USASF Rules Changes

USASF Rules Changes

The USASF has changed many of the rules today, March 28, 2012. This has created a national backlash of online comments that are mostly negative. I feel that it is my duty to my clients to respond to these changes. Here is my response.

The process used by the USASF to drastically change the rules was possibly the poorest possible choice. In what I believe was an honest attempt to comply with her mission, the USASF has left many supporters, members, coaches, parents, and participants with a feeling of betrayal. I completely understand this feeling.

I am in no way in support of the process used to create changes in the rules. I do however have to say that for many years, I have seen tumbling take over our sport. As a former gymnastics coach and former owner of gymnastics facilities, I know that tumbling is an individual skill.

I knew that it was only a matter of time until we realized that the emphasis of this individual skill had dominated a team sport. I have thought and recommended a scoring process that included tumbling, but weighted team skills more heavily.

I do agree that it is amazing to see athletes throwing elite level passes, but I also think that we are missing a larger aspect of the team competition. Stunts, baskets, pyramids, and team skills dominated the sport years ago. With more emphasis placed on these team skills, I believe you will see a more creative, unique, and exciting event.

Because of this, I am in favor of the majority plus one rule. I am not in favor of limiting the skills allowed. I feel the new scoring process would be enough to expand the importance of squad skills while providing less pressure on athletes to gain more difficult individual skills.

As a long time tumbling instructor, I do not see a correlation between safety and allowed skills as provided by the changes. I would be in favor of limiting a skill if it was proven that some were unsafe, but I have not seen that. I also think that the majority of level 5 coaches know proper technique and can teach it. I think the kids and coaches before a majority plus one scoring system may have been pushed to achieve skills at a more rapid pace than they should under safer progression models.

I am in favor of the uniform rules. I however feel that if a uniform is appropriate on stage, it should be appropriate in any setting. These coverup rules make me very uncomfortable and seem to say that the uniforms are risqué in general but are allowed during performances. Parents and coaches can and should be responsible for their kids off stage.

I feel that the USASF has overstepped its boudaries and created more negative discussions about our sport, but I do feel that they may have done so while trying to improve the perception and safety of all star cheerleading. Regardless, the betrayal of many people will be one that will be a challenge to overcome.

How will my company respond? As I have always stated, coaches and gyms are the sales reps for Event Producers and the Spirit Industry. Without their success, the Spirit Industry will fail. I will continue to listen to and respond to the demands of the coaches and gym owners. I will support their majority decisions and will cater to their interests as they attempt to grow their program. I will attempt to aid all of my clients in this growth and will use my resources to make their supportive programs successful.

The Cheer Health Investment

Your child wants to cheer.  You are concerned about the time commitment and the financial investment.  Let me tell you why every child should cheer or dance.  It is very easy.  Learn this simple concept. HEALTH!  It stands for Health, Education, Action, Leadership, Teamwork, and Health!

Cheer HEALTH Investment is a new concept I came up with to show parents how they can use the cheerleading craze to greatly benefit their children.  The first benefit and the most important is Health.  In the past 30 years childhood obesity has more than tripled according to all reports.  What does this mean for the children?  Childhood obesity results in decreased academic achievement, social and phsycological problems, and as we all know, negative health issues such as high colesteral and blood pressure.  The long term investment this lifestyle is providing includes heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and several types of cancer! 

The worst part of this is that my state, Mississippi, is the worst!  According to studies of Mississippi students 62% of students get NO Physical Education at school.  45% watch 3 or more hours of television on a school day.  The eating habits are horrible, and the studies do not go into the time that most youths spend on cell phones and computers.  We all know this consumes their lives!  I often joke and say that we may have a lot of unhealthy kids, but their fingers and thumbs are stronger than ever! LOL! Our sport requires strength, flexibility, body control, aerobic fitness, and rewards physical greatness.    Do you want proof?  Just swing by a cheerleading gym and watch.  You will see kids exercising and loving it.

Education is the next part of the return on investment.  Any atmosphere where kids learn new and positive skills has been proven to be beneficial to the future of that individual.  In a great cheerleading program coaches should teach health, commitment, dedication, and work ethic among other things.  I often say that if I am only teaching cheerleading, I am wasting my students’ time.  A great learning environment is a positive place for any child to be and it should be standard in any great cheerleading gym.

Action may be the next most important element in the HEALTH model.  Many parents have told me that they love their kids being involved in cheerleading so that they do not have time to be involved in the negative things that their peers are involved in.  “I know where they are when they are at the gym!”  I have heard thousands of times! This is true.  What is also sad and true is the many kids that convince their parents that the gym and the commitment causes social disruption, bad grades, and stress.  When those parents come in to defend their child’s decision to quit, I want to hand them my mental journal of the common after effects of those that did the same before them.  The downward spiral is typically swift and harsh.  Action is an important ingredient in a well rounded healthy individual and many sports and activities offer this to children.  A cheerleader is an active person and active people are happier and healthier!

Leadership is the hidden return on investment that continuously pays off!  Cheerleaders are by nature leaders.  Do not believe me?  Just Google it!  You will get tons of names of VIP’s that all were involved in the sport.  Or just stop by and let me tell you a little about our alumni and where they are today.  This is not just coincidence, it is because cheerleading teaches students leadership, how to work with a group, and supreme confidence.  I have been doing this long enough to remember the day a shy little child was dragged in by her mom and her first class consisted of sitting cowardly with her head down while the instructor begged her to participate.  I have also been doing this long enough to see those shy little kids grow up into confident young adults taking the world by storm and explaining how cheerleading gave them the power within to do it. 

Teamwork is a return on investment that we all must use every day.  In school, in the work place, and even in your family and with friends, you must use teamwork in daily life.  Cheerleading is the ultimate team sport.  When one person is not there physically or even mentally, it affects the entire team.  Students are taught that the positive skills of different participants can be combined to make the team more successful.  Most squads are made up of students from different backgrounds, races, religions, economic status, and educations.  Students learn to accept each member of the team for their hard work and dedication and strive to provide the same.  Sounds a little bit like your job?  Of course it does! What a great investment for your child’s future to learn these things so early!  This is so important in a digital world where true human teams rarely exist anymore for our children.

The final return for your investment is Health!  Why is it in there twice?  I believe that a healthy person is a happy and successful person.  Our kids need to get off the couch, get off the computer, throw away the phone, turn off the Xbox, and have some real fun interacting with other kids!  I do not have to be a doctor to know that this will help prepare our children for a happier healthier life. 

So remember when your child comes home and says, “Mom, I think I want to start cheerleading.” You should run to the car, drive to the gym, enroll them immediately and then pat yourself on the back for being a great parent.  The only thing left to do is sit back and watch the Cheerleading HEALTH Investment.  Actually, us parents should take the time our kids are in the gym to get active ourselves.  We want to live long enough to see great return on our investments!

Commitment

Today I feel like discussing commitment. Commitment is a learned skill. In my experience it is a hereditary trait. Commitment is a simple concept. Commitment is a simple pledge that allows trust to be given to you that without the commitment would not exist.

A commitment can be to a job, a bank, a friend, a family, God, a club, or a team. The commitments we follow define the amount of trust we earn. If a commitment to a bank is broken, no other bank will trust you enough to offer you loans. A commitment to a friend that is broken results is no friends. A commitment to a family that is broken results in a lost of trust.

Much like many disorders, the ability to follow commitments are passed through a family. Kids learn and are taught to follow or break commitments by their parents. A child has no way of understanding a commitment until they are taught to honor commitments they make.

While we live in reality TV world that pretends to believe that an individual is all that matters, this could not be farther from the truth. At some point in a person's life they will need to call upon others for help. At that point, they will realize that a commitment to help is only offered by most if trust is established. They will realize that the commitments they have honored will provide them with opportunities and those that were broken will provide them with nothing.

While a commitment to a team for a child is not a life threatening commitment, it can be life changing. Those kids that are allowed to break a commitment because of personal conflict never understand what a commitment means. This child is taught to hold themselves higher than others. This is a disability that will negatively effect their relationships, their jobs, their families, and their friendships.

While some commitments have to be broken due to circumstances we can not control, most can be avoided. While I have worked with thousands of young people and their families, I have seen the outcome of broken commitments.

I urge you to honor commitments and teach your children to do so as well. In the end, trust is the only true measure of success and the only value that you can trade for successful relationships. The only way to gain trust is to honor commitments.

All About Notes

David used to write "David's Notes" on the CMC website.  He said whatever he was thinking and gave brutally honest observations about life, the gym, parents, kids, friends, family, and events.  These notes were passed around the cheerleading community and were linked to and published by many media outlets.  This section will allow the coaches to express their thoughts with each of you much like they did in the past.  We will also publish an archive of David's notes, so check back often for what is sure to be entertaining commentary.