From Coach Mandi...

As we head in to competition season, here's a few reminders for athletes and parents:

1) The judges are scoring off of a pre-determined scoring rubric. There are pre-defined ranges of skill elements, mixed with the % of the team competing the skills, that determines a difficulty score.

2) Execution is critical. Doing a skill and executing a skill are two very different animals. One thing we hone in on is perfected execution. Everyone can "do" but can you do it well? Technique always wins out over difficulty. High range difficulty is only a 0.5 spread, but technique is a 1.5 spread. I'll take the 1.5 any day of the week over a 0.5. Sometimes you may "have" a skill that isn't choreographed due to the technique of the skill.

3) All routine positions are up for grabs. Just because you aren't in a spot now doesn't mean you won't be in November. Constant improvement is required. 110% every rep. Every stunt. Every pass. Every jump. Every motion. Earn your spot. Work hard outside of practice. Show up ready to show off your hard work.

4) Prepare for practice. Know your trouble areas and ask for help. Know your grips. Know your counts. Breathe your routine inside and out so that execution is the focus. .

5) Rely on your teammates. They are your sounding board, your family, your reliability, your rocks.

6) Admit to your faults so you can strengthen them. Let your strengths shine through and own your pieces of the routine.

7) Work on your stunting and jumps as much as you do your tumbling. We always see athletes in private lessons for tumbling, but what about your jumps and your stunts? Your stunts are technically worth more than your tumbling, but the focus on that area is less when athletes work outside of practice. Reps in stunts are CRITICAL. If you only practice in practice.....you know the rest.

Being on the outside or in the back of a formation does not translate to your abilities. Placement in a routine is often times dependent upon where you were in the section prior or where you'll be in the section after.

9) When you step on stage, you are a unit. A team. Not individuals. You all play a part of the puzzle.

FAITH in yourself and your teammates
FOCUS on your execution and technique
BELIEVE in the dream

-Mandi

Blogger Emily 9-12-2018

       Hello everyone, my name is Emily Yanok! I am currently on the Level Five All-girl Extra Small team at Ohio Valley All-stars. I am now a junior at Parkersburg South High School in West Virginia. I started competitive cheer when I was nine years old and have fallen in love with it over the past seven years. Although there has been many set backs in my cheering career, such as injuries or tough seasons, I always find myself coming back to this amazing sport. My favorite thing about All-star cheer is definitely the people in it. Most girls on my team go to different schools, so we only see each other in the gym or at competitions, but I’ve developed a special bond with each and every one of them making them feel like family. It is such an amazing thing to see everyone mature and grow throughout the years. My teammates have encouraged me to try new things and step out of my comfort zone which has ultimately made me such a better athlete. There’s nothing better than doing the sport you love surrounded by people you love. I am very excited to share my many stories and advice for this cheer season with all of you!

Until next time, 
Emily Yanok. 

Welcome Blogger Emily

Welcome to our newest blogger Emily from the Ohio Valley Allstars in Parkersburg, West Virginia

                                                                   

   

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A Cheer Dad's Perspective- September

It’s A New Season, It’s A New Day!  

            So when the last cheer season ended I never thought I would miss it as much as I did. This offseason has been pretty good. Our gym is currently revamping themselves and you can tell the differences. There is a new attitude, a new zeal around the gym right now. We are excited with anticipation about what this new season will bring. Personally, I am excited to see my daughter and my son compete. My son is now on Tiny Novice and my daughter is now on Youth level 1. This is new for both of them. Brady has never competed before. He was on an exhibition team last season and Sydney was in the mini prep division last season. For me, as a parent, I have enjoyed watching both of them grow as athletes. Brady has developed a pretty amazing cartwheel and a beautiful roundoff and as for Sydney, she is learning new skills every practice it seems.

            So now here we are preparing for our fifth season being a part of our gym. Some people have asked me if I was exhausted and wanted to do something else with my kids. Honestly, no I am not exhausted. I am actually more excited than ever for this season. I am not going to talk about winning bids and national championships. That is the very conversation that our gym has banned. I love the new direction that we have taken. We aren’t talking about winning golden tickets, winning jackets, or really winning at all. We are talking about giving 100% and being the best you can be! That’s the direction we are going. We want our athletes to work hard, but also have some fun. I believe fun is what was missing for a while. There were parents talking about winning and jackets as if that was all that mattered. Don’t get me wrong, jackets and bids are great and awesome, but if you aren’t enjoying what you are doing, what’s the point? You could tell last season that some of the athletes were miserable due to pressure of parents. So I love that our coaches this season stepped in and said the focus is going to be on enjoying themselves and revamping who we are.

            Like I’ve said before we are family at our gym. We are bringing that back. Yes, the coach wants them to win. Yes, the coaches want to have the best routines they can do and yes, they want to challenge the athletes to get out of their comfort zones. I think sometimes you need to take a step back and realize changes need to be made. That’s what our gym did. So a new attitude, a new direction, new uniforms, and even some new competitions are in our future. Honestly one of my favorite things I like to tell people when you enter a new season is that “old things have passed away, all things are made new.” (If anyone is interest as to where I got that from it is found in Second Corinthians 5:17)

            In closing I would like for all gyms to have a great season. I hope for newness and greatness for all of you this year. I want everyone to enjoy themselves. Whether it’s being an athlete or a parent of an athlete, this is gonna be a great season for us all!  Buckle up ladies and gents the wild ride has started. Enjoy it!

-Charles Michael 

Blogger Bryant - 9-7-2018

Hey everyone, it’s me again.

So an update since we last “spoke”, or rather I spoke and you kind of skimmed. We had a pretty hard practice, featuring that crazy woma- I mean Coach Meghan. I swear she’s trying to make us better, but every time I feel like I am about to die I look at her and she has a strange glint in her eye that scared me, as if she actually enjoyed watching me roll around our gym like The Blob. I woke up at 6:00am the next day for work and I swear.. I SWEAR for a second I thought I really was The Blob, because I told my body to move and instead it kind of jiggled and rolled out of bed onto the floor. I was walking through my office at work and my legs just stopped working. It made for an interesting sight for my manager when she walked out of her office and I was criss cross applesauce on the floor of the Riverboat Discovery massaging the cramp out of my thigh. 

A little vocabulary for all of the 30-45 year old moms reading this right now Tea started out as “The T” meaning the Truth and then later merged into the same meaning but spelled similar to the herbal drink. It opened up many idiomatic expressions relating to “the tea” such as spilling the tea which is gossiping. Anyways, there’s a little Tea in my gym right now about stunting, and specifically who is flying, and I am not really gonna get into it besides saying I'M OVER IT. Some people are upset that they aren’t flying, and all I have to say is that if you wanna get up there, arguing with the people that have the power to make that decision wont help you. Tensions are rising and I’m trying to dodge that bullet. 

Lastly we had choreography. Choreography was from 9:00am to 6:00pm but it was only one day. Honestly, it was a lot to learn but I didn’t feel NEARLY as exhausted as when Meghan pushes us, I mean really its more of a shove in front of a bus but tomato tamato. I really like all of my stunts and the tumbling pass is a little more unique than the default level two passes (front walkover round off backhand spring or round off two). The only thing I’m kind of sad about is that I don’t really do anything besides stunt even more during dance and usually I turn the show during dance so checks and balances I suppose. I can’t have it all. 

So in summary

• Don’t sit on the floor at work if you don’t want funny looks from co-workers
• Tea is the truth, the gossip, or the details while spilling tea is gossiping.
• Don’t make my gym owner mad because she is the only person crazier than my coach (really she’s a wildcard)
• You can’t have everything you want so just go with whatcha get

That’s all folks, and remember keep your tumbling tight and your flyers tighter. 

Loggin off

-Bryant 

Blogger Bella - 9-5-2018

     Guess What?????  It’s that time of the season! You guessed it, choreography camp is ready to strike! It is something that is favored or highly disliked. Personally I LOVE choreo! Today I am going to share with you some tips or tricks that help me get through the week.

    First, we should talk about jumps. Jumps are a very crucial part of the routine. Everyone wants to be the point person for jumps, but sadly not everyone can. One of the best things you can do is stretch to build your flexibility and leg strength. Find a cheer sister and you can help each other get better.

   Another tip is for tumble and it is super simple. The key words are WARM UP!!!! Get to choreo early and warm up those tumbling skills. Everyone can afford to polish their skills. PRACTICE…PRACTICE…PRACTICE!!   Once practice starts, you will look like a pro!

   

   Next is dance, which is one of my favorite parts of the routine. This is where you find out if you are Beyonce or just a block of cheese! The key is to make sure you are clean, sharp, and have good facials. If you don’t feel a little silly, you aren’t doing it right. If you can get it together, even a block of cheese can magically turn into a sassy pepper jack. J

   

   Last, but not least, stay positive! The spots you get during choreography might not be the same throughout the season. So don’t get down on yourself if you spend some time in the back of the routine. Good work ethic and some extra time in the gym will help.

  

     I hope these tips help you as much as they helped me and good luck!!!

Signing Off,

Bella

50 Cheer Gyms... 50 States - East Coast Extreme ( 24 of 50)

The twenty-fourth gym I would like to introduce you to is East Coast Extreme out of Powells Point, NC.

Owners/Cheer Director:

Summer Meads

Coaches:

Summer Meads Laura Branham

Colors: 

pink, blue, and white

Years Opened:

Opened in 2012

What cheer competitions have you really enjoyed competing in the most?   

 We enjoyed US FINALS an the D2 SUMMIT. We thought both had a great environment and the kids enjoyed their time competing and spending time together.

What championship or placement are you most proud of at your gym? 

 Our youth 1 had only 2 kids that had cheered before, the rest new and they went to US FINALS against 30 teams and placed 1st. The excitement on their faces will always be remembered!

What is something you would like our readers to know about your gym? 

Our gym started out with one small team and over the years we have grown to six teams and many undefeated seasons. Our gym has been a small family from the start and we will always keep that environment for everyone to feel like they belong. Our motto is teamwork makes the dream work because every kid matters.

The website for this cheer gym is:

eastcoastextreme.biz

Pictures: