Tag: Coaches

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In Review News

In Review – December 2019

Welcome to 2020. Here’s some of the news to close out 2019.

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Editorials

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! As one year ends and another begins many of us think of the changes we’re going to make to our lives. Sometimes it’s adding something and other times it’s removing something. For those of you in the cheer and dance community I’d like to suggest changing points of view. For the next year as you watch teams try to identify something they do extremely well. This could range from the things directly reflected on the score sheet to intangibles like lots of positive floor talk. I think this change of perspective, to looking for the good, will make us more positive as a whole.

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Editorials

Know Your Role

As a coach do you realize how significant your role can be in a child’s life? If you name the adults a child spends the most time with in a year the list will probably start with Mom & Dad, then move to their teacher. The person after that may very well be a coach. I figure Mom & Dad get a couple hours with a child per week day and a little more on the weekend.  A teacher probably gets a little over an hour a day, maybe 7.5 hours per week. A coach gets a couple hours per practice a couple days a week, maybe 4 hours. School doesn’t go year round while our sports typically do so that pulls the teacher and coach closer over the span of a year. Once you factor in children rarely having the same teacher for multiple years, but often having the same coach for multiple years it becomes very possible the coach could be a clear third.

Do you appreciate your role as one of the most consistent adults in a child’s life and do you use that role and time to help shape the child into a better person. I hope you answer with a resounding Yes!

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Announcements News

USASF: Are You Competition Ready? (2019-20)

USASF Logo 2018Dear USASF Coaches and Program Owners,

Competition season is upon us. Are you competition ready? Join Regional Directors Glenda Broderick and Robin Galik as they walk you through the steps to ensure you are prepared for your 2019-2020 events and fully understand compliance, eligibility, rostering, and more!

SELECT THE TIME THAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU

  • October 16, 2019 at 12:00pm EDT
  • October 16, 2019 at 9:00pm EDT

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Can’t join us at the times listed? Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording.

Be sure to check The Connection for a posting of the webinar and further discussion.

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Editorials

Connect the Kids

A long time ago, when I first started coaching Tiny and Mini aged kids, I was told kids won’t do anything for you until they think you care about them. This was quickly proven true. At that age some of the kids instantly decide you are best friends and you are good from the first moment. Others are a little more suspicious of new people and it takes more effort to build trust and rapport with them, so step 1 was getting the kids to like you.

A recent conversation with a coach reminded me that sometimes competitiveness in this area isn’t the best thing. The conversation was about a coach who was so determined to be every child’s favorite that he was in some ways cutting down the other coaches to improve his position. Even though I think wanting to be the favorite can be a good thing I don’t think doing it at the expense of others is good. I hope coaches are putting in effort to ensure each kid connects with someone on staff without getting too caught up on being the one each kid connects with. It is great to be the coach every kid loves, but much more important that every kid feels loved.

 

 

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Editorials

Certifiably Challenged

I’ve worked scoring and deduction challenges at several events in the past, usually on the deductions side, but occasionally on the scoring side. In doing this I’ve been part of and have overheard many discussions related to scoring and rules in our industry and it has left me with an idea for an experiment.

I’d like to see what would happen if a major event required the coach to be certified in that category to be able to challenge a score. Using legality deductions as an example, only USASF certified judges would be able to challenge a legality issue. The exception I would add for legality concerns is if the skill was sent in via the USASF Coach App. If you aren’t certified and didn’t send it in there is no opportunity to get a legality deduction reviewed. Similarly on the scoring side, you’d need to be a certified building judge to challenge your stunt score, etc.

I believe this would accomplish a couple things. First, I think it would incentivize coaches to better educate themselves regarding the scoring system or rules. Some coaches are already doing a great job of this on their own, others have shown up to challenge scores and as I was showing where what was performed fell on the scoring rubric, they asked where I got it (the rubric) and asked if they could get a copy.

Second, I believe this would reduce the number of baseless challenges giving the challenge representatives more time to work with coaches on the legitimate challenges. And to help keep the number of baseless challenges minimal I would also have a method for revoking a certification a lack of knowledge is demonstrated in a coaching role just as it is if a lack of knowledge is shown in a judging role.

On top of that to keep the interactions professional I’d reserve the right to revoke the certifications of those not being professions, removing their ability to challenge for the remainder of the season. There are several logistics that would need to be worked out to make this a reality, but I think it would be worth trying.

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Announcements News

USASF: Is Your Eligibility Up-to-Date?

With the start of a new Membership Term (June 1st), have you taken the necessary steps to be eligible this event season? NEWfor the 2019-20 season, all Owners, Coaches, and Personnel must be SafeSport trained. Find out more here. #DontbelikeDiana

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Announcements News

USASF: Learn About The Dance Rules And Age Grid

USASF Logo 2018Join Meredith Walker, Director of Rules and Safety, for the 2019 Dance Rules and Age Grid Webinar.  Open to Owners, Coaches, and Event Producers, the webinar will cover the updates to the Dance Rules and Age Grid document and will conclude with a Q&A.

Registration is required.

2019 Dance Rules and Age Grid Webinar

Wednesday, June 19th at 11:00am CST | 12:00 EST

(The Registration Link was included in the email)

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Announcements News

USA Cheer: Rules Training for Coaches and Officials!

USA Cheer LogoUSA Cheer announces the first ever comprehensive safety rules course!

Unlike other rules training that primarily reviews new rules, this 4-part course covers the entire spectrum of the high school cheerleading rules. There are two courses available, with one geared towards coaches and another with additional fifth training section for rules officials.

The course is developed by the USA Cheer rules committee which is led by rules experts Bill Ahern and Jim Lord, both of whom are also advisers to the NFHS rules committee. The course is designed to be compatible with both the USA Cheer and NFHS safety rules, and should serve as the foundation for rules understanding for any cheerleading coach or choreographer.

The course will be updated each year, along with a “new rules” add-on for coaches who have completed the comprehensive training.

For more information, and to complete the USA Cheer Safety Rules Course, click below and select “Responsibilities and General Rules (Part 1)” from the “HS Rules” section. Join USA Cheer for course discounts!

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Announcements News

USASF: Join USASF this Summer!

National Meeting

Elevate yourself. Elevate your program. Elevate All Star!

Join USASF this summer at the National Meeting in Dallas, TX August 10-11. Log in to your COACH profile, select Credentialing Website from the drop down menu at the top right, then select MEETINGS AND EVENTS on the left side to register. Click here for general information and the block schedule.

See what the excitement is about!

Coaches & Owners

Integrity Motivates People And Cultures to Transform (IMPACT). Coaches and owners will make an IMPACT on their athletes, program and fellow coaches by participating in this leadership series exclusively for All Star Cheer and Dance professionals. Click here for details

Cheer & Dance Leaders

Bettering Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT) activates young cheer and dance leaders to become strong peer role models who put team first, fully commit to their All Star program and learn to make the choices that lead to accomplishment. Developed and led by alumni of the USASF Mentoring Leaders program, BOLT will set young athletes on their path to success. Click here for details

Male All Star Athletes

A leadership program just for male All Star athletes! Males Advancing Respect, Character and Honor (MARCH) builds confident, strong, principled and motivated male leaders, and prepares them to lead their peers, their team, their All Star programs and in their extended community. Click here for details

Athlete Leadership

Developed for ALL All Star athletes. Want to transform your athletes into leaders for their teammates, their program and their community? Join USASF this summer! Watch this testimonial by Drake #leadershipforlife

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Announcements News

USASF Cheer Rules & Policy Change

Cheer Coaches and Owners

Want to make a change to the Cheer Rules & Policies for the 2019-2021 seasons? Find out how and complete this form.

Deadline: June 1, 2018

Editor’s Note – We omitted the link to the form in this article. The link was included in the email sent to USASF members.

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Announcements News

USASF: Cheer & Dance Updates

Cheer Credentialing Update

Cheer Coach Credentialing has been updated in the database. Please log into your coach profile and review the credentials that appear on your dashboard. If your dashboard does not display credentials or you believe the data that is showing is incorrect, follow this link and let us know.

Dance Rules & Policy Change Suggestions

Dance coaches and owners, have suggestions for existing rules? The 2018-19 Dance Rules & Policy Change Form is now available. We’d love to hear from you.

Policy change submission deadline: March 1, 2018.

Is this Legal?

Don’t risk legality points at an event when you could have your skill reviewed before you compete and know if it’s legal or not!

Cheer: Is this Legal? | Dance: Is this Legal?

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Announcements News

USASF: ID Cards

ID cards for Coaches, Owners, and Personnel will be available to order on February 12.

Coach and Owner ID cards: can be requested through your Coach profile. All coaches and owners will receive one card (at no charge) each membership term. Additional cards can be ordered for $10 each.

Personnel ID cards: need to be ordered by the Program Administrator. All personnel are eligible to receive one card (at no charge) each membership term. Additional cards can be ordered for $10 each.

If you have questions or need additional assistance please send an email to [email protected]

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Announcements News

USASF: Are You Election Ready?

Eligible Coaches & Owners will be asked to cast their ballot in the National Advisory Board Election between February 12-15. Ballots will be emailed on February 12. Log into your Member Profile today and make sure your email address is accurate!

To find out more about the NAB Election Process, visit Cheer NAB and Dance NAB pages.

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Announcements News

USASF: New Ways to Connect With the USASF in 2018

For the past several years, the USASF has held Regional Conventions as an educational and community-building opportunity for coaches and owners. Attendees networked with each other, learned from a variety of speakers, earned their coach credentials, and received hands-on education related to rules.

Each year, USASF staff reviewed the successes and challenges to prepare for the following season. While the conventions were an extremely beneficial experience for the attendees, only 16% of member coaches and owners were able to attend. Cost, travel and scheduling conflicts kept participation low.

We had the hard conversation that we were investing a lot of resources and time but only reaching a small percentage of membership. What could we do with those same resources to make information and tools easily accessible to the majority of our members? We’ve got three opportunities in the works:

National Meeting

Rather than dilute the experience across five Regional Conventions, the USASF will conduct one National Meeting in 2018. Mark your calendars for August 10-12, and plan to be in Dallas, TX for a brand new meeting experience! The meeting takes place on the 10th and 11th, and includes a special All Star celebration Friday night. Make plans to stay, and have your athletes join you on Sunday, for coach and athlete leadership training. Cheer and Dance Legality Official training will also occur during this weekend. So, block these dates and stay tuned for details!

Online Resources

Online accessibility to many of the same opportunities that were presented in person at conventions brings the USASF directly to all members! Our first online resource is the launch of the Rules & Safety Video Library that illustrates nearly every Rule and Glossary term for the USASF Cheer & Dance Rules & Safety Guidelines.

Do you ever ask yourself “what exactly does that rule mean?” Just click the links and we’ll show you! Log in to your USASF member profile, then go to the drop down menu in the top right corner, select “Visit USASF Rules Video Library” and start clicking! Stay tuned for additional online resources to be introduced soon and regularly!

Partnering

USASF has already been partnering with our event producer members at their events and conferences to offer Cheer Coach Credentialing, Legality Official training, Leadership classes and education about USASF programs and initiatives. We will continue, and expand, these partnerships in an ongoing effort to reach more members.

Join Us!

Connect with the USASF in all the ways that are convenient to YOU! Attend the National Meeting, access our growing library of online resources, and support the events and conferences hosted by our event producer members. Wherever you are, we’ll meet you there!