I would like to know what teams do to keep a team strong and working together to become the best they can be when you have a large variety of skill levels and commitment levels within one team. My daughter's team is a large Senior level 3 team and they are having issues with this. Our gym does not have a lower level Sr. team so this team is really a combined level 2 and 3 team. There are kids with solid level 3 skills, solid level 2 skills and ones with level 1 skills at best. The problem they seem to be having is that there are many that really try hard each and every practice and are committed to improving their skills as much as possible and then there is a group that just don't seem to care. They come to all of the practices but don't seem to ever care if they attain new skills or improve current ones to make the team better. The ones that are trying resent the ones that aren't and it is making for bickering and resentment within the team. The coaches are frustrated because the kids are constantly bickering and talking while trying to do things and kids are incurring injuries as some are having to overcompensate for others.
We have kids that have been in allstar cheer for YEARS and do not have a backhandspring nor do they seem to care to get one. We also have kids that just have very little upper body strength (hmm, seems to be the ones with no tumbling) that can't always hold up flyers and rely on the others in the group to do it for them (back injuries seem to be becoming a common theme on the team). When they have to do the routine full out over and over and over again because stunts fall or timing is off, the ones doing all the work (ie tumbling AND stunting) are getting punished more than the ones that are not which is what is causing the animosity.
I am sure this is not a first in the cheer world and would love to hear from other coaches, athletes, and parents as to suggestions to bring this team together as they have a lot of potential if they can just get along and have everyone pull their own weight so to speak.
I sympathize with you. It sounds like you really only want what's best for the team. It also sounds, however, like your program's owners should consider rethinking having a Large Sr. Level 3 with so many different skill levels. After all, I don't think any program could be productive with this great of variety of skill levels on one team. Why not opt for a Small Level 2 - maybe even Novice. The stronger skilled girls would make up a Small Level 3 team. That way girls would be grouped with like-skill levels and bickering will be kept to a minimum. I'll bet coaches and team members would be so much happier...just a suggestion.
Well try approaching the coach on the issue, then after that see if anything changes. Sometimes teams progress over the course of the year and other teams really peak at the beginning of the season. It just depends. The best thing is communicaton. Good luck to you guys.
