year. Our daughter was on a level 2 team for 4 years, so this is something we are used to. There is an odd expectation in cheer, where people think the athletes should level up each year. Not only is this uncommon, it simply makes no sense. Most gyms will cap out at a level 5. If an athlete starts All Star Cheer at 5 years old and moves up an elite level each year, they will reach their peak at about 10 years old. Throw in a prep team in between each elite level, and they would be about 14. What is the motivation now?
Often, large gyms will build teams that they plan on competing for many years. Similar to boys baseball, it can take years for a particular group of athletes to really perform as a unit. This is why a team that didn’t place at Summit one year, might win it 2-3 years later. Also, if an athlete makes the same team as last year, it’s probable that it’s not the same team. There will likely be a different combination of athletes than the year before. My thought is that this should be the most common expectation, unless your athlete has really grown in the prior year. It’s a great opportunity to increase their leadership ability, improve any flaws they have, and create an environment of comraderie.
The team strategy can also result in an athlete making a lower level team than expected. Does it mean that the athlete is inferior, or that the coaches don’t like them? Absolutely not. Most likely, it means that the athlete can contribute more to that specific team and their success, than any other team. Maybe they need more leadership on that lower level team, or they plan to highlight a set of skills at that level, that might be shadowed on the higher level team. There are many reasons, and the coaches have more information at their disposal than any athlete or family. This is one of the key periods of each year, where you must trust the process.
All the above is honest and true, but there is also a flip side. Kids can get inside their own head, and go from throwing fulls to barely doing back-handsprings. While it may seem dramatic, I have seen it many times over the years. Our daughter went through her own phase of tumbling issues and regression. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it does happen. That being said, if an athlete is not doing level-appropriate skills, they will likely be moved to a team and level that is in line with their ability. It’s not personal and certainly not a punishment. It’s putting the athlete where they need to be so that they can thrive and the teams can thrive.
Any feelings we have during this process, show the compassion and love we have for our kids. If things didn’t go as planned, working through this process as a family is a great next step. Speaking openly about your dissatisfaction is not. Taking it one level higher and speaking with the coaches, will probably end up being a moment that you regret. If your coaches are like the ones I’ve worked with, they are blunt and honest, and I highly value this personality trait. Just be sure you are ready for whatever feedback you get.
I mentioned it earlier, but the coaches know exactly what they are doing when they place an athlete on his or her team. Regardless of how you interpret the situation or if you understand the reasoning behind it, there is a larger strategy at play. I have learned that understanding why a team was built like it was, starts to clarify itself early in the season. This could be the year that the strategy put in place by the coaches end up with new skills, and NCA jacket, or even a Summit ring!
As a seasoned cheer dad, the best advice I can offer is to not rush it. Learn to have patience and let your kids grow at the rate that is best for them. Some cheerleaders will never throw level 5 skills, and that’s ok. Some will peak at 12 years old and some will get burned out by the time they hit high school. Rushing the process will do nothing positive for their growth.
While we are the parents, we have to understand that the tryouts and team placement process are not ours. These belong to our kids. Communicate early and through the process about what their hopes and dreams are for the upcoming season. Lay out honest expectations and possibilities for the season, and try not to set the bar too high.
Once your child has a team, show them how to be proud of that team by showing your pride. Your attitude will reflect directly through your kid. Make sure they understand that they are a key piece of the team puzzle. They are vital and needed to complete the team they are on.
Learn to relax and find excitement in this part of the process. The years we have to be a part of this experience are limited. Every season is different, and each comes with opportunity to learn and grow as athletes, kids, and parents. Stressing and worrying about what team your kid will be on, will take the place of the fun times during the process.
