I will try to make this short as possible.
A little background first. I have coached cheer since 1998. I am also a nationally certified judge. I am 38 and my youngest daughter is 14. She will be starting high school in August 2009.
I previously coached cheer in the school district where we live and my children attend school. Because I have a great passion for cheerleading, i cheered from grade 4 all through college, I want the cheer program where we live to be amazing. The school system cares little about the local cheer programs. A few years ago I did a massive amount of interviewing, researching, etc... on the benefits of hiring qualified, education, certified coaches, especially at all of our high schools. I was basically met with a door slammed in my face.
One of the reasons I decided to press the issue of either replacing or educating our entire system's cheer coaches was because our local school district continues to implament new rules each time there is a serious cheerleading accident (onlu one rule has been passed down from the state).
There were many accidents in our school system the year I decided to press this issue. One of the serious injuries occured at one of the high schools. A girl was being taught how to twist cradle from a full lip (she had NEVER done a twist cradle before in her life and had actually never even done a straight right from a lib before). The coaches had no idea about stunt progession and this girl fell, landed on the side of her ankle. She ended up having surgery and had to have a rod placed in her ankle. This did not happen at my school. I am happy to say that in my 11 years of coaching cheerleading,from elementary to high school, the only injury that occured on my watch was when a few of the ball players came into the gym during one of our practices, threw a football and accidentally hit our pyramid.
So, with all the accidents occuring in our system, I decided to get all coaches either educated/trained or, if they refused, replaced. WeLL WeLL WeLL I ruffled the wrong feathers. I was placed on the "black list". Since I am not from around here, little did I know that the JV coach at that one high school is the daughter of the former superintendent. Oops!
Today, 3 years later, the coaches are still no more educated than they were when I made my big oops. Unfortunately for me and my daughter, we live in the district of that JV coaches high school.
I no longer coach in that school system. I got a new teaching position in a neighboring community. I am now a coach in my new school (of almost 3 years). My daughter still has to atttend the school where we live. The transfer fees are OUTRAGEOUS.
Now a little about my daughter. I think she is pretty darn good and it is probably from years of my constant "coaching" of her skills. She recently tried out for a nationally ranked all-star cheer program (they just won nationals). Since she is only 14 at the time of tryouts, there were 5 different teams she could have been selected for. The teams were either Junior Level 2, Junior Level 5, Senior Level 3, Senior Level 4 or Senior Level 5 Co-ed. There were over 350 kids that tried out for one of their 8 teams. The gym is owned and coached by several NCAA division 1 former coed cheerleaders (a team that has won nationals many times).
My daughter was one of only two 14 year olds selected for their Senior Level 5 Co-ed team. She can do all of your basic tumbling skills, front/back handspring, front/back tucks. She also has her full and is now working on her double. She is a flyer that can do all full lib variations on both legs, double downs, full up, tictoc (still a little shaky on this one).
Okay so HERE IS THE BIG PROBLEM:
About a month ago she decided she wants to try out for high school cheer, under the coaches at the high school where the majority of cheerleading accidents occur in this school system. Many of her friends cheer at that school already and she mainly wants to do it for the bonding, although she loves cheerleading.
We agreed to let her. She went to clinics 2 weeks ago. Learned all the material. I scrutinized her, so on and so forth. I told her if she was going to try out she was going to do her absolute best.
FYI: There are 4 judges at tryouts. They are the JV and Varsity coaches and 2 of their friends.
We were given the score sheet the week of clinics, so the kids could know what they needed to do.
The breakdown is as follows:
Group Cheer (10 points and includes a standing back handspring - only half credit given if not handspring is performed),
Group Chant (5 points),
School Song (5 points),
Individual Cheer (10 points - may not include any standing or running tumbling),
Running Tumbling Pass (5 points and must include a minimum of a round-off handspring),
Standing Tumbling Pass (5 points and must include at least three continuous back handsprings),
Standing Back Handspring (5 points and must land of both feet and not fall to the knees)
Standing Tuck (5 points)
Sideline Dance (5 points)
Toe Touch (2 points)
Right, Left Hurdler (2 points each)
Toe Touch Back Handspring (2 points and no points given if back handspring isn't done correclty)
Triple Jump Combo (2 points)
Motion Technique (20 points)
Appearance (5 points)
Spirit (5 points)
Overall Ability (5 points)
= 100 total points
A note at the bottom of the sheet states that in order to be placed on the JV or Varsity team, you must have a minimum of 80 points.
The coaches also handed out information that states that freshmen to seniors may be selected for the Varsity tea, freshmen to juniors may be selected for the JV team and only freshmen are on the freshmen team.
So she does the clinic thing, feels confident because several of the girls can only do a max of a round-off one... a few can't even do a standing back handspring. During the clinics the coaches had the girls do some stunting (hold your breathe) but everything went all right. All they did were full extensions with a straight cradle. One of the little girls that is not able to tumble is also a flyer (from her middle school). She is only able to do a prep level. She is unable to cradle, she has to hold the hands of a front spot to get down.
So the kids tryout, my daughter makes freshmen cheer (somehow she didn't have 80 points) and the little girl that can not stunt of tumble made JV. I actually thought is was an error because without tumbling, the highest possible score could only be a 73. Fortunately (or unfortunately) my daughter wasn't the only one placed on the freshmen that had much higher skills and technqiue than two of those chosen for JV.
I was just totally confused. At first I thought it was because of what happened with me 3 years earlier but since a few other talented girls were in the same situation I decided to find out what I could.
Well, the answers I found sure shocked the pants off of me. I did find out that the JV and Varsity coach has said numerous times that no child of mine would ever cheer for either of them. Their is a different (new) coach for the freshmen team. Apparently they have said to the older cheerleaders that they aren't even going to give me the opportunity to even look at them like they are doing something wrong. So on to the next girl that is extremely talented (she has competed at Level 9 gymnastics, USAG and won several state and national events). Her mother was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor back in October (she no longer lives with or near her mother). The victim is somehow connected to the JV coach and both the JV and Varsity coaches have told some of the other cheer parents that they would never select a sex offenders daughter to cheer on the JV or Varsity team.
As for the little girl that can no stunt, tumble, etc... that was a big surprise to me. How did she have 80 points when she automatically lost 27 points for not being able to tumble? This answer was more schocking than the previous ones. Her mother and one of the elementary cheer coaches contacted the JV coach (who just happens to teach at the same school as the elementary cheer coach) to set up private lessons for the little girl. This began back in December.
The elementary coach and the JV coach told the girl and her mother that they COULD NOT under any circumstance let anyone know that she (the JV coach) was being paid to give her private instruction. WOW!!!! I hear (just a rumor) that the girl and her mom ended up paying the JV coach over $500 for those 3 months of instruction.
I am still friends with many cheer coaches in that system. One is a really close friend of mine. She was out the other night and saw one of the judges. She asked the judge (confidentially) what happened at the school tryouts (for my daughters high school). My friend ended up telling me what was said. The judge told my friend that “If you ever tell anyone what I am about to tell you, I will deny saying any of it”. The judge told her that “the coaches just brought us in to give the appearance of fairness. They had already selected who they wanted before we ever started the tryout process. We were told that we needed to look interested and score according to the way they said. They gave us instructions before each group or individual came in to tryout”. The judge also told her that “ there were a few freshmen girls that really impressed us but we were told to score them low because they had to make the freshmen team and nothing higher”. My friend asked her why she agreed to follow this process and she was told that “we do each other favors. It might not be right but that’s how it is.” Se also asked the judge about the little girl who could not do any tumbling, how she made the JV team when several other girls were much better. The judge responded “We (the other independent judge) were both confused as to why they would want her on the JV team when there were many other girls much more talented”.
So now I am beyond furious. I am outraged, furious, ticked, sickened, etc... I can not afford to transfer her. She wants this (and I know she needs the sideline/ballgame experience to cheer in college) but I am beside myself with ANGER.
They do have a new principal this year. I know that in the past the administration, school board and other backed up both of these coaches but I seriously doubt that they know about the comments made and the basic "pay me and I will put your daughter on my team". I want so badly to let them all know but at the same time, my daughter will most likely have to stay at that school for the next 4 years. If I speak out, she will definitely never make a team again.
I have judged numerous elementary, middle and high school tryouts (as well as competitions). At the schools, I have had a few coaches try to "nudge" me in the direction they wanted me to score but I never did anything other than what I saw. I would not lower or boost a score. I have been doing this for over 11 years and can't believe that these coaches are doing this to kids (my daughter and others). Maybe I just have a reputation of being fair and unbiased so I haven't encountered coaches like this before but geezzzzzzzzz
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
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