Should you consider yourself a good coach when you break the spirit of a five year old?I have a daughter who lived for cheerleading even when she broke her ankle I couldn't stop her . Our gym was bought out by another and every since they have made her feel like she is not good enough for their squad , she cried all the way home they other day because her pod dropped their flyer and they coach blamed my daughter .Wha t should I do I hate to see her give up something she loves over a person who obviously doesn't care .
Should you consider yourself a good coach when you break the spirit of a five year old?I have a daughter who lived for cheerleading even when she broke her ankle I couldn't stop her . Our gym was bought out by another and every since they have made her feel like she is not good enough for their squad , she cried all the way home they other day because her pod dropped their flyer and they coach blamed my daughter .Wha t should I do I hate to see her give up something she loves over a person who obviously doesn't care .
Upset Parent
oh HECK NO! What kind of a dang coach is that. From my experience it must be a young coach. Take your child to a gym where the coaches teach their students correctly and focus on the positive. My daughter went to a gym where all they did was yell at their young kids and all that it did was teach them to blame each other.
This sport is suppose to be fun and make you feel good, not awful. Shame on on that coach! You should never be able to work with kids!
I would look for another gym ASAP. This is supposed to be fun and so many coaches forget that. Crying all the way home is horrible and you should let the coach know how you and your daughter feel. I am sorry this is happening to you both, good luck!!
As much as I am in favor of talking things out, this coach definitely crossed several lines. I would be taking my child out of there quick fast and in a hurry.
"spirit of a five year old?I" a 5 (five) year old -- a) this must be a typo, because what coach would have 5 year olds do stunts -- unless I really have been out of the cheer loop for a long time.
b) -- no coach at anytime should yell at a 5 year old (period, end of discussion).
"spirit of a five year old?I" a 5 (five) year old -- a) this must be a typo, because what coach would have 5 year olds do stunts -- unless I really have been out of the cheer loop for a long time.
b) -- no coach at anytime should yell at a 5 year old (period, end of discussion).
No disagreement with B. That is a line no coach should ever cross. Better for you as an adult to take a time out than to go off on a child that age.
Doing that can break the spirit of a 5 year old. Many coaches can plant those seeds of negativity so early that it takes a long time to get it rooted out.
As for 5 year olds in stunts...my five year old stunts on a level 2 team...looks like she is 3. We have several 5 year olds on our Mini 2 Team this year so we have no choice but to stunt them and tumble them. Two of them just did their BHS by themselves yesterday!
I have to post again about this topic....It makes me sad and very very mad to think a 5 year old is crying all the way home because of some rotten coach. I treat my "babies" like they are older but to break their spirit is just horrible. Isn't the plan to get these younger kids and shape them into our Sr. level 5 kids?? Isn't that what we are supposed to do as gym owners and head coaches?? Breaking a childs spirit that early in their cheer career is awful and an almost sure fire way to burn them out before they age out. Besides the fact it is just plain mean and takes a mean spirited person to talk to kids that way. I work with kids all day every day in my "real" job and my "fun" job (cheerleading) It does take a special person to work with kids and have a positive impact on their lives. This coach is OBVIOUSLY not one of the "special" people. I hope you have started researching other gyms. Good luck!
Pop Warner is a youth football and cheerleading organization. The cheerleaders cheer for the football teams and also compete. Check out http://www.popwarner.com/ there you can search for a league and a team nearest to you. It's a different "beast" than All Star but great for younger aged kids.
