Parents Corner
Team Expectations: Cheerleading is not an individual sport
Beginning in August each team will have 2-3 team practices a week. These classes will incorporate strengthening exercises, stunting techniques, flexibility exercises, and tumbling skills. Team practices will focus on competition routine. Athletes are expected to attend practice and persevere when skills become tough. Competitive sports require dedication and commitment from both parents and athletes.
Practice schedules may change and additional practices may be added before competitions. Athletes are required to make arrangements so these practices will NOT be missed. Practices are mandatory the week of competition. NO EXCEPTION
- Team will have 2-3 practices a week
- Focus on competition routine
- Be supportive, Don’t Coach.
- Practices during competition week are Mandatory!
Cardinal Rule: Please keep all communication positive.
It’s imperative we work together as a family and help one another through this journey. Please encourage your child to be positive both inside and outside the gym. Negative attitudes and comments from either parents or athletes can deteriorate the team and will result in immediate dismissal from the XCA Program.
We expect good conduct from our athletes and our parents during practices, events, and competitions. Please do the right thing even when no one is watching and acknowledge athlete success when skills are mastered and resist the urge of becoming jealous when it’s not your child.
Remember there will be peaks and valleys in this sport and it’s your job as parents top uplift athletes spirits when they are stuck in a deep valley or when they’ve climbed to a top of a summit.
Parental Support: BE SUPPORTIVE, DON’T COACH!
Your role on the parent-coach-athlete team is as a Support player with a capital S! You need to be your child’s best fan. unconditionally!
Leave the coaching and instruction to the coach.
Provide encouragement, support, empathy, transportation, money, help with fund-raisers, etc., but… do not coach!
Most parents that get into trouble with their children do so because they forget to remember the important position that they play. Coaching interferes with your role as supporter and fan. The last thing your child needs and wants to hear from you after a disappointing performance or loss is what they did technically or strategically wrong.
Keep your role as a parent on the team separate from that as coach, and, if by necessity you actually get stuck in the almost no-win position of having to coach your child, try to maintain this separation of roles (i.e. on the deck, field or court say, “Now I’m talking to you as a coach”, at home say, “Now I’m talking to you as a parent”). Don’t parent when you coach and don’t coach at home when you’re supposed to be parenting.
