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Granted, Blackman hasn't played the caliber team they will face next week, but I'm not sure how you can call an offense who's scored 93 points in two games "saddd" no matter who they are playing.

Such a terrible tragedy for the cheerleaders, coaches, families, teachers, and friends who have been touched by this. It will take a level of strength that none of these people ever thought they would have to muster to make sense of this...particularly the Scott County cheerleaders. Take it day by day and know that people all over the state are thinking of you!

The third annual Middle TN Cheer Classic cheerleading competition will be held Oct. 25,2008 at Blackman High School. Interested squads should visit www.bhscheers.com for more information. Registration will begin in July and will be mailed out to all TSSAA member schools. All skill levels are welcome!

Congratulations!

Just wondered who the favorites are in each division....anyone want to start?

I too am a huge proponent of coaches choosing their own squads. I have done so for the last six years. My four years in coaching prior to this, I had a set of judges come in. Each year that I hired judges resulted in major issues with parents (even a lawsuit in one case...it was thrown out). Since selecting my team myself, I have not had one issue with a parent complaint. Parents at my school know that I, along with the other coach are both highly qualified and are going to choose the best participants for our team. It's impossible to defend why a set of perfect strangers didn't choose a cheerleader. I can defend my own rationale in a heartbeat. The problem, I realize in many schools, is that administrators are scared to death of cheerleading in general, and more specifically, cheerleading mamas /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> That's why cheer coaches in this state need to have a voice with the TSSAA. Guess where most everyone hires their tryout judges from? UCA...the same corporation making hundreds of thousands off our cheerleaders for competitions and camps. With that said, I'm about to leave this minute to take my team to the UCA regionals in Franklin today. As much as I hate the situation, if I want my team to be competitive, I have to play the game. Hopefully, we can do the things that need to be done it this state to legitimize cheerleading as a sport and we can stop having to constantly defend ourselves on message boards like this one.

You are right, most school coaches do determine whether or not their teams will compete. I do make $5 or $6 dollars per girl. The difference is it's per YEAR, not per practice /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> I need to know where coaches are making this much money...I'm applying for a new coaching position! Just kidding. In all seriousness, though, I am actually secretary of the Tennessee Cheerleading Coaches Association, and we are trying to work along with the TSSAA to streamline tryouts, rules, etc. The coaches are a committed group trying to make changes, but the TSSAA won't even entertain a meeting with us (to date). They are satisfied allowing a corporation (Universal Cheerleading Association) to run our events in this state rather than taking on the issue themselves. These competition companies come in and charge enormous registration fees, none of which go back to the individual schools. It would be like playing a football game and every penny of gate and concessions going to the NFL or some other sports organization. It's amazing how much money leaves our schools because we aren't sanctioned. Most of us (coaches) hate the same things about cheerleading that many of you have voiced on this forum. We just can't get anyone to talk with us about how to make the necessary changes state-wide.

The TSSAA requires (and I laugh when they say that word, because there is no one to enforce anything) that every cheerleader who competes at the TSSAA state championship actually CHEER for a sport at their school. When I sign off on the entry form, I, along with my principal, have to ensure that every participant cheers for a team. Not that anyone knows, cares, or even checks. It is an issue that I take seriously, but know that many schools do not. The carelessness of the TSSAA with regards to cheerleading and its rules will one day lead to a major lawsuit. Teams are out there doing all kinds of dangeros, illegal stunting. There is no one there to enforce these regulations. It will take someone getting seriously injured in this state before anything is done. I'm only afraid that it will lead to a statewide, knee-jerk reaction and no one will be allowed to do anything anymore.

This is a typical comment from someone not familliar with competitive cheerleading. Yes, it's true. Football is designed for certain types of athletes. Not every male football player can be an offensive lineman. Does that mean he's not an athlete? An offensive lineman probably wouldn't make a great receiver or kicker. Does that mean he's not an athlete? Just because different sports require different athletic skill sets doesn't mean they aren't legimate. Since cheerleaders aren't physically equipped to play football, therefore they aren't athletes? It's not about how much someone weighs, or if they wear pads that determines if they participate in a sport. Come on, surely you can do better than that!

Wow, how profound!

Offending other sports is not the way to defend your own. I always tell my cheerleaders to legitimize themselves with their efforts, not with their words.

I'm actually right there with you about getting rid of Title IX. Survival of the fittest if you ask me! The legislation might as well not exist at the high school level. My squad practices in the school lobby every day, while wrestling, basketball, and even our middle school teams practice in the gym. My team pays for travel expenses while football and basketball take the school's bus for free. My "office" is a corner of the laundry closet, while the ASSISTANT football and basketball coaches have engraved name plates on their palatial office doors. Title IX is a joke at the high school level. I've coached in five other schools, and it's the same everywhere. I'm not whining about it. It is what it is. I agree with you about those teams who put competing over supporting their school events. Sometimes the primary focus of team support is lost in the intensity of preparing for competition. I can't stand to see a band not show up to a football game either, and it seems like it is happening more and more often. As for spring competitions, that would be great, but see, we'd have to be sanctioned for that to happen. These huge corporations come in here and take hundreds of thousands of dollars from our kids' pockets every year when they host competitions. Because we're not sanctioned, any company can have a competition anywhere they want any time. I want the TSSAA to sanction us so we can have an actual competition "season". It's madness the way cheerleading is year around. I want schools to be able to host sanctioned competitions so the money is given back to the schools, and not into the pockets of corporate leaders.

How do you think high school cheerleaders are benefitting from Title IX? I'd be interested to hear what you think vs. the reality.

Blackman varsity cheerleaders cheer for football and basketball and compete very successfully across the state and at UCA nationals. There is not a seperate competition squad.

Quote: "Its purpose is to raise spirit, lead the crowd, and promote sportmanship not competition." This is one person's interpretation of the "purpose" for cheerleading. Perhaps that was it's original purpose, and agreeably with those specifications, it is indeed an activity. However, it is no longer 1960, and the focus, purpose, and vision of the sport has dramatically changed over the last decade. The problem is that the TSSAA refuses to sanction the sport, which many people do not realize. We (cheerleading) are "under the umbrella" of TSSAA, but are NOT a sanctioned sport by the state. What this does is create an "a la carte" approach to cheerleading, as decided by each individual school. In other words, each team decides what it wants its purpose and focus to be. This creates the problem that we are debating on this board. Teams and their talent run the gamut. Some teams are not allowed by their principals to tumble or stunt at all, while others are allowed to compete for national titles. It's difficult to defend cheerleading being a sport when perspectives regarding what cheerleading actually IS, vary so greatly. Competitive cheerleading is a sport. It's plain and simple... It takes athleticism, endurance, physical and mental toughness, sport-specific knowledge, and determination. Is there an additional attribute that football requires that competitive cheerleading does not? This is a tired topic that people always place on cheerleading message boards to spark a frenzy from teenage girls. I am not one of them. I am a high school cheerleading coach of ten years. I know what these kids are made of. I've seen them fight through pain, injuries, and personal tragedies just to be a competitive cheerleader. I've seen them bask in the thrill of victory and hang their heads in the disappointment of a poor performance. I don't need anyone to convince me that I deal with athletes every day.