A wise person once said –
“If you are early, you are on time.
If you are on time, you are late.
If you are late, you are forgotten.”
This is true in many areas of life, but certainly in the All Star Cheer World!
Cheerleading is all about teamwork,
discipline, and precision. Being prepared and ready to go — before you are even expected to be — can make a big difference for your team and for you as an athlete.
When you are early to practice, competitions, or team events, it shows your coaches and teammates that you are serious about what you do. Being early means you have time to warm up your body, stretch, mentally focus, and be ready the second your coach starts.
In All Star Cheer, every minute counts.
If you arrive just as practice is starting, you may still be putting down your bag, tying your shoes, or getting your bow on while your teammates are already working. This can slow you down and even make it harder to learn skills.
The middle part of the saying—“If you are on time, you are late” —
might seem confusing, but in cheer it makes perfect sense. If practice begins at 6:00pm, your team is expected to be fully ready at that exact time — not still walking in the door.
In reality, being “on time” usually
means you’re already prepared well before the start. Coaches notice athletes who are dependable and always ready to jump into action. This attitude builds trust and helps your team run smoothly.
The last part —“If you are late, you are forgotten” —
may sound harsh, but in competitive cheerleading, lateness can have real consequences.
Teams work hard to hit perfect stunts,
tumbling passes, and choreography together. If you are late, you may miss warm-ups, key instructions, or changes to the routine. This can hurt the entire team’s performance and make it harder for you to keep up.
In some programs, repeated lateness
might even lead to losing your spot in a stunt group or on the competition floor. While you won’t literally be “forgotten” as a person, you might be left out of important parts of the routine or replaced by someone who is always there and ready.
All Star Cheer obviously also involves
some type of travel for competitions, which makes timing even more critical. Teams often have very strict schedules for team walk-throughs, warm-up rooms, and performance times.
Being early to every step of the process
avoids last-minute panic and ensures everyone’s focus stays on delivering the best performance possible.
Ultimately, this saying is about
respect
—
respect for coaches, teammates, the sport, and oneself.
Being early means you value your team’s
time and your own growth as an athlete. It also creates a winning mindset, because the small habit of showing up early can carry over into other parts of life like school, work, and relationships.
In Cheer, talent is important, but
reliability is priceless. By making “early” your normal, you prove that you are committed, dependable, and ready for success — on the mat and beyond.
