The Coaching Trials

Ok so we have all felt exasperated at our childrens coaches from time to time, and sometimes our concerns are founded. But if you don’t trust your childs coach, how will they? I have felt disappointed in the past when I was told my daughter wasn’t ready for something, and as a parent I felt that she was. I am not ashamed to say that I was wrong. When she was ready she was awarded the opportunity, and in the intervening months had learnt so much that she was able to cope with the pressures her new spot afforded her.

I hate not being in control, so relinquishing it to someone else when she leaves my car and walks into a building is tough for me! I am lucky, really, really lucky. I have found coaches for my little cheerleader who have never stopped supporting her, believing in her, calling her out when she isn’t putting in enough effort, and giving her amazing opportunities for her to challenge herself with.

One coach in particular has an affinity with my daughter that I have never seen before, and if I’m honest I am a little envious of their closeness and how they can understand each other by just looking at the others face. Its like they have internal intercoms, I can ask one what the other is thinking and they will be on the money every time!

She is impossibly naïve and I have spent many times howling laughing while trying to explains the difference between countries and continents to her in my kitchen while using various household items to demonstrate! (I have found that expensive handbags and makeup seem to work the best) or how the strength of an alcoholic beverage doesn’t change if you pour some of it out, just the amount that’s in the bottle………(yes these are genuine debates and I didn’t make them up for comedic value)…..

But I digress, a coach who is in their job for the right reason will always make your child a better person, and not just in a “now I can flick tuck” kind of way. They will teach them to push when they think there’s nothing left to give, believe when they don’t think they can, get back up after a fall and try again, kindness to others when things go wrong, and be part of a team!

Cheerleading teaches children so much more than just what to do on the mat, and a real coach teaches these lessons.

BCA

Yesterday was the last competition of the season for one of my daughters 2 cheer teams, so off we went to Newcastle for one last time on the mat in 2017/18.

The journey there showed me just how much my cheerleader has grown up this season, watching her apply her own makeup as I drove! We had a really fun day, and as always I barely saw her from the second we walked in, as she is too busy off with her cheer family! She is 12, and the youngest member of this team, but that makes no difference at all to the adult members, she is one of them.

The best experience of the day was watching the IOC5 team from our program perform. There are a couple of members of that team who are really close to my heart, and as a team they have had a tough season. Not yesterday......

They set, the music started, opening tumbles hit and I swear the air literally turned electric! Stunt after stunt went up and bang hit, hit, hit! There was sass, stunting and tumbling all at 10 on the richter scale! This team deserved this, so much and I felt privileged to be witnessing it. They hit zero and placed 2nd, best placing of the season, watching them realise they had achieved what they set out to do was amazing.

The journey there showed me just how much my cheerleader has grown up this season, watching her apply her own makeup as I drove! We had a really fun day, and as always I barely saw her from the second we walked in, as she is too busy off with her cheer family! She is 12, and the youngest member of this team, but that makes no difference at all to the adult members, she is one of them.

From The Bow to the Toe

I’ve always wanted to do something that was my own, my little life adventure that I could be proud of. The first time I walked in to a cheerleading competition, I was enamored by the noise, the cheering, the clouds of hairspray, the lipsticks being passed round, the flashing lights and most of all the sparkle!

I LOVE things that sparkle, glitter, shimmer or shine. So much so that driving past a shoe shop is a perilous activity for me. So, when I saw the magic of cheer bows, I knew I had to figure out a how to make these things of beauty myself. After many many hours of experiments, failed and successful I have my Bow to Toe empire.

Small to some, admired by others, and hoping to bring a little bit more sparkle to the world, one bow at a time.

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