Zen by Completion

This post is really more about my coaching journey. I want to reflect on what it has meant to me to go through the A to Z Challenge.  Over the past 30 days, I have learned a lot about my coaching and myself.  I have learned what is important to me and how I want to treat my athletes.  I have been coaching a long time and have never been able to put into words my coaching philosophy. 

Coaching to me is more than just a job.  It is my passion and my life’s work.  I have spent more time in my life coaching other people’s children that anything else.  There have been some rough years and some rough times, but in the end, it is always worth it.  When we focus on touching the lives of our students and making memories that can last for a lifetime, we have done our job. 

At the end of the day, it is not about how many trophies you brought home or how many games are won.  It is about the friendships you have made and the smiles on the cheerleader’s faces.  In the last month I have listened to former students talk about what it meant to cheer for me and be on my team.  I have seen pictures of cheerleader’s rooms with papers and what I thought were silly awards hanging on the walls.  I gained some friends and lost some friends.  I watched two incredible former cheerleaders tryout for college teams and make it.  I helped two girls from my team get onto the high school team where they are moving.  I helped reassure a fellow coach that she is not alone in her endeavors as a coach and always has help if she needs it.  I continued to grow my camp staff and reach out to coaches and friends to help them make their programs better.

These things cannot be taken away from me.  They have helped me grow as a person and a coach and for that I am grateful!  If you have been following my posts over the last month, I thank you too.  I have received good and bad feedback from what I was doing. Everything was helpful.  Thank you to the founders of the A to Z blogging challenge!  This journey has been wonderful!  It has reinforced my love of writing and given me the opportunity to share my knowledge to those who want it.

Thank you,

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CW3

Year End Banquet

As your cheer season starts to come to an end it’s a good idea to start thinking of an end of the year party.  It can be as fancy or as casual as you want.  If your team has had a theme for the year, it’s probably good to stick with that. 

There are as many ways to celebrate the season as there are athletes on your team.  Here are some of the things we do and a few ideas that you can use to make the banquet special for your team.

Location:

If you have a decent budget, you can look into renting a room or taking the team out to a restaurant.  We typically use the school cafeteria and decorate it up.  It has everything we need to make a wonderful banquet.  It has a kitchen facility, a place for multi-media, tables, restrooms, etc.  With lots of balloons, table clothes and centerpieces, it looks great.

Food:

If you choose to have food at your banquet, there are a few options.  You could have a potluck style and have the team bring the food.  Just make sure that you plan it out a little so that you don’t have 20 desserts and 2 main dishes.  You could have someone come in and cater if you have the money. Alternatively, for not much money and a little time, you could make the dinner yourself.  This last option is what we do.  I typically purchase the items and assemble them the day of the banquet.  Spaghetti or Chicken Alfredo is easy and inexpensive.  Add a large salad and garlic bread and you are set.  I typically feed 100 people for around $150-200.00.

Awards:

Each school is different in the awards they give out.  At my school, the JV cheerleaders receive a certificate of participation and twill numerals that they can sew on a letterman’s jacket.  The Varsity team receives a varsity certificate and a megaphone pin to signify the first varsity letter and if they have not received their numerals, they receive those as well.  If they have already received their megaphone pin, they get a gold bar each time they letter.

Captains receive a captain pin for each season they are captain.

Seniors receive a personalized letter thanking them for their dedication to the team.  The senior girls get a gold megaphone necklace and the guys receive a sublimated dog tag.

Four-Year seniors are recognized with a speech by the coaches and a memories video from the 4 years they spent on the team.

We also hand out any awards for scholastics and all Americans.

Video:

Through the season, we collect pictures and videos and put them together for a great memories video.  We watch this during the dinner part of the night.

The most important part of the night is recognizing and thanking the athletes, parents, administration and supporters for their hard work and dedication to the team.  Take some time on each student to make him or her feel special.

CHEERS!

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CW3

Xerox

This is going to seem a little out of the way, but stay with me…

When I hear the word Xerox, I think of copy machines or copies.  When I apply the word copy to the cheerleading world, I think of the original “Bring it On” movie.  For those of you who have not seen it, the quick and dirty version of the story is this:  The new captain of the Toro’s cheer team is presented with information that the previous captain was stealing cheer routines from another school, the Clovers.  The previous Toro’s captain would video tape the routines and teach them to her team, they would then go on to win national championships with those “stolen” routines.  In the movie, the new captain of the clovers decides that she is going to make sure that her team makes it to nationals.  Chaos ensues, the Toro’s have to come up with their own routine, and “SPOILER ALERT” the Clovers win the national championship.  Because of the hard work that the Toro’s put in to make sure they had an original team they are happy with their performance… 

This brings me to the question, is it all right to copy, or imitate routines that you see online or from other schools?

My short answer is Yes it is ok, but with limitations.

If you go so far as to perform the routine EXACTLY like the original, down to the music, NOT OK.  This is the same as copying your neighbor’s answers on a test. 

If you watch a routine and see a stunt, dance move, transition, or cheer and adapt it to fit what you are doing, this would be fine.  There is very little in the cheer world that has not been done.  If we look at our chant list there are many chants and cheers that have been passed down from generation to generation.  They had to start somewhere.  Especially when you hear parents say, “we did that one when I was in school.”  Chances are the parents that are saying this didn’t come from the same area.  In football, how many times have you seen, or heard, of plays and offences set up from multiple schools?  Right now, the Pistol Offense is big in the college world from Coach Ault at Nevada.  He developed an offense that is now being used by Oregon, UCLA, Alabama, and even some NFL teams are picking it up, just to mention a few.  Is Coach Ault upset that so many teams are using it?  Probably not, they don’t have his team, his coaches, or knowledge of the plays.  Teams watch the film and adapt it to what they need.

The same goes for the cheer world.  In fact, if you attend a cheer camp in the summer that is run by any of the major companies you are learning the same material that is being taught to 100,000 cheerleaders across the nation.  Chances are you are taking the dances and cheers and adapting them to what works for your team.  If you aren’t its ok too, that was the point of those routines.  If you go online and snag a great dance off Youtube, there really isn’t anyway to tell if it was “original” or learned at camp.  Many of the same issues come up with stunting.  When someone comes up with a creative load or transition and performs it at nationals many of the teams go home and work on duplicating that stunt.  Often times the cheer companies also duplicate those stunts to teach to the masses.  It’s just the reality of sports.  Again, for you football fans, how many teams in history have run the “statue of liberty” play?

As a coach, I am asked why I post videos of my team performing at games and assemblies.  The concern is that other teams will take the ideas and perform them in competitions against us.  My response is always this.  “Feel free to copy our choreography.  If you choose to perform it against us, you better know it better than we do.”  My routines have the advantage of my teaching and my vision.  If someone wants to watch it online and try to teach it, they may not know the tricks and techniques that I used.  Because of that, it wont get taught exactly the same, thus adapting it for what they need. 

It has been said that imitation is a form of flattery.

Absolutely!  If you see something you like, make it work for you.  Don’t be upset when you see your material being performed by someone else.  It means it was good enough that they took the time to repeat something great!

Cheers!

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CW3

Working With Parents

Parents want what is best for their kids.  It is that simple.  They don’t want surprises and they need to know they’re safe.  Some parents didn’t have the opportunities that their kids are getting now.  Some had more opportunities than their kids are getting.  Some parents don’t value extracurricular activities and some know the importance of the WHOLE high school experience.  You will have some of all of these types of parents on your team.  Some want to be involved and some just want to drop off and pick up.  Whatever the case and whatever the attitude, as a coach, we have to figure out how to deal with them all.  They are not all going to be happy all the time, but if they feel informed and somewhat involved, they will be content.

Make sure the parents all know and understand what your philosophy is as a coach and what the expectations of them and their children are.  They need to know that you care about their child and how to contact you if they need to talk about their child.

Some coaches prefer their cheer parents to have little to no involvement with the teams.  No coaching, no helping out directly with the team whatsoever.  This can be good for drama issues.  You don’t have to hear the phrase “She only gets to do that because her mom is the coach!”  You don’t have the worry of coach/parent/athlete distractions.  This also means that unless you have an amazing staff of outside assistant coaches you are all on you own!

If you are not sure if you want parent involvement, start small.  Allow parents to help but in ways that don’t directly involve coaching.  Give tasks and small jobs, not coaching responsibilities.  This will allow them to be involved without the issues of coaching.  Once you start building great parent support, you can add jobs and duties to your willing parents.

Parent Boosters

This can be set up in a way that the parents take on all the fundraising and travel.  They would choose a president, set up a board and have a mission and goals.  Much like that of the school boosters.  This works best in a large team setting.  Teams that spend money on traveling to competitions and work on competitions use boosters often.  It takes much of the pressure off the coach to organize and keep track of the fundraising and travel for competitions.  Smaller teams may not need an entire booster club.

The rest of the jobs can be used in the booster setting or just choose a few for the parents to participate with.  Make sure that all final decisions are cleared by the coach before given to the team. 

Communication Chair

This person would be in charge of contacting all cheerleaders and parents, informing them of schedules, changes, and other need-to-know information.  They can call, text or email the information. Choose someone that can convey information without gossiping.

Transportation Chair

If you are in a district that doesn’t provide transportation or your group is required to find its own way to games and competitions you can have a parent that could be in charge of making the arrangements for travel.  They would be responsible for contacting the parents that will car-pool and discussing the details.  They could also be in charge of renting vans and finding drivers, if that is something your team does. 

Fundraising Chair

This person would be in charge if taking the budget and organizing enough fundraisers to pay for uniforms, travel fees, competition fees, etc.  They would be in charge of researching ideas, setting up fundraisers, locations, distributing information to the teams, and collecting money.  This person should have a good understanding of the team dynamic and what will benefit the team the most.  Choose a trustworthy person with a good grasp of accounting or has a background in accounting.

Party Chair

This person would coordinate all squad-bonding activities for the season.  Ideas would include slumber parties, holiday parties, pre-game meals, tailgate parties, and the end of year banquet.  You could also have them organize any bowling, skating, or team outings.

Snack Parent

This parent would be in charge of providing the team with nutritious snacks during the games and competitions.  They can set up the water station or bring bottled water for the team.

Publicity Chair

This parent would write and distribute press releases about the squad to the local media.  They would call upon the local media to do stories about the cheerleaders.  They would also be in charge of finding community events where the team can perform and or volunteer their time.

Competition Chair

This person gets information about all the competitions, completes the needed paperwork and keeps a copy of the music needed for routine.  They would also communication to parents about the competitions, entry fees and spectator fees.  He or she would distribute lists of the items the cheerleaders need to bring to all competitions.

Scrapbook Chair

They would collect photos from the cheerleaders during the year, memorabilia from each event ad makes a scrapbook for the end-of-the-year party.  They can make color copies for the cheerleaders as a gift or for the parents to purchase.

Videographer

The parent tapes all events and puts together a video of the last party of the year.

Photographer

The photographer takes pictures of events, practices, games, fundraisers, etc throughout the year and coordinates with the Scrapbook Chair.

Parent coordination takes some trial and error to find a groove that works for you.  Make sure your are choosing parents that buy into the philosophy and will not infringe on your coaching and what is best for the team.

Cheers!

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CW3

Victory

Coaches are joined in the task of teaching, leading and setting examples for our cheerleaders. We may not all be friends, but we should respect what we all do. When you think about that cross-town (or cross-state) rival, remember that while you and your team are working hard at practice, so are they. When you have team drama, so do they. When you are celebrating goals and making memories, so are they. We are unique in our sport that we really cannot judge our successes on a daily or weekly basis by wins and losses. We have the harder task of knowing and understanding that our accomplishments are judged in our hearts. We have a successful game when our stunts hit, the crowd stays in control and we keep our spirit up.

When you visit another team or someone visits you in your gym, why not greet them and show them you appreciate what they do? Talk to the coach; get to know the names of their cheerleaders. These things make a huge difference in the spirit of the games.  Try to prepare your cheerleaders before traveling by sharing stories of previous visits and friendships made while at the destination school. It helps the kids to respect what the other team does and goes through. Let us keep the confrontations on the court, spirit leaders are spirit leaders no matter what colors you wear.

CHEERS!

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CW3

Underestimating Athletes

As a coach I tend to be stern and set high expectations for my athletes.  I push them hard and expect them to give 100%.  My teams will tell you the same thing, but at the end of the season, they look back and are shocked at how much they accomplished.  When I meet with other schools there are mixed emotions from parents and coaches.  The coaches compliment me on my teams skills, attitude, and abilities.  They love how great they look and want to know how to get there.  Parents tend to say that I am mean and I expect too much from the kids.  

My question is this.  How hard do you push?  When are the expectations too high?  I let my teams answer that.  We start working on the first day and push for improvement each day.  When we reach a wall and find something they struggle with, I put it back on them.  They decided if they want to continue working the skill or step back a level.  There can be many reasons for the struggle.  Usually they were not quite ready to advance from the previous skill and simply need to step back and build confidence or technique.  Sometimes they are just having an off day. 

What many coaches do is start small and work too fast.  They try to push through to the bigger skills without building a good foundation.  Then when the team struggles with the advanced skills they are not sure where to go when the team is frustrated and defeated.  They underestimate the work that needs done at all levels.  Once the team starts to struggle, the assumption is that they don’t have the ability to perform the skill.  If they take a few steps back and start again to build up the strength and confidence the team will pick up and move past where they are stuck.

Is it too much to ask your athletes to give 100% at practice?  Is two hours a day too much time to be spent on working towards goal?  The answers here depend on what you want to accomplish in a season.  If your team focus is not to advance its skills, but to focus on school spirit and leadership, they yes it might be too much to ask of your team to put in 10-12 hours a week.  Those goals need to be set from the beginning and the vision needs to be conveyed to the team and parents so that they know what to expect and how much time is involved.

My highest expectations for my team are simply this - I want them to work hard and work everyday.  I want them to keep learning and not accept defeat.  When something gets hard, find out how to make it work.  I will advance my team as far as they are willing to go.  Once they start to see the potential of what they can do, the team tends to take the lead and want to be better.  I am there to teach and offer support.  When they get lazy, I’m there to motivate, when they are excited, I’m there to keep it going, I am what they need me to be because I know that they can be their own motivation if they see something they want.  That what we really are trying to teach.  Self-motivation and work ethic.  When you see something you want, you go after it and put in the work to make it happen. 

For those parents that feel that I am “mean,” don’t underestimate the strength of your little darling… they are not as fragile as you may think. 

To the coaches that have a dream, follow it.  Through discipline and communication, your team will reach the bar that you set.  Make it high and raise it often!  You will soon learn that the kids will hit and exceed your expectations, if you let them.

CHEERS!

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CW3

They told me there was no "I" in Team

I must admit this is not my piece...  I found it online many years ago and thought it was amazing.  I share it with you in the promise that I will also write a piece on Teamwork.

They told me there is no “I” in team

I am an athlete.
I am an individual.
I am strong.
I am weak.
I have desires, hopes, and dreams.
I have goals.
I have fears.

As a team, my opponent will never see my weaknesses.
Only my strength, never my fears, only my goals as they unfold before them.

I am not afraid that my team will see my fears, my hopes, dreams, or desires.
I trust them to an unlimited level.

I am not afraid that my team will see my faults, because with them I can overcome my faults, with them I am fearless, with them I have hopes and dreams.

With my team, I am not weak; I do not have the strength of one athlete, but of many, combined, focused, and dangerous to my un-united opponent.

I become my team and my team becomes me.

I do not judge, and I am not judged.

I have a goal, and the team has a goal.

The team goal is my goal.

All that matters is that the team reaches its goal.

They always told me there is no “I” in “Team”.
They were wrong.

I am the team.
I became the team.
The team became me.
The team becomes an entity unto itself.
The team is strong, creative, compassionate, caring, authoritative, disciplined.
The team absorbs “I”, and then there is “I” in “Team”.

The “I” becomes part of something much more powerful.

They were right there is no “I” in “Team,” but there is “Team” in me.

Cheers!

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CW3