10-8-07
Wow this summer flew by! I can't believe it's been five months since my last update. I appreciate your patience and support.

This past spring and summer I've really been at a crossroads in my life. Katie graduated and is now in college and living away from home. Also, I felt that I really needed to take an honest look at where LiB is headed, where I want it to go. After Worlds, I felt very strongly that coaching/offering all star teams was not for me. I think it's an amazing area of cheerleading but given the state of high school cheerleading in Michigan and its effect on all star, it's a struggle I don't want to take on. As much as I LOVED our team members and what we were accomplishing, the fit between me and LiB and all star just wasn't there. We gave it our all for two years, had a great time, and have now reevaluated the situation. My focus is now back on training and choreographing for high school teams. It's where my heart is.

This new opportunity with the Port Huron Icehawks hockey organization sort of fell into my lap. I was the right person in the right place at the right time. You know those times when you meet people and it just clicks? That's how it was with Cheer Michigan and myself. That's how it is with this organization and myself. I'm very excited to work for them and very excited to see the culmination of our efforts.

At this point, I feel I've passed through that crossroads and am coming out on the other side. And things are looking very bright over here!

5-7-07
I've spent the spring travelling to Jacksonville and Baltimore as an all star national judge and to Phoenix and Worlds in Orlando as a spectator. As my cheer travels have come to an end for this year, I want to share with my Michigan friends what is going on most everywhere else. I'm not passing judgement on who is right and who is wrong but I think it's important for Michigan coaches to be informed of where the rest of the country and now the world is headed.

Almost more important than what I've seen from teams is what I've heard while networking with other judges including Scott from Stingray All Stars (amazing program!) out of Georgia, Jim from Camp Jim on MTV and All Star Challenge owner Don Collins. I tried to explain Michigan's high school competition format and they don't get it. I had lengthy discussions with Jim who is back from coaching all star to coaching a high school program in New Jersey. In 2000 when I first began networking nationally, high school cheer associations were up in arms over all star programs taking their kids. In seven short years, they've learned to coexist. Important to note ~ kids can cheer both high school and all star everywhere else. High school has survived the all star onslaught for one indelible reason. There is nothing like cheering for your school, with your classmates, for your high school football and basketball teams. It's true in New Jersey. It's true in Michigan. No gym can offer that.

Here are the nuts and bolts of what is happening in the rest of the country:

MUSIC IS IN THE FORMAT ~ There are minor variations but the ONE required routine is basically the same from state to state. A team from Indiana could take a wrong turn on their way to finals, end up in Virginia and do alright with their routine. If they ended up at the Delta Plex, they'd be disqualified.

RUNNING TUMBLING/TUMBLING PASSES ~ This is a category in and of itself elsewhere. This is probably the biggest skill difference between MI and everyone else. With the MHSAA manual the way it is, I don't see this changing unless a courageous coach decides to break the mold, push her team, and ~ most importantly ~ scores well with it. In the meantime in the rest of the country, single full twisting layouts are a basic in high school because all star gyms are pushing for double fulls. This is pushing standing tumbling in both high school and all star from the basic team standing tucks to standing fulls. By the way, the standing tucks are very often connected to at least one jump because that is also a requirement.

STUNTING ~ You would think that there is a limit to what can be done in stunting particularly when inversion is illegal. All star teams competing in levels that can't invert can only differentiate themselves by cleanliness, flyer flexibilty, and creativity. They push the standard which pushes the high school teams where their kids also cheer. Very few MI teams push creativity at all and this is holding back stunting. The top teams will try something new (which keeps them at the top) and if they do well with it, others will try it next year. It's not purely the fault of the coaches. The coaches are completely influenced by judging. Our competitive cheer judges need to be more open to skills, styles, stunts, etc that thrive outside of the 80 pages of that manual.

I think that we've been told for over a decade now that MI is different because we're ahead of the rest of the country. Other states have looked at our format. NO ONE HAS ADOPTED IT! The more and more face time that high school and all star nationals get on Fox Sports and ESPN, the less and less we can deny the differences and, in particular, the directions we're headed in the future.

Please understand the love I have for high school cheerleading in our state. It is why I'm here. I LOVE my all star team members but there is nothing like the 13-year experience I had at Marysville. My best friends came from that experience. The athletes that came through that program touched my life in ways beyond description. I hope I've done the same for them. The daily 10-month long relationship, the four year commitment, the bonding, the motivation for both athlete and coach to be there can't be duplicated.

The MI teams I choreograph for as always get a combination of working the manual and scoresheet for all it's worth plus pushing the entertainment and visual factors that I've brought back from around the country. I want school team cheerleading to remain relevant here. I don't want to see Michigan left behind. The time and dedication of coaches and judges here is extraordinary. I just think there is too much tunnel vision. We need to take it to the next level. We've grown complacent and are far too afraid to make a misstep to take a step forward. The argument that our little cheer island is cooler than EVERYONE else really can't be made anymore.

3-28-07
Hey all! I can't believe it's been so long since I last updated this page. My sincere apologies. This season was crazy busy and won't be over for me for another week as I fly off to Baltimore to judge another national championship. I like to take my time and form cohesive thoughts before I put them in writing here. I'm working on some ideas regarding Michigan cheerleading in comparison to the rest of the U. S. Give me a little more time and another weekend of exposure to new ideas and I'll get back to you soon.

In the meantime, coaches and team members, enjoy some much deserved time off. I was so fortunate to work with so many of you striving to take your programs to the next level. Your level of dedication has been very admirable and keeps me inspired to do my job which is to help you get there. Enjoy your spring and time with your loved ones.

11-24-06
Last Friday the coaching world lost a great man, Glen E. "Bo" Schembechler. He was the head coach of the University of Michigan football team for twenty-one years and was their winningest coach. He was outspoken, opinionated and it irritated people because he was always right. His tenacity helped shape Big Ten policy. His incredibly high expectations made Michigan football into a perennial force and his influence has continued even seventeen years after his retirement. His passion for coaching left an indelible mark on me, a high school cheerleading coach.

Soon after Bo retired, a few videos were released featuring interviews with him regarding his career. It's no secret that my husband is the world's biggest U of M football fan. Of course he got the tapes. About the same time, I began my coaching career at Marysville. I was hugely influenced by what he had to say and how he conducted himself. I showed the video of what he expected of his captains to my team captains. He could inspire with words like none other.

Bo was a man with a strong sense of family. He included his son, Shemy (nicknamed after Bo's father) in the family "business" and the two of them could be seen together on the sidelines throughout the 80's. I listened in the car to his son speaking about Bo at the memorial service at Michigan Stadium. I was on my way to work with the varsity team at Hazel Park. It was another day in the long line of fifteen years of days that took me away from my daughter. All of the days that I've been able to include her in our family business have been a blessing. If someday my daughter were to say half the wonderful things Shemy said, I will be a fortunate woman. Bo had his priorities in order.

Bo Schembechler was a man of principle. He couldn't turn a blind eye to bad grades. He recruited by talking with impressionable young men about the importance of tradition and "the team, the team, the team". He couldn't be bought. When he was courted by Texas A & M, he apologized publicly for entertaining the idea for as long as he did. He couldn't take the job or the obscene amount of money...he was a Michigan man. Imagine that today. That kind of loyalty.

Bo's manner of coaching which emphasized discipline, consistency, and integrity is now labeled "old school". What a shame. He may well have been the last of his kind. I will miss him.

7-17-06
The following is called "The Bhudda Story". I first heard it from Terri Cooper at Cheer! Michigan years ago. It's a great story and can be applied to so many situations. Enjoy.

The Buddha Story (one of many!)

Many moons ago (somewhere about 500 BC), there was a man named Buddha (The Enlightened ~ or Awakened One), who, though born a prince, spent his entire adult life teaching and preaching people about the benefits of living life through kindness, perspective and enlightenment. People thought Buddha was an extraordinary teacher and prophet and aspired to live a better life by following his wisdom and insight.

But all good people and good teachers have their skeptics. In Buddha’s case, there was a man from far away who hated what Buddha stood for, and set out to prove that his teachings were wrong and that he didn’t deserve the love and respect was receiving. This angry man traveled for months to reach Buddha and with each passing day his anger grew. By the time he reached Buddha and gained permission to sit with him, he could barely contain his rage.

The angry man faced Buddha and belittled everything Buddha and his followers stood for. Buddha remained composed and smiled calmly. The angry man called Buddha names and slandered his family and friends. Buddha never broke eye contact with the angry man, but remained peaceful and relaxed. The angry man was well into his 2nd hour of rage, his voice getting louder and louder, when Buddha, quietly asked, “Sir, may I please ask you a question?”

The angry man paused and spat, “What is it, old man? And make it quick. I am not done with you yet.”

Buddha smile, unruffled by the rage. “If you had come here bearing wonderful gifts for me and as you tried to give me those gifts, I refused to take them from you, who then, would they belong to?”

The angry man grunted and laughed like a madman. “You stupid old man. If I brought you a gift and you refused to take it, then it would still belong to me.”

Buddha smiled again and talked softly to the angry man. “Well then, my friend ~ if I sit here and refuse to accept all of your anger and hostility, who then, do they belong to?"

 

If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success. John D. Rockefeller A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown. Denis Waitley