One of the most exciting times of year for every All Star Cheer program has definitely got to be their ‘Placements’ (or ‘Tryouts’) period.
This is a time of year where prep for the new season kicks into high gear – often VERY soon after the prior season has completed! – as coaches, athletes, & families all home in on the very beginning stages of what teams will look like heading into the new season.
I say ‘exciting’, but many would also add the words ‘anxious’, ‘stressful’, and ‘nerve-wrecking’ to any sentence describing the Placement period as well!
Coaches are under pressure because they are trying to make sure that every athlete is placed on a team that is in the best interest of the overall program as well as the athletes themselves.
Athletes are under pressure because most often they are trying to max out the highest possible level of a team that they can be included on.
Families are under pressure because they are working internally through a mix of them wanting their athlete to be happy, challenged, and ultimately placed on the team that makes the most sense.
As an owner who does not happen to coach, I have had the spoiled opportunity to observe these goings on from afar without necessarily feeling all of the pressures and stresses that are endured by seemingly many others involved.
While I recognize and certainly am cognizant of all of these, my big goal during Placements is a bit different from the others.
Though I certainly want everyone to feel as comfortable and content as possible with the entire Placement process, in the end, my challenge has always been to work as best we can to encourage everyone involved to use Placements as more of a baseline than the end-all-be-all to everything Cheer-related in life.
It is a LOOOOOOOONG season! (I say this ALL the time!!)
The way teams are initially placed in May, are certainly going to shift a bit as the season gradually progresses and we get to our first competition.
No matter how much someone (coach, athlete, or family) may feel as though teams are finalized during the Placement period, this could not be further from the truth.
The reality of things is that injuries occur, someone has to move away due to a family relocating, athletes pop up new skills, newer athletes are able to be gotten to know better, etc.
Things happen all the time that cause team makeups (and sometimes even ENTIRE team makeups) to shift.
Don’t get me wrong, it is highly important to take Placements seriously as they really do set the foundation for the upcoming season.
Athletes should prep as much as possible…
Attend extra tumble classes
Take Privates
Get stunt groups together and work on stunting
STRETCH!!
If there is an opportunity for newer athletes to come into the gym and workout and perhaps even meet some of their new gym mates, they should DEFINITELY do so
Whatever can be done to help prepare athletes for the Placement period should absolutely be done.
The key, however, is as Placements are occurring and everyone is working as hard as they can to Place teams as best as possible during this time, to not get too ‘high’ on the ‘highs’ or too ‘low’ on the ‘lows’ as they say.
If an athlete gets placed exactly where they wanted to be placed, AWESOME!! It is now up to that athlete to continue to work hard every day and do whatever they can to help make the team they are on be as good as it can possibly be.
If an athlete does not get placed exactly where they wanted to be placed, although there may be some natural initial disappointment, the best move would be to figure out what they need to work on to put themselves in the best position to be shifted to their desired team if called upon (this can be done by having a conversation with a coach on what they should focus on to help them grow and best position themselves).
It is very much normal to feel a high range of emotions during the Placement period and while this is to be expected, it is important for us all to work on not letting these emotions get the best of us, no matter what they may happen to be (nervousness, anxiety, etc.).
Placements are one of the most energy-charged times of year with good reason, for a new season is upon us all as the sky is the limit in terms of what all of us can accomplish and grow into as we set the baseline for what is sure to be an exhilarating upcoming season!!
