Just curious what y'all think.. my son's team has had several injuries recently, and their first competition is in a couple weeks. They are struggling and don't look good at all, but in time they'll look great. Do you think it's better to perform anyway to get that first comp out of the way, or is it better to cancel and not perform until you're ready? From what I've read on this board it seems that teams that don't do well can sometimes be blasted by others, which is sad because it seems like we should all be more supportive. So you would think in that case it might be better to wait and not do your first competition until you're ready? On the other hand, you learn a lot from each competition, and maybe it couldn't hurt to just go out there and do what you can, knowing you can only get better. I thought it would be interesting to hear other opinons on the subject.
I think it really depends. Sometimes a team just doesn't have it yet and a little more practice will do them good. Other times, the team had it and for some reason lost it, in these cases (in my oh so knowledgable opinion) it's probably best to go compete. This will give the kids a break from the rut, an eye opener on what they need to do, etc.
I agree that sometimes a team (or teams) are not ready and could use more practice. On the other hand sometimes that first competition is what you need to get your team in gear, you know? If you have anyone who isn't focusing or taking it as seriously as they should, doing poorly at a competition can sometimes jolt team members into new attitudes, I've seen it happen in our organization. Our teams seem to do their best after they've done poorly at a competition. Anyone have that experience too?
I think they ought to compete. Tone down the stunts and tumbling and use the competition as an opportunity to see if they can get the best motions, dance, etc. scores that they can. See if they can run the routine with "0" deductions.
It'll give them a goal and an opportunity to reap the recognition reward from the crowd.
Might even add in a voice over at the first like, "Welcome to a work in progress".
As long as the kids know that the coaches have a reason for doing it, I think they'll be enthused.
Depends on the ability of the team. If the coach feels they could possibly hurt themselves out there then yes, cancel that competition. I don't expect much at the first competition because its time for the kids to get their feet in the water. The first comepetition for everyone is always rocky.
I agree with that. I remember the first competition we went to last year, lots of falls, especially with the level 5 teams (understandable given the difficulty involved). But boy did they improve as weeks went by. You really can't judge a team by that first competition, or even the first couple. If it looks too easy, it could mean they're working up to the harder stuff. If there are a lot of falls, it could be they are working out the kinks to a very difficult routine and don't want to start off easy. You know once they land everything the routine will be amazing. The teams I remember that didn't look so great at the start went on to win plenty of titles, including bids to Worlds.
I too think if safety is an issue because you have temporary replacements for those injured, maybe cancelling would be a good idea. But if the issue isn't safety, and it's just that you don't want to look bad, I say go and do your best. As other posts said, many gyms are rusty those first couple competitions, you won't be alone.
I think that they should move down a level for that comp. I.e. , if the team is level 5 and supposed to be throwing fulls but cannot, they should just throw layouts in a level 4 division.
