JOE’S NOTES
"Sports do not create character...they reveal it!"
Truer words were never spoken! I saw this proven over and over by both our Small Senior and Small Junior Panthers at the UCA All-Star National this past weekend. To be honest, I really did not have a feel for how we would do at UCA. After Dallas, the practices for Junior black and Small Senior had seemed to have lost some inspiration and confidence. This is a big competition with many talented squads. We don't have the opportunity to see most of them during the season so we don't exactly know what to expect.
We were able to get the teams in for practice at the Lake Mary All-Stars new gym and it was not our best. Not terrible but we were hoping for better. The bus didn't arrive until 3:30 AM the night before and the kids were all a little tired. Being the committed kids that they are, they managed to get through it with minor tears but it was obvious that we were going to have some tumbling issues the next day. We finished up and were off to the Magic Kingdom for a little fun and relaxation.
Day One Preliminary Round...
Both squads had an early report time, especially the Seniors at 7:30 AM! Seniors were at MGM while the Juniors had to report at Wide World of Sports...my worst nightmare. Senior warm-up went pretty well and the routine was very good. A couple of bobbles but all of the tumbling hit. UCA has a unique style and looks heavily to synchronization and timing and clean execution so you are never really sure how the bobbles will hurt you. We are not blessed with great pyramids and this is one thing that UCA loves. We will be improving these for next year! The seniors come off the floor feeling pretty good about advancing to the semi-final round and I am off for my mad dash to the juniors warm-up!
Ouch!...
Juniors had a great warm-up but when we took the floor it was pretty rough. Tumbling didn't get thrown and half of the 2nd part of the pyramid came down. Normally I am pretty calm even after a disastrous routine but I can tell you that I was pretty aggravated that the effort was marginal, especially just not throwing the tumbling! We had a pretty serious heart-to-heart talk just in case we had the opportunity to advance to the semi-finals. I wasn't feeling very confident so I waited on the announcement before going back for the senior semi as I might be taking the juniors with me!
First Results...
The senior's finished 1st in the prelims! I'm happy for about 5 minuets, until the junior announcements...they finished 4th and would be advancing to the semi-finals! Talk about a sigh of relief! I make my mad dash back to MGM for the senior warm-up and semi performance.
Could definitely have been better...
Great warm-up but marginal performance. The competition for the next spots get tougher as the winners of all the UCA regional are now in the mix. We feel OK but not as good as we had in the prelims. A couple of bobbles and an out-of-bounds. We have a long wait for the senior announcements so I rush back to Wide World for the Junior prelims.
This is where some character gets revealed...
The juniors now have new life after having dodged a bullet that morning! With a new opportunity and a reminder that they took 3rd in Dallas with half of the team being sick, they are a little more relaxed and definitely more excited. Warm-up went great again but there were still some tumbling issues. Tumbling is sometimes and elusive thing. It has as much to do, and sometimes more, about confidence as it does skill. For no reason this confidence can just abandon you and a sick fear sets in. You are afraid and your teammates and coaches are putting incredible pressure on you to do it. I'm not talking about something that was just learned and not yet mastered but tumbling skills that have been being performed beautifully for a long time. It's an awful thing to see the kids agonize over this but the reality is this is nationals and it has to happen here! The kid having the trouble feels rotten. During warm-up the kids are all shouting their encouragement...one pass after another she doesn't throw it. She's scared to death, tears welled up in her eyes and on top of that feels the weight of the entire routine on her shoulders.
I see the worried look on her face as they take the floor. The routine begins and the moment of truth arrives...the first round off tuck. I'm not watching anything else as my eyes are squarely on her. She throws it and it lands solid! Her face lights up. Next...the back handspring back tuck...she throws it and it lands solid and she's beaming even brighter! Meanwhile the routine is awesome! Everything hits and the energy is there and it's exciting to watch...the Dallas girls showed up!
If not one other positive thing happened for this squad the rest of the day, I saw why it is that we as parents want our kids to be evolved in something like this. I saw a particular young lady who learned something very important about herself during those moments. For all of these kids, a lesson in what you can achieve if you are committed to your responsibility to your teammates and to your pursuit of excellence. I was so proud of all of them but for one of them in particular! I think that this explains how sports reveals character.
By the way...we finish 4th again and are moving on the finals!
Now it's time to worry again...
I keep calling to check on the senior announcements but no word. Finally I get the call...4th, only 16 point from the leader and advancing to the finals on Sunday!
A blessing and a curse...
Naturally the juniors want to be in finals, the problem is, we draw first in the order and only have 40 minuets until we have to do it all again! At UCA, some divisions have to do all of this in one day...in the junior's case, 3 performances! I believe that there is a certain mental preparation that you go through on competition day. Generally this build up culminates in one performance. In all of the years that I have been doing this, it was a new experience for me to have to deal with multiple performances from one squad, especially three. Fortunately we have a crowd now in that the seniors are through for the day and are there to cheer on Junior Black!
Here we go again...
This was a tough division. The squads advancing to the finals were all pretty good and we were going to have our work cut out for us. Fatigue and nerves are really a factor now and anything could happen; it's late in the afternoon now and has been a long day. The routine starts... a couple of hands down in the tumbling...opening stunts hit ...the pyramid hits...the next stunts hit... the chant and the dance are very good...but we bobble the ending sling shot. Not bad but definitely not the performance of the semis. Now we just have to sit and wait. Finally...
4th IN THE NATION!!
I'll tell you that 4th out of the 18 squads that competed here, especially after our start in prelims is a fantastic finish! We are all so proud of them and so grateful for the lessons learned and the character revealed for our Junior Black squad!
Sunday Senior Finals...
This is by far the most talented senior advanced team that we have ever had. We have great opening stunts, high baskets and threw 16 fulls and two double fulls, squad triple toe backs and another series of squad standing back tucks. All year, these kids have been waiting to be in contention. They finally have their chance. These kids are on fire and want to win. The believe that they can win but know that they have to take it to the floor. Finals, at this level, requires a near perfect performance. We know the other squads competing at the top and also know that they will probably hit their routines as well. No one is going to move over and let us just walk away with it. We need to perform hard and let the judges have to sort it out.
We have a good warm-up and are competing last in the division. The squads ahead of us open the door with some minor mistakes and now it's all on us. I have been watching the kids with interest since last night. I was curious how they would act and react to finally having a shot in a major competition. Would they choke? Would the nerves overcome the skill or would the reverse happen? There are some very special 12th grade seniors on this squad and I want this so bad for them that I can taste it!
They are pumped and hit the floor with incredible confidence. The music starts, the opening hits like statues! I am screaming my head off and the little girls on the squad sitting in front of me think I've gone crazy! Where I am, I am not allowed to stand so it was very difficult. The running tumbling is awesome and the double fulls are perfect! The pyramid hits, the chant is great and the dance is the best that we have ever done. We had a couple of bobbles in the ending stunt so we have given back our advantage left by the other squads. All and all it was just an awesome performance...amazing given the pressure! These kids did not choke but rose to the occasion. They all run off the floor crying and hugging each other, feeling so proud of what they had just done. I have to catch myself for just a moment because I am welling up, too! The performance was simply inspirational to watch. I looked at the faces of the 12th grade seniors and they are finally proud this year...I will never forget how special that moment was.
Finally it's awards time. Were we in the top 3? Did we stay 4th? We dared think about the possibility that we could possibly have won it! They did what they needed to do which was to let the judges sort it out. Out of the original 19 squads only 9 made it to the finals.
6th place...
They were devastated and my heart sunk. They were hurt, crying, disappointed, mad and confused, all at once. The hardest job as a coach is having the responsibility for taking a situation like this and make it alright. There is nothing you can say to make the hurt go away. They had put every once of their heart and soul into that performance...they did their job. The reality is that scoring for competitive cheerleading is subjective. What we see as coaches, parents and competitors, of our own performances is not necessarily what the judges see. We have been watching it all year and when things hit that in the past have had some sort of a problem, we see it as having possibly greater value than the judges. I was, however, confused about how we dropped from a 87.5% scoring average on Saturday to a 70% average on a superior performance on Sunday, but we will never know the answer to that.
A part of the lesson of all this is to learn to accept the outcome. No one was out to get us, it was simply the way the scores fell. It doesn't change what they accomplished. It doesn't diminish the value of the kids standing up to the pressure, the nerves and performing the best that they had when it counted the most. These kids, finally, had a chance to see their character revealed. They know now, without a doubt, the quality of the squad that they have. They know that the ultimate winner, New Jersey Cheer Explosion, was watching every second of the routine because they knew that we could win. That is a very honorable position to be in. But the best part...through the tears and bitter disappointment...our girls...our champions...were the first to hug and congratulate a very worthy champion! It still gives me a lump to think about how wonderful all of this is and what an honor it is to be a part of it all...so I think you would agree that...
"Sports do not create character...they reveal it!"
Go Panthers!
Joe