Kids and baseball

[RoyalShock]

https://youtu.be/br9sUwOShKI

"Explosive gas you get from eating an entire bag of dried apricots."

"Turn your cleats sideways and download them into the opponents' fart chimneys."

This guy is a master motivator!!!

[MoValley John]

https://youtu.be/Re89h8fbLHI

[RoyalShock]

Cheer is the worst, by far. It's dangerous, many coaches don't have proper safety training and it's a racquet controlled by one company, Varsity. I have no idea how cheer took off the way it did, nor how Varsity maintains a stranglehold on all aspects of the business.

My future step-daughter does competitive cheer. The gym she competes with does things mostly the right way, as best they can given the environment. But it's another year-round activity that costs a couple grand (on top of multiple fundraisers) not including travel expenses. It requires 2-3 evenings a week of practice. All of that to travel to 5-6 weekend competitions between November and March in KC, Tulsa, OKC and Dallas where they'll perform once or twice (depending on if it's a one or two day event) for roughly 2-3 minutes. That means that they spend all that money and put in all that work for what amounts to less than 30 minutes of actual performance in a year. If they are "lucky" enough to receive a bid to a true national competition, tack on another grand.

Surprisingly, there is more than just Varsity running these competitions. In fact, I don't see or hear their name nearly as much as I expected. Having a year of exposure now I still don't get why it's such a big deal. If it were a spectator sport, I'd get it.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

One thing that has drastically changed in youth baseball is what games kids are playing. I have a son at Westurban, and some of the best 10 & 11 year old teams have already stopped playing league games. They have chosen to play exclusively tournaments. Westurban no longer has leagues past 8th grade. You play tournaments only or you don't play.

Cheer is the worst, by far. It's dangerous, many coaches don't have proper safety training and it's a racquet controlled by one company, Varsity. I have no idea how cheer took off the way it did, nor how Varsity maintains a stranglehold on all aspects of the business.

Our gym here is fairly safe. But still. All that lifting, jumping and tumbling is hard on anybody especially little girls. But to your earlier point talk about spending alot of money for nothing.

[RoyalShock]

Our gym here is fairly safe. But still. All that lifting, jumping and tumbling is hard on anybody especially little girls. But to your earlier point talk about spending alot of money for nothing.

ICT? Eclipse? Storm?

[MoValley John]

Surprisingly, there is more than just Varsity running these competitions. In fact, I don't see or hear their name nearly as much as I expected. Having a year of exposure now I still don't get why it's such a big deal. If it were a spectator sport, I'd get it.

There are two, maybe three competitors, nationwide. Everytime an outsider gets a toehold, Varsity pounces. This measage board sums it up:

https://www.fierceboard.com/threads/varsity-all-star-acquires-spirit-celebration.45888/page-2

[RoyalShock]

There are two, maybe three competitors, nationwide. Everytime an outsider gets a toehold, Varsity pounces. This measage board sums it up:
www.fierceboard.com/threads/varsity-all-star-acquires-spirit-celebration.45888/page-2

Spirit and Jamz were the other two I'd heard of. Figures.

EDIT: I forgot about US Cheer and US All-Star. Please don't tell me Varsity owns them, too.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

ICT? Eclipse? Storm?

Eclipse. We did Storm for 1 year which was great but when they changed hands on coaching/directorship we figured if we were gonna make a change that would be the time to do so.

[shocktheheart]

Cheer is the worst, by far. It's dangerous, many coaches don't have proper safety training and it's a racquet controlled by one company, Varsity. I have no idea how cheer took off the way it did, nor how Varsity maintains a stranglehold on all aspects of the business.

I'm in physical therapy right now for dislocating my knee cap and I asked the PT what sport for boys she sees the most and for girls. Boys for soccer and cheerleading for girls. Would see at least one of each of those athletes every week I was in there.

[RoyalShock]

Eclipse. We did Storm for 1 year which was great but when they changed hands on coaching/directorship we figured if we were gonna make a change that would be the time to do so.

It seems Storm is struggling, from what I've heard. Our gym in Hutch (with a former Storm coach) is getting some who previously competed for them.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

I'm in physical therapy right now for dislocating my knee cap and I asked the PT what sport for boys she sees the most and for girls. Boys for soccer and cheerleading for girls. Would see at least one of each of those athletes every week I was in there.

Friend of mines daughter is pretty damn advanced for her age skill wise but shes had a ton of issues since she started cheer. All primarily wrist related due to tumbling and then of course no rest. At least in baseball you let your players arm rest and they can still hit etc.

It seems Storm is struggling, from what I've heard. Our gym in Hutch (with a former Storm coach) is getting some who previously competed for them.

Our time with Storm was awesome. Due it being the Y it was really priced right but the coaches were really great. I assume you're speaking about EJ as per FB I know he's doing some things in Hutch. I was sure if Jay went up there or not but he did alot of stuff with WSU cheer in the late 90's and 2000's.EJ was really good with the kids and pushed my daughter quite a bit. He took the "show and prove" approach with her and she responded well.

[shockerfanmas]

We probably would've been lucky to get that many games in a full year. KSHSAA limits teams to a 20 game regular season with 25 games being the maximum you can play throughout the state championship. Probably 35 games over the summer, then we would only really play fall ball games against local jucos, usually only 4 or 5 games.

KSHSAA is so far behind the times in so many areas it's not even funny. Do you still have contact with Standiford? I've been trying to get ahold of him to discuss coaching

[RoyalShock]

Our time with Storm was awesome. Due it being the Y it was really priced right but the coaches were really great. I assume you're speaking about EJ as per FB I know he's doing some things in Hutch. I was sure if Jay went up there or not but he did alot of stuff with WSU cheer in the late 90's and 2000's.EJ was really good with the kids and pushed my daughter quite a bit. He took the "show and prove" approach with her and she responded well.

Yes, it's EJ. He still has some learning curve left in terms of leadership (he's young, so not at all surprising), but he does a good job and is well-liked. I've heard Jay's name mentioned, I think in the context of being EJ's mentor and maybe choreography?

[1972Shocker]

I don't think it is necessarily bad to try to excel in anyting as long as a proper balance and perspective is maintained. And clearly there are the right way to do things in terms of attitude, sportsmanship and the long-term health of the athlete and the wrong way.

Anything can be done to excess. Even good things. Jackie Stiles comes to mind. Perhaps no harder worker than Jackie but the wear and tear on her body eventually caught up with her. She got pretty good mileage out her body, but she just put the miles on at an accelerated rate.

[DJShocker10]

KSHSAA is so far behind the times in so many areas it's not even funny. Do you still have contact with Standiford? I've been trying to get ahold of him to discuss coaching

I haven't talked to him too much recently. I kept in touch with him when I was in school mainly to keep tabs on some buddies I played JUCO and summer ball with. I have thought quite a bit about getting in touch with him and trying to do some coaching as well but work for me is very busy during baseball season.