What do you do if a stunt hits perfect at practice and falls everytime we compete. Its not the bases.....it's the flyer. Its frustraiting! Let me just add that she is an awsome flyer very flexable and confident at practice....we all think next comp will be better (because at practice it hits)....
We had a flyer who was the same way and we let her fly for many of years but it hurt us in scoring all the time. Finally we took her out come to find out she was afarid of heights he he..... and the pressure of the comp and the fear got the best of her at competition. she would nail stunts at practice tho If she is hitting at practice maybe she just gets really nervous competition time maybe she doesnt need to fly this is not to take awy from her being a great flyer but maybe she is just too nervous at comp to be a flier if you have the time and your squad is not going to get frustrated then its your call to keep her in but if your squad may get frustarted and it is affecting your team then maybe she shouldnt fly and again it doesnt mean she is not great at flying maybe just super shy in front of tons of people or cant take the pressure handle her feelings with special care either way you go you might be surprised the pressure to compete and not fly may be a relief for her
I tend to agree with the above poster. Flying is not just about being little and flexible and tight in the air. It's also about being a performer and handling pressure. We all know kids that are great cheerleaders and phenomenal at practice but just can't make it happen in competition, whether it be flying, tumbling, or just putting "the show" on. Everyone makes the occassional mistake, but I think if time after time, someone is unable to hit a skill in competition (regardless of what it is), it's time for the coach to assess whether or not the skill should be left in for the good of the team.
Yes, I agree with this too. It's frustrating for the team when the ones who are consistently solid hit everytime only for the team to be deducted points because of the one or ones who don't, but it's also frustrating for the flyers because they know the team would have scored higher if not for their falls; they may welcome less pressure with changes to the routine. Of course we're assuming it's the flyer and not the bases because that is what the post said.
Yes, its definetlly the flyer. I have asked her "do even want to fly"? She get's upset when I talk to her about taking her out of the stunt. Also, I dont want her to think I am giving up on her.
okay -- from an ex-flier mom-- the pressure to be a flier is huge!.. All year long they hear about how its a team a team a team; but the minute a flyer falls, and the team loses its the fliers fault. (like the the entire rest of the performance minus that stunt fall was 100% perfect). And believe me they know it. Maybe assess, why and/or what is making her fall during the comp. Is she off on counts, are the bases or her, not getting to her position in time. My daughter had to stunt a pryamid on her left side (absolute weakest side), Yeah in practice she would hit it, but more times than not in comp, the pryamid was shaky and she knew it everytime she went up. She even asked the coach is she could switch sides (and the coach said, no too hard to re-choregraph) Which makes things even worse--- Its almost like a tumbling block when stuff goes up and you have no confidence - which you really need to fly. Just keep practicing, double check the counts, make sure the back base is counting loud enough during the comp, so that everyone hears. And bases talk to your flier during the stunt == keep up the praise -- tell her she can do it.. Trust me, she is feeling the pressure and her confidence is probably really down right now...
I agree with LadyW. My daughter is a flyer, and has struggled with this for awhile. She finally got some bases that she really trusts, and that's a big thing. She has complained over and over that her coaches always blame the flyer and not the bases. That's because they are looking at the flyers. To the original poster, do you think maybe the bases are nervous and shaky too, that might be affecting the flyer (just a thought)? I know my daughter does get nervous at comps but she also says that her bases get shaky too, when they are not at practice, which makes her get a little shaky. Could be a combination of everyone?
I know each coach/gym handles practices differently and not sure how your gym does it. But at practices how many times are you running through the full routine, full out? Sometimes a stunt group can hit over and over again when it is stunts only or marking the routine. So take that into consideration too.
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"Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."
Acts 13:14-16
If it hits perfectly at practice but falls at competition, as a coach I would get the athlete to focus on something different than the stunt at hand and rely on both her muscle memory and talent to make the stunt work. At practice, I would put quite a bit of repitition into the stunt to train the muscles to remember the correct technique. I would tell the team the reason for doing so is so that they can focus on the performance of their routine and allow their muscles to make the skills work.
Yes the pressure of competing is quite large so it is neccessary to train athletes on how to handle the pressure when on the floor.
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Nelson
"I have no time to converse with you, I must be first to register my disgust on the internet regarding the new McBane film" - Comic Book Guy
The other thing her back base would do -- right as she was pushing her up into the pyramid was she would say "LOCK Danielle". That always reminded her at that weak point to lock her knee. As long as her knee was locked she wouldn't go anywhere. After awhile the whole group would get involved and say "lock and load". She started to relax and felt more comfortable with the problem stunt. I see so many fliers go up and have bent knees -- thats just a stunt itchy to fall. Even now when we have cheer routines in-between our dance routines -- she will watch stunts go up and she will yell out LOCK LOCK....
Does your gym have teams perform for each other? That's a huge thing for OC. One team will stop practicing and come watch the other one there, perform the entire routine, full out, falls and all. Then they switch.... The coaches won't stop for mistakes. Just like at competition.
They may do this 4 or 5 times, each team, per night. The kids scream and yell as well as the parents. This helps a lot. And when a shaky stunt doesn't fall, the kids really scream for them. This gives confidence.
This may be something your gym does on a regular basis. Yes they are at home but having to run it thru, full out, in front of others may help as well.
-- Edited by OC Mom at 21:40, 2007-11-14
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OC Mom, Mom of 5 great kids! A cheerleader/softball player, a RETIRED cheerleader, a football/baseball player, 1 Airman and future Police Officer and one college student!
