I wrote this back in the beginning of May. I needed to vent but really didn't have anyone to vent to or anyone that would understand. So I have sat on this and sat on it. I think I need to post it to just wash my hands of it all.

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I am having a tough time with this today..It will most likely take me a couple days to complete this but then again I have so much on my mind it may just roll out.

I have to question parents. Do you realize when you are negative about a Teacher or Coach your children feed off of that? Have you ever noticed children are influenced by parents actions? Children listen to everything we say and do. They respond to that and sometimes they respond bigger than we do.

Lauren's freshman year of school she made J.V cheer. In the few meetings before everything began I noticed a lot of whispering,judgment and negativity. I knew going into this the coaches were new because the previous coach decided to hand it over so she could focus on her own children. But I had no idea what was going to happen! I sat back and listened to parents be rude,ugly,hateful and LOUD. They emailed nasty letters to these 2 ladies who gave their time,they were ugly and rude to their faces. They were so disrespectful it was sad. What happened then with the situation was even worse. The daughters of these parents started acting the same way. Anything the coaches would say the kids would be rude and nasty about it. They treated the other girls horrible (teammates)
This went on all year and instead of correcting the situation excuses were made. I continued to encourage my child and the coach because I felt that was what needed to be done.
Sophomore year things were EXACTLY THE SAME! Keep in mind we still had a few left over girls from the original coach. We dealt with it,we stressed out, we were treated horribly and just kept smiling.
Junior year Lauren wanted to try out for Co-Head cheerleader. I really didn't think it was a good idea because these girls can be so nasty. But I supported her and stood by her. She made it and the drama began.
There was a set of parents who were outraged that my CHILD made it and theirs didn't. These Parents treated my Child terrible. They complained about her,talked bad about her and then talked bad about me. I was determined to not let it bother us but then their child also started in on it. She didn't take the time to get to actually know Lauren so instead she fed off of the parents attitude and was very tacky. I do believe parents get way to involved with these kinds of things.

Now we have Natalie. She tried out for her 2nd year of cheer. She seemed to really not want to try out for Co-Head cheerleader but I pushed her to do it. I felt like why not. If you don't do it how will you ever know the outcome. I really felt like she could be a good leader and it would help her grow. She made cheer but not Co-Head. I could see the disappointment in her face but it was gonna be OK. Her main concern is one of her really good friends made it and I think she thought she would be left behind. She will not be left out! BUT we have a whole new concern (besides the leg issue) we have a couple of parents who are being nasty about the outcome of the team. So with them being nasty their children are being HORRIBLE and NASTY. At this point I am not sure if we should continue any further with any of this. I am not going to spend all of this money for my child to be treated terrible by parents and their kids.

I don't understand how parents think it is "normal" to talk nasty about a child who has made a position on a team. I really think part of the problem goes back to little league when every child is a winner. At some point in these kids lives they are going to learn not everyone is a winner. Not everyone can be number 1 and not everyone can be the Team Captain. Every parent believes they have the Star Athlete, the Best Dancer and Top Cheerleader. At the end of the day you have to accept the fact there is always someone who deserves a little more or who can play a little better. Why are parents so involved that they are putting other CHILDREN down? Do they do it because they think it is acceptable? Then I think this is a School Activity. You will not grow up to be the Top Cheerleader and makes tons of money. You are not going to get a scholarship to get you thru College. You will be lucky to get a $500 scholarship at the end of your Senior year. If your team has the funds.

Maybe I have so many kids that I don't care who is in charge or on top. I want happy healthy smart kids who are successful in life. I believe the only way you will grow up to be a successful adult is to learn what life is about.

By the way one of these parents that is being so nasty was also on the track field yelling at her daughter to not be as terrible as the rest of the team. REALLY? Come on people get it together.

We push our kids to do their best and be competitive but do you know how many "Star Athletes" actually grow up and are still "Star Athletes"?

I am sure I will make some people mad over this and I really don't care.

I think as parents we need watch what we say and do. When you have negativity towards a Coach or Teacher how do you ever expect your child to have respect for that person? Maybe we try to live thru our kids and want things a certain way (I always live thru mine) but you don't treat other people crappy over it. So what if they don't make Captain of the team or if they don't make the team. You don't get mad and rant and rave. You support your child and move on!

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Since I wrote this Natalie had to make a very important decision. To cheer or not to cheer. She made the decision to go ahead and focus on sports. I asked her why? She wasn't ready to deal with all the drama (they had drama before the school year ended) and she just had more fun with Sports. She said with her sports everyone was rowdy,had fun,cheered each other on and was just laid back. I went back and forth on this decision and of course I had to let her make a decision. I know it was tough but I support her no matter what she decides.