The School Down the Lane

Go ahead…I dare ‘ya!

This has nothing to do with school but it’s been bugging me for awhile and this is my blog after all so what better place to air my greivences…right?  Right.  Read on.

There seem to be two main themes when it comes to cheerleading.  1.  it isn’t really a sport and 2.  it’s one of the most dangerous sports out there.  OK, putting aside the issue that there is no way those two statements can both be true (after all how can it be the most dangerous sport when it isn’t one?)  they both show inherent misunderstanding about the sport  itself

I am going to address allstar cheerleading here, mostly because it is what I am most familiar with, but also because it makes my point better.  Hey, it’s still my blog right?  That’s right. 

All star cheer teams exist for one purpose only…to compete.  They do so several times a year.  They are judged, scored and can qualify for regionals, nationals and even worlds.  Their performances consist of dance, tumbling, stunting and jumps.  If you want a run down on what all these things are Ms Pinapple’s Cheer Page  has good explinations and pictures.  You might also want to check out some videos on youtube (try doing a search for cheerleading worlds).  If you are unfamiliar with all star cheerleading you’ll probably be amazed. 

Frankly, these girls work darn hard!  In any given practice we stretch and warm up, do conditioning, practice tumbling skills, jumps and learn/work on our dance as well as putting together stunts and then putting it all together in a way that is entertaining to watch.  No small feat I assure you! 

Besides the competition aspect, all star teams follow safety standards put forth by the United States All Star Federation which include age levels, skill levels and skill progression standards.  The USASF is the all important governing agency of all star cheer.  Not all gyms need to be certified currently (and I actually don’t think that’s a bad thing, but that’s another post)  but they all must follow the age and skill levels in their routines or be disqualified.  So…if I have a level 1 team I cannot perform any skills above the USASF standards for that level or we’ll lose points or be disqulified.  Failing to execute skills correctly will also lose my team points, so I (as a coach) would not try and push my kids beyond their current skill level in competition.  Skill level progress in a way that makes sense so children learn to perfect lower level skills before moving on.  For instance…one legged stunts can only be done below prep (shoulder) level in level 1, at prep level  at level 2 and in extention (above shoulder level) at level 3.   Tumbling skills also progress in the same way.  Level 1 allows only skills as far as cartwheels, round offs, front and back walkovers, level 2 adds single back handsprings and level three adds in series handspings and tucks.  Of course there are ways around the skill prgression aspect of the USASF…a coach can start inexperienced cheerleaders at level 3 for instance.  However, it will likely blow up in their faces. 

So what is the definition of a sport anyway? This is from thefreedictionary.com:

1. a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
b. A particular form of this activity.

2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

Does cheerleading involve physical activity/exertion?  YES

Does cheerleading have a set of rules/customs?  YES

Is cheerleading undertaken competitively?  YES

That is all.

As to the *most dangerous sport* claim I have real difficulty believing that.  How can cheerleading be more dangerous then football?  Lacrosse? Rugby?  Of course there is also the study done by AACCA  which pretty much debunks that claim.  This is not to say that cheerleading should not have safety standards and rules.  It should and that is why the USASF is so important.  Personally I would like to see it become easier (IE-less costly and not requiring travel) to become a USASF certified coach but that’s another post yet again. 

Anyway……there are my thought on the subject.  You milage may vary.

We got off ot rather a slow start with our Halloween holiday here at School Down the Lane.  Scheduling issues kept us from deocrating until the second week in October…almost unheard of  for us!  Then I came down with the plague of the damned  Swine flu almost immediately after that.  Frankly, halloween has been the last thing on my mind!

That changed this week.  I was able to get in the (Halloween) spirit at last!

I put together good bags for my cheerleaders.  I bought pumpkins.  I planned our Halloween party. 

Which was tonight!

Yesterday evening the kids carved their pupmkins. 

M didn’t want to carve…but she put in her order for a Jack pumpkin:

B really got into it…he designed this one himself and couldn’t be more proud!

Even C got into it and carved her’s with a picture of Cheese!

With our outdoor decorations all set, we had our party today!  We had lots of good food, like chili (bloody guts), sliced hot dogs in BBQ sauce (worms), hummus, Buffulo chicken dip, salsa,  and the highlight of the evening……Mummy dogs!

We also had lots of dessert like cupcakes,

skeleton finger pops

and decorate your own cookies.

Besides the cookies we had a couple of other fun things to do.  We had a potions table:

and make a candle holder station.

The candle holder activity came from one I found on Our Best Bites.  They used a mason jar, but I couldn’t find any so I got votive holders instead and just let the kids go free form with some Halloween tissue paper.  You can see the freshly finished holder in the picture…they will look less cloudy when dry, but ours aren’t dry yet.

Of course we also had some really good costumes

and some not so good ones

I’m not sure what W thought he was dressing as but M was determined to protect him from the humiliation of preseving it on film

B’s costume was a bit cooler, he was a pit crew worker.  You can see him here pretending to drink spider vemon (which was actually white vinager).

Everyone had a great time!  Now on to trick or treat tomorrow…hopefully M will actually put on her costume for that!

we were all able to leave the house tonight and I must say…what a relief! 

B has been feeling better for almost a week now and he’s been driving. me. crazy. 

 M was so ready to go back to school.

K and W never really got very sick and have been slowly going stir crazy.

I have been getting way to used to sitting on the couch, staying up too late and sleeping in.

In short we all needed to get out and socialize…STAT!  Off to the dance studio!

We all got a little something tonight…B got to breakdance, K got to teach and hang with some of the other teens, I got to talk with some other moms and teach cheer (one of my favorite things!), M got to use my laptop and dance and even W had fun…he went to Home Depot

Tomorrow is our Halloween Party which should be a lot of fun and then Saturday it’s off to the local museum for trick or treat! 

It’s good to be back to normal…..or at least what passes for it around here LOL!

So let’s see……since I last posted I have developed bronchitis and recovered from both it and (mostly) the swine flu.  B  has progressed through the worst of the flu and also developed bronchitis.  We are both on antibiotics and recovering.  I’ve even gotten to the point where I can do something physical and not dissolve into a coughing fit.  B is not,,,but despite that fact he was darn upset with me when I wouldn’t let him go to breakdancing

Also M came down with it on Wednesday.  I got a call from school saying that she had a fever and please could we come and get her?  Umm…yeah. She’s been home ever since.  The coughing started Friday and then so did the vomiting   She’s in bed right now with a bowl.  Right now K says her chest “feels tight” and W has been complaining of congestion all day. 

I think we’ll be spending the weekend on the couch…again.

The good news is that I tested posative for swine flu. Why is that good news you ask?  Well, because we have an “official” case in the house everyone can now be treated with antivirals.  W picked them up this morning and everyone has had their dose.  I’ll admit to being more then a little nervous about using them but in the end, after weighing the pros and cons, we decided to go ahead and take them.  By we I mean everyone but me.  Apparently it’s too late for me.

Let’s hope it does some good because having W and K out for two weeks is not really going to work. K is taking two academic classes outside the home, taking two dance classes and teaching two cheer classes.  W is..well…kind of a baby when he’s sick and besides with both of us unable go into public places who will buy the food?

Just kidding.   Kinda.

Still not a lot of school going on although K has been able to attend all her classes this week and keep up with her work as well as read her Brit Lit so that’s good.  All bets are off for next week there but B and I should be able to pick things up again.  I have some work to catch up on for cheer too so spending the week at home might not be too bad a thing.

Or maybe I’m just trying to find a silver lining where there isn’t one.