i would probably do it if i was a new parent to cheerleading that didnt know anything about it. i think most parents know now however some kids tumbling skills dont come as naturally as others and sometimes wont be thrown for years.

Anonymous wrote:

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I think it is impossible to make such a guarantee....not all athletes learn at the same pace and I don't care how great of a tumbling coach someone is....some athletes have a mental block when it comes to tumbling and they cant be forced to get over it....it is just something that might take time.

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Never impossible....unless your handicaped,,,

****Of course with a certain date agreed upon to achieve. and I don't mean a year...or months...

 

I think it is foolish to make such a guarantee. There are just some kids that need less pressure to learn skills. And as a gym, if you make that guarantee and don't meet it, you risk looking like you are incompetent...

Anonymous wrote:

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Such as:
backhandsprings
standing tucks
fulls...etc...
learning thru open gym or privates..........

Of course with a certain date agreed upon to achieve. and I don't mean a year...or months...

Would you sign up with that gym on there allstar team?

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No, I would not, because such a guarantee is ridiculous.  The gym doesn't know my child and how long my child may take to reach certain goals.  If a gym offered something like this, to me it would look like a desperate attempt to draw in members, and who knows to what extent they would go to to make sure the gym doesn't look bad.  No sane gym would do this. 

I could see how a "new" cheer parent could fall into this trap but I think it would lead disappointment for the child and the family. What if I signed up my daughter with the promise of a backhandspring and she didn't get it? At that point it's no longer about the money but about my daughter feeling like she failed something that was guaranteed...at the end of the day it would be bad not only for the family and the gym but competitive cheer in general.

Vikki

Wow! We parents were in the gym just talking about this last night.

Last year we switched gyms and one of my main complaints was that my daughter worked privates all year(at the old gym) and still could not do her full, so last year at our new gym she did a full year one hour private with the head coach of the gym, STILL NO FULL. She got in didn't use it during the year lost it. (or became afraid to throw it)

So now no more privates or pressure, I refuse to pay that kind of money $40 once a week 4 times a month by 12 a full year $1920.00 for a full she never got!!!!!!!!!!

I am done!!! No more privates, and when she starts getting left behind or she moves down a level, because she is on a level 5 now (but we all know things are getting way serious in the cheer world, they are done with fulls and on to doubles, standing etc) I told her use open gym and tumbling class and between those two things she will have to advance

At first I thought I was being mean, but a lot of other parents were expressing the same thing last night. Am I wrong?

Jodi wrote:

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Just because you might have a handicap does not mean it anything is impossible!

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right but if you are severly handicapped and wheelchair bound a handspring, tuck or full physically is out of the question....c'mon Jodi....

I personally think it would be great if a gym could guarantee my childs skill.  I would agree to a timeframe of completion.  I think it would make the coaches step up their skills!  LOL

 

I would consider such a guarantee to be bogus and a pathetic attempt at recruitment. Here is why:

If you are that good, prove it with your own first. That in and of itself will draw people to your gym. That alone is the best advertisement you can have.

Every child is different. Some kids will pick somethings up right away. Others will take time. Personally I have observed those that take time to get the skill usually keep it. Of course you have the few exceptions to that rule, but that would be true in any sport.

Sometimes a child hears a new voice saying the same thing that the old coach says and it clicks and sticks. Who got that skill or who is the better coach...the old coach or the new coach? Neither:The child who did not give up did.

THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED A LEARNING CURVE. Just because a child can do a skill today does not mean they have mastered it and therefore should move on to the next skill/skill set. This is one of the fundamental weaknesses in most (not all) cheerleading programs. The second a child gets a new skill...somebody is pushing them to get more skills so they can move up to another level team. This pressure whether from coaches, parents, owners or the kids themselves is unhealthy and becomes one of the predominant reason why so much money is wasted in private lessons to "get skills back."

I have workouts set for certain skills. However there is not guarantee or time frame for success. I have had kids get BHS through fulls in one day an other it has taken them years. But for me there is a major difference in getting them and keeping them and performing them in competition every time. For example there is a 30 day back tuck workout. But it is just as much conditioning as it is back tuck work. I have had an excellent success rate with those inside my gym who have followed it to the letter. The difference is they know my voice and know what I expect out of them. If something is not working, I can adapt it on the fly to insert new drills or conditioning if I spot a weakness. Yet I would be foolish to guarantee it worked or else.

Just show me the money!  and i will get that child a skill!