My first year to be involved in the All Star world was 1994. This emerging sport was in its infancy and modeled very closely after the world of school cheerleading. Routines were similar, the rules were the same, and at that point, uniforms were identical to the high school uniform model. In most cases, the letters of the gym/program were simply embroidered on.
But All Star Cheerleading quickly evolved. And an All Star “team” became a “program,” which then became a “cheerleading gym.” Gyms were built as a business—albeit a business focused on the well being of children—but a business nonetheless. With the business came a new focus on marketing, branding, and identity. It can be argued that the programs that emerged as early industry leaders all had a similar characteristic in that their marketing and brand identity components were well thought out and executed.
Uniforms have moved light years beyond that first model from over 15 years ago. Uniforms and logos aren’t just created with the objective of making a squad look clean and sharp out on the floor; they are like billboards that sell an All Star program. A uniform or logo that is clean and crisp says your business is organized and professional. A uniform or logo that is flashy and shiny speaks to a program’s emphasis on performance and visual appeal.
Everyone can think of examples in which a local gym has become synonymous with an image or a logo just by association. When I say the name of a program, what image comes to your mind first? (I’ll put my response in parenthesis.)
World Cup (black and gold)
Cheer Athletics (the claw)
Ace of Alabama (an Indian)
Maryland Twisters (tornado logo)
We’ve come a long way from the days of picking team colors that rhymed well with the other words in your cheers. Now, selecting the colors, deciding on a mascot or theme, and creating a logo that will stand the test of time are crucial to developing a business.
I want to hear your perspective.
For those of you that used the success of your marketing strategy to build your business, how did your brand identity, logo and uniform come to be? Did you trip into an opportunity or was there a well thought out plan that made success inevitable?
And for everyone, what are some of your favorite identities in the All Star cheer and dance world? Who has done a great job, either with their identity, their logo, or their uniform selection in defining their program and communicating that to the masses?
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Cheerleading and the Media
Everyone has seen your typical cheerleading expose. The one on TV where the 'journalist' picks the loudest, most colorful coach, athlete, or cheer mom and puts them on display for the world to see like a zoo animal. The clips are strategically edited to make our sport to look as bad as possible.
We've all been frustrated by it. We want people to respect what we do and not assume that cheerleading has no depth, value or big-picture importance to society.
I've learned so much in recent years about how to handle myself in interviews or when dealing with people whose number one priority isn't the legitimacy of all star cheerleading. Rather than take the defensive and wait for an attack, let's take the OFFENSIVE, an idea of mine that some of my coworkers at Varsity inspired me with their new campaign "American Needs Cheerleaders." Periodic blogs on their site (http://americaneedscheerleaders.com) celebrate the positive contributions of cheerleaders OFF the competition floor and football field.
Also, the USASF created the Chairman's Cup. The Chairman's Cup is a contest where all star programs report on a philanthropic initiative that their program was responsible for executing. The required submission to enter the contest includes evidence of some sort of local media coverage. The USASF's goal is to drown the internet with POSITIVE stories associated with cheerleading. Unfortunately, the top stories that pop up online when you search for cheerleading include 'injury,' inappropriate choreography,' and 'felony.' The top phrases should be 'athlete,' community service,' and 'positive impact.'
Think about cheerleaders you know and an example of a great attribute that isn't necessarily related to winning first place, getting a Worlds Bid, or cheerleading at all. Let's drown our social media world with your positive stories about your athletes. Did your team fundraise $500 for the local Children's Hospital? Did one of your athletes get named Valedictorian of her high school class?
In the comment boxes below, post your story. If you are logged into Facebook while filling out the comments, your story will be posted both here and on your FB wall. Varsity All Star will select some of the best posts and repost them on our website and Facebook page. But more importantly, we will take a step towards cleaning up media's positioning of all star cheerlading as anything less than THE sport for your athletic women (and men).
Make sure you include 'cheerleader' when identifying your athletes. We want to make it very clear to anyone reading through your posts that the incredible individuals and teams being highlighted are CHEERLEADERS.
We've all been frustrated by it. We want people to respect what we do and not assume that cheerleading has no depth, value or big-picture importance to society.
I've learned so much in recent years about how to handle myself in interviews or when dealing with people whose number one priority isn't the legitimacy of all star cheerleading. Rather than take the defensive and wait for an attack, let's take the OFFENSIVE, an idea of mine that some of my coworkers at Varsity inspired me with their new campaign "American Needs Cheerleaders." Periodic blogs on their site (http://americaneedscheerleaders.com) celebrate the positive contributions of cheerleaders OFF the competition floor and football field.
Also, the USASF created the Chairman's Cup. The Chairman's Cup is a contest where all star programs report on a philanthropic initiative that their program was responsible for executing. The required submission to enter the contest includes evidence of some sort of local media coverage. The USASF's goal is to drown the internet with POSITIVE stories associated with cheerleading. Unfortunately, the top stories that pop up online when you search for cheerleading include 'injury,' inappropriate choreography,' and 'felony.' The top phrases should be 'athlete,' community service,' and 'positive impact.'
Think about cheerleaders you know and an example of a great attribute that isn't necessarily related to winning first place, getting a Worlds Bid, or cheerleading at all. Let's drown our social media world with your positive stories about your athletes. Did your team fundraise $500 for the local Children's Hospital? Did one of your athletes get named Valedictorian of her high school class?
In the comment boxes below, post your story. If you are logged into Facebook while filling out the comments, your story will be posted both here and on your FB wall. Varsity All Star will select some of the best posts and repost them on our website and Facebook page. But more importantly, we will take a step towards cleaning up media's positioning of all star cheerlading as anything less than THE sport for your athletic women (and men).
Make sure you include 'cheerleader' when identifying your athletes. We want to make it very clear to anyone reading through your posts that the incredible individuals and teams being highlighted are CHEERLEADERS.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
What Do You Look For In A Competition?
What do you look for in a competition?
If the answer were simple, there would only be one type of competition to choose from. Every competition company thinks they know the industry answer to this question. But more importantly, they think they know YOUR personal answer to that question. I've started to realize, in my old age of 34, that there is no wrong answer, but rather hundreds of correct ones.
I believe that competitions take on the personality of their leaders, implementing their philosophies and strengths. Our products are a blend of what you want and what we believe!
At NCA, the score sheet drives almost every important decision. We want our customers confident they got a fair shake from the judges during their 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the mat.
At Cheer Power, Regina Symons is passionate that every child feel special and every parent leave her Awards Ceremony excited about cheerleading. I've actually seen some parents leave their events with more awards than the kids!
At All Star Challenge, Don Collins and crew want innovation, theater and colorful drama! At their Battle Under The Big Top competition, the circus atmosphere begins with the website, carries through the lobby, and ends when a real circus performer hand you their trophy. It's quite an experience.
And ultimately, it's ALL important. You want a fair shake from the judges, you want your parents to fall in love with the competition, and you want your kids to experience the fun of a circus when they take the floor.
As a coach I picked events based on a nice Coaches Hospitality Rooms, free massages, and social opportunities with fellow coaches and good friends. As a Gym Manager, I liked events with low price points because it made my parents smile. And I always sprinkled in a few small, local competitions (with NO industry friends) because my junior team needed a confidence boost before getting to Nationals.
When I was younger, I thought my way was the best way - a snob, if you will. When I attended American Cheer Power as a coach, their staff threw me a beach ball to kick off the Awards Ceremony, I threw that beach ball right back at the staff! I wanted my trophy, why was everyone having fun?!? It was time for serious awards, darn it! But Cheer Power got it right. I'm smarter now. And if you give your customer what they want while giving them what you believe in, you can't get it wrong.
Here are some important questions to answer for your business when putting together your competition schedule:
- Is your program established?
- Do your parents need to have input with your schedule?
- Does your team need a dose of 'bad medicine' to jump start their work ethic?
- Does your team need an easy win to inspire their self-confidence?
- Is your team ready to travel and experience new competition from other parts of the country?
- Will you benefit more from a Worlds Bid or a first place trophy at the local high school?
- Do your parents need a pep rally?
- Is there even anything left in the budget to go to one more event?
I'm proud to be a part of Varsity All Star...a portfolio of offerings that cover the gamut. Between our 14 all star cheer and dance brands and hundreds of events, I guarantee we've got an experience that's PRECISELY what your business needs at that very moment. One Day, Two Day, Low Stress, Nationally Televised, Everyone Goes Home A Winner, Everyone Goes Home In The Top 20, we're committed to covering it. OK, no more sales pitch.
So tell us - what is it that YOU look for? What's important to you and your athletes? Be specific or be general. But most importantly, be honest. Your schedule depends on it.
If the answer were simple, there would only be one type of competition to choose from. Every competition company thinks they know the industry answer to this question. But more importantly, they think they know YOUR personal answer to that question. I've started to realize, in my old age of 34, that there is no wrong answer, but rather hundreds of correct ones.
I believe that competitions take on the personality of their leaders, implementing their philosophies and strengths. Our products are a blend of what you want and what we believe!
At NCA, the score sheet drives almost every important decision. We want our customers confident they got a fair shake from the judges during their 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the mat.
At Cheer Power, Regina Symons is passionate that every child feel special and every parent leave her Awards Ceremony excited about cheerleading. I've actually seen some parents leave their events with more awards than the kids!
At All Star Challenge, Don Collins and crew want innovation, theater and colorful drama! At their Battle Under The Big Top competition, the circus atmosphere begins with the website, carries through the lobby, and ends when a real circus performer hand you their trophy. It's quite an experience.
And ultimately, it's ALL important. You want a fair shake from the judges, you want your parents to fall in love with the competition, and you want your kids to experience the fun of a circus when they take the floor.
As a coach I picked events based on a nice Coaches Hospitality Rooms, free massages, and social opportunities with fellow coaches and good friends. As a Gym Manager, I liked events with low price points because it made my parents smile. And I always sprinkled in a few small, local competitions (with NO industry friends) because my junior team needed a confidence boost before getting to Nationals.
When I was younger, I thought my way was the best way - a snob, if you will. When I attended American Cheer Power as a coach, their staff threw me a beach ball to kick off the Awards Ceremony, I threw that beach ball right back at the staff! I wanted my trophy, why was everyone having fun?!? It was time for serious awards, darn it! But Cheer Power got it right. I'm smarter now. And if you give your customer what they want while giving them what you believe in, you can't get it wrong.
Here are some important questions to answer for your business when putting together your competition schedule:
- Is your program established?
- Do your parents need to have input with your schedule?
- Does your team need a dose of 'bad medicine' to jump start their work ethic?
- Does your team need an easy win to inspire their self-confidence?
- Is your team ready to travel and experience new competition from other parts of the country?
- Will you benefit more from a Worlds Bid or a first place trophy at the local high school?
- Do your parents need a pep rally?
- Is there even anything left in the budget to go to one more event?
I'm proud to be a part of Varsity All Star...a portfolio of offerings that cover the gamut. Between our 14 all star cheer and dance brands and hundreds of events, I guarantee we've got an experience that's PRECISELY what your business needs at that very moment. One Day, Two Day, Low Stress, Nationally Televised, Everyone Goes Home A Winner, Everyone Goes Home In The Top 20, we're committed to covering it. OK, no more sales pitch.
So tell us - what is it that YOU look for? What's important to you and your athletes? Be specific or be general. But most importantly, be honest. Your schedule depends on it.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
I Hope You Lose
“If losing didn’t hurt so bad, winning wouldn’t feel so good!”
***I initially wrote this message on February 24th, 2011, for my customers on the eve of NCA/NDA All-Star Nationals.
Today is the day before check-in at our All-Star Nationals. I’ve been working feverishly for weeks at such a fast pace as the clock ticks down to the start of what will be Varsity All Star’s largest event this season and NCA’s largest event in our 63 year history. My ‘To Do’ list is far from done. And shockingly enough, I’ve dropped everything to jot down these thoughts that I can’t get out of my head.
In preparing for this event, I’ve faced a lot of customers and potential customers with questions about why we do things the way we do and why we don’t do things the way they want us to. I’ve been told our decisions are ‘unfair’ more than once this month. As an Event Producer, it can be scary looking a customer in the eye and saying “I disagree with you and if that means I’ll never get your business, I’m gonna have to be OK with that.” Of course, I want EVERYONE at our events and I want everyone to be happy. But the truth is, you can’t be everything to everybody—so you need to be good at being who you are.
Luckily for me, who I am IS who my company is. When it comes to competitions, I believe in COMPETING. That statement sounds simple when positioned that way. Perhaps what I really mean is: when it comes to competitions, I believe in LOSING. So, I want to lose. I want my best friends to lose, I want my kids to lose and… I want you to lose.
When I look back on my childhood, adolescence, and even cheer coaching career, my defining moments weren’t moments of ultimate success. They were moments of ultimate disappointment. (Let me clarify, I had a wonderful childhood. I reread this paragraph and thought I sounded very Debbie Downer, but keep reading. I’ll explain…)
In 3rd grade, I got caught stealing Starbursts from 7-11. My parents made me walk up to the store manager and confess my criminal activity. Grounded. To my bed. An entire week.
In 8th grade, I went in on a scam with friends who came across a long distance access code that allowed me to call anyone in the country for FREE…until we received a phone bill one month for $700.
When I was 22, I had to break the news to my incredibly talented 3 time NCA National Champion team that this year’s title would not be going to us—but rather to the obviously less talented 2nd place team because one of our athletes (arguably) threw their head back too far in an arched cradle. What a minor detail to lose an important title over.
All of those moments HURT. They hurt BAD. But all of them helped me evolve into a better person. I haven’t stolen since 3rd grade. I learned in 8th grade that nothing in life is free. And as a coach, I always make sure my athletes’ technique is so flawless, it’ll never be questioned by a judge.
As an industry, we’ve lost sight of the value of the losses, of the competition, and of not winning. And when I say WE, I mean ALL OF US. We’ve all got that short term hunger to WIN. Event Producers want competitions in every saturated market because we want to be the biggest and win. Coaches won’t put an athlete without a standing back tuck on their Level 4 team because they want to win. Parents want to send their kids to a gym because they are known for winning.
Now, of course I’m speaking in generalities. And I’m using the extreme term of ‘WIN,” which could be replaced with the term “COMPETITIVE. “ We all want to be competitive at what we do. And being competitive means you have a shot at winning.
But what if we signed up for a competition to compete in a tough division, already knowing there wasn’t a chance in the world that we’d score higher than 20th place? What if we built our Senior Level 4 teams with athletes that DIDN’T have a standing back tuck, hoping that the other Level 4 teams would give our kids the push they needed to master new skills?
I’m so proud of our crew here at NCA and Varsity. We’ve had to make some tough decisions about divisions, registrations, and crossovers that, on paper, don’t translate to more business. But we’ve stuck by our philosophies that the most important part of a competition IS the competition. Because we stood by our philosophies, our event continues to grow.
It’ll be an interesting weekend. There are over 750 teams representing over 200 programs traveling to Dallas from more than 30 states and 3 countries with a dream of winning, with a chance of losing, but most certainly competing. If I had to guess, I would imagine that some teams are going to leave Dallas on Sunday disappointed with their placement and performance in Finals. That’s AWESOME. Disappointment will fuel self reflection, will increase determination and will motivate athletes to try harder at practice next week.
At the NCA/NDA Coaches Orientations, I’ve jokingly closed some of the sessions with the phrase, “ Good luck, Coaches. For my sake, I hope you ALL WIN this weekend.” Everyone chuckles and go about their day.
How about this year, I close it with “I hope you all lose.” Would that statement from NCA get us more teams? Probably not. But in some ways, I do hope you lose.
Above and beyond any other cheer event, I want NCA/NDA All-Star Nationals to be the pinnacle experience that teaches life lessons about success, failure, commitment, and dedication. If you want to take the easy path or win the easy title, this competition isn’t for you. But if you want to find out how much work you need to put in to be as good as the 1st place team, we might be the perfect fit.
***I initially wrote this message on February 24th, 2011, for my customers on the eve of NCA/NDA All-Star Nationals.
Today is the day before check-in at our All-Star Nationals. I’ve been working feverishly for weeks at such a fast pace as the clock ticks down to the start of what will be Varsity All Star’s largest event this season and NCA’s largest event in our 63 year history. My ‘To Do’ list is far from done. And shockingly enough, I’ve dropped everything to jot down these thoughts that I can’t get out of my head.
In preparing for this event, I’ve faced a lot of customers and potential customers with questions about why we do things the way we do and why we don’t do things the way they want us to. I’ve been told our decisions are ‘unfair’ more than once this month. As an Event Producer, it can be scary looking a customer in the eye and saying “I disagree with you and if that means I’ll never get your business, I’m gonna have to be OK with that.” Of course, I want EVERYONE at our events and I want everyone to be happy. But the truth is, you can’t be everything to everybody—so you need to be good at being who you are.
Luckily for me, who I am IS who my company is. When it comes to competitions, I believe in COMPETING. That statement sounds simple when positioned that way. Perhaps what I really mean is: when it comes to competitions, I believe in LOSING. So, I want to lose. I want my best friends to lose, I want my kids to lose and… I want you to lose.
When I look back on my childhood, adolescence, and even cheer coaching career, my defining moments weren’t moments of ultimate success. They were moments of ultimate disappointment. (Let me clarify, I had a wonderful childhood. I reread this paragraph and thought I sounded very Debbie Downer, but keep reading. I’ll explain…)
In 3rd grade, I got caught stealing Starbursts from 7-11. My parents made me walk up to the store manager and confess my criminal activity. Grounded. To my bed. An entire week.
In 8th grade, I went in on a scam with friends who came across a long distance access code that allowed me to call anyone in the country for FREE…until we received a phone bill one month for $700.
When I was 22, I had to break the news to my incredibly talented 3 time NCA National Champion team that this year’s title would not be going to us—but rather to the obviously less talented 2nd place team because one of our athletes (arguably) threw their head back too far in an arched cradle. What a minor detail to lose an important title over.
All of those moments HURT. They hurt BAD. But all of them helped me evolve into a better person. I haven’t stolen since 3rd grade. I learned in 8th grade that nothing in life is free. And as a coach, I always make sure my athletes’ technique is so flawless, it’ll never be questioned by a judge.
As an industry, we’ve lost sight of the value of the losses, of the competition, and of not winning. And when I say WE, I mean ALL OF US. We’ve all got that short term hunger to WIN. Event Producers want competitions in every saturated market because we want to be the biggest and win. Coaches won’t put an athlete without a standing back tuck on their Level 4 team because they want to win. Parents want to send their kids to a gym because they are known for winning.
Now, of course I’m speaking in generalities. And I’m using the extreme term of ‘WIN,” which could be replaced with the term “COMPETITIVE. “ We all want to be competitive at what we do. And being competitive means you have a shot at winning.
But what if we signed up for a competition to compete in a tough division, already knowing there wasn’t a chance in the world that we’d score higher than 20th place? What if we built our Senior Level 4 teams with athletes that DIDN’T have a standing back tuck, hoping that the other Level 4 teams would give our kids the push they needed to master new skills?
I’m so proud of our crew here at NCA and Varsity. We’ve had to make some tough decisions about divisions, registrations, and crossovers that, on paper, don’t translate to more business. But we’ve stuck by our philosophies that the most important part of a competition IS the competition. Because we stood by our philosophies, our event continues to grow.
It’ll be an interesting weekend. There are over 750 teams representing over 200 programs traveling to Dallas from more than 30 states and 3 countries with a dream of winning, with a chance of losing, but most certainly competing. If I had to guess, I would imagine that some teams are going to leave Dallas on Sunday disappointed with their placement and performance in Finals. That’s AWESOME. Disappointment will fuel self reflection, will increase determination and will motivate athletes to try harder at practice next week.
At the NCA/NDA Coaches Orientations, I’ve jokingly closed some of the sessions with the phrase, “ Good luck, Coaches. For my sake, I hope you ALL WIN this weekend.” Everyone chuckles and go about their day.
How about this year, I close it with “I hope you all lose.” Would that statement from NCA get us more teams? Probably not. But in some ways, I do hope you lose.
Above and beyond any other cheer event, I want NCA/NDA All-Star Nationals to be the pinnacle experience that teaches life lessons about success, failure, commitment, and dedication. If you want to take the easy path or win the easy title, this competition isn’t for you. But if you want to find out how much work you need to put in to be as good as the 1st place team, we might be the perfect fit.
Whether or not you’ll be competing with us in Dallas this weekend, we wish you well at your next competition. And If you don’t take home the title, be sure to leave the venue with that 3rd place trophy and a smile on your face knowing your athletes are the better because of it.
What are some interesting revelations about yourself or your team have you learned through the process of losing or NOT winning? Share them with us and offer up your advice for teams dealing with 'post-competition' adversity.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Standardized Score Sheets
It seems that the time to start planning for next season begins earlier and earlier every year. In the month of January, I had four coaches call to ask me for dates and prices for NEXT season because their tryout packet needs to be completed soon. Tryout packet? We JUST had tryouts? We JUST started Nationals season. But in this competitive market, everybody wants to stay ahead of the 8 ball.
What does a perfect Score Sheet look like to you? Do you want to know that by doing skills A, B, C, D, and E, your team is absolutely going to max out a category? Or do you find it refreshing to construct a creative and unique routine that doesn’t have the same parameters? How important is stunting? What would you change about deduction systems if you had a chance?
As event producers, next season’s preparations are in full swing. Currently, we are dealing with making Score Sheet decisions. Varsity All Star has two years under its belt with the Varsity All Star Score Sheet (six years if you consider the fact that it was built, in a large part, off of NCA’s score sheet). It’s been interesting to speak with so many coaches. EVERYBODY has an opinion on what the best Score Sheet looks like—we at Varsity Al l Star definitely have ours—and NO two opinions are the same.
One noticeable benefit of the standardized Score Sheet is the coaches training and understanding. While a coach may or may not agree that a Stunt Category should be worth 10% or that Motions/Dance should require Footwork and Floorwork, we all agree that All Star Cheerleading is slowly moving to a less chaotic environment where good cheerleading isn’t defined differently every single weekend.
What does a perfect Score Sheet look like to you? Do you want to know that by doing skills A, B, C, D, and E, your team is absolutely going to max out a category? Or do you find it refreshing to construct a creative and unique routine that doesn’t have the same parameters? How important is stunting? What would you change about deduction systems if you had a chance?
I’d like to start an honest discussion about Score Sheet preferences. I DO NOT want to turn this into “which company has the best Score Sheet?” So, let’s leave names out of your responses (except for Varsity All Star, of course).
If you were in charge of building the perfect Score Sheet, WHAT would it look like?
Join the Conversation and comment below.
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