There was a glimmer

Saturday was a grueling practice. One of our squads was needing a little TLC from coaching staff. We started with an hour of extra tumbling practice, followed by a two hour non-stop practice session that involved repeatedly performing the same routine over and over. There were tears and the cheerleaders were getting frustrated too. [ha!]

Then, during the last 30 minutes of practice, I saw it. There was a glimmer of fight that passed over one of the girl's faces. She was angry - I loved it. Am I crazy? No! It was the first piece of passion I have seen from this group of girls. I thought, "come on baby, use that energy." She did, she wiped away tears and fought harder to get it right. Her squad picked up on it - a huge jump in their technique followed.

We praised them, they gave a little more. The couple of parents in the room cheered - they brightened and gave some more. At the end of that practice, they had improved by 80%, at least.

The potential I saw on Saturday energized me to the core. It caused me to prance into the office on Monday with an extra spring in my step.

"Come on my baby girls - I can't wait to see you this Saturday. I can't wait for your parents to see you on the 17th at the competition. Use that frustration (it is just passion bottled up) to make you better. Show me how good you really are. Now is the time to let it out - don't be afraid, I BEE-lieve in you. Don't forget."

Belles Season Ends

This past Saturday the Belles junior level 2 squad met for our last practice as an intact team. Our last competition of the season will be Saturday March 15, 2008 at the Galaxy Challenge. Coach Rose and I watched this group of girls interact on Saturday with such pride. We had the girls perform the competition routine in small groups of 5-7. It was under this level of scrutiny that I noticed how much each of them had achieved during this season.

One particular girl danced nearly alone in her small group. She smiled and gave it her all as she danced in front of the rest of the squad. I recalled during her tryout a year ago how she would only look at the floor in front of her and how she would bite her lower lip. I was amazed at her showmanship on Saturday. She made eye contact with her audience and smiled while she danced. This is VICTORY in my eyes!

I am so grateful to be a part of each girl's life if only for a short while. More than the competition, I LOVE this part of coaching. More than any awards, the achievements that each girl made this year are so valuable. I hope they cherish the achievements as I cherish being a spectator to the process.