Congratulations Jennifer

Congratulations Jenn Zehner on your induction into the National Honor Society (NHS) this morning!
Keep working on demonstrating those NHS principles of Scholarship, Leadership, Character, and Service.

Everybody knows your grades are stellar.Keep it up.

You may have 7 other girls competing for who gets to be boss sometimes, but I for one appreciate your memory of cheers, patience teaching them and initiative and creativity. Keep it up.

Nobody's perfect, not even you. We all get impatient and irritable sometimes. Teens will be teens and sometimes we all get a little wrapped up in ourselves (not criticizing, just sayin') but as your coach I've always been touched by the dignity and kindness you offer to kids with special needs like Quincy and Scotty and to little kids (not just your own cousin). We should all treat each other the way you treat these "special" people. Keep it up.

You could've quit cheer a dozen times and just played basketball, but you kept coming out. You helped make sure that locker-decs go up and posters get made and nag me until t-shirts get ordered. You're not the only one- I totally appreciate how much everyone on this squad serves too, I'm just saying, you're smart enough and pretty enough that you could pretty easily become completely self-serving, but you know the importance of community. Your family has done a great job of impressing that on you and I appreciate it in you. Keep it up.

And to all the rest of you- she's not my favorite, I just want to congratulate her on this honor today. I'm really looking forward to seeing SIX of you inducted NEXT year. You've got the grades and you've got the hearts. All eight of you demonstrate Scholarship, BIG TIME LEADERSHIP, Character and Service. Please Keep it up!

Breaking Cheer-Stereotypes

So you don't think you're the "Cheerleading Type?"

For people who don't think they want to come out for Cheer- I want you to think, if more people like you (whatever that means) would come out for Cheer, there might not be so many people who aren't like you on Cheer.For those of you who are already cheerleaders, I want you to make sure that you are breaking other people's misconceptions, not contributing to their prejudices. Cheerleading gives kids confidence, poise and a positive attitude. Like a lot of school sports, it helps them develop cooperation, initiative, self-control, self-respect, and lots of other skills.If you've never cheered before, don't let your assumptions about cheerleading keep you from trying out for basketball cheer. If you're already cheering- remember, you are a leader, make sure you act like one.

We don't have our names on our uniforms like some other sports. Which is good, because that way I don't have to remind cheerleaders that we're all about the name on the FRONT of the uniform, not the one on the back. Our JOB is not to show off, it's to ENCOURAGE the fans to ENCOURAGE the players on the field (or court).
If there's nothing else that I want to pound into kids heads, its that you can make life better by making it better for someone else. Call it a philosophy, a psychology, a theology, a pedagogy, or whatever you like- I like it and have been trying to share it for the last 19 years of coaching.

Think I'm naive? Maybe, so try it and find out. I bet that if for one week, you stop worrying about getting what you want or proving that you're right and spend more energy encouraging others and trying to stay positive, no matter how difficult- you're going to enjoy life a lot more. Life still won't be perfect, but it will be just a little easier to trudge through and you'll feel like you made a difference. Try it. I DARE you!

I used to tell my squads at LA Lutheran, "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, people are gonna assume it's a duck." If you don't want people to call you nasty names, don't over do it with the make-up, don't dress too sexy, and be careful how and how much you flirt and who's around when you do it.
Will there still be mean people that call you names? Sure, this is high school after all, but believe it or not, you do have some control over your reputation.

I also used to tell LALHS squads what I still tell BV squads- don't get too close to, and absolutely don't touch any boys when you're in uniform. Trust me, your dads probably agree with me on that one.

Anyone can be a cheerleader. You don't have to have straight A's (although I want you to work toward that), you don't have to fit into somebody else's mold of what a cheerleader should be, and you don't have to be a size "zero." Of course, if you'd rather be a mascot- you REALLY won't have to worry about how you look in a skirt.

If you can keep a beat, shout, and smile- you've got what we need- let us work with you.

I'll admit, after coaching cheer for almost two decades, I derive a lot of my sense of purpose and identity from it- but I also need breaks from it once in a while. I have a family, I have friends, I'm involved in stuff outside of school. 

There are worse things to invest your time and energy in than cheerleading. Drinking, smoking, sitting on the couch watching TV or playing video games all day all come to mind. Come to think of if, wasting time here on facebook does too! But my point is, the best cheerleaders aren't crushed if they can't cheer because they don't make it through tryouts, they get injured, or they have to take some time to raise their grades.

Cheerleading is what you do, it's not who you are.

Involvement and Commitmentrelationships and responsibility

Thank you for coming out for Football Cheer at Boyer Valley this Fall. I appreciate your interest and commend you for your "moxie."

Our job is to get the crowd to make some noise. We're supposed to promote school spirit and pride.

Psychiatry tells us that besides food, clothing, and shelter, everyone has just a few major needs; meaningful involvement with someone else and to feel like we're worthwhile to ourselves and each other. People who learn how to meet these needs without depriving others of opportunities to have their needs met are considered responsible. If you either can't get these needs met at all, or are constantly tying to meet your own needs with no regard for anybody else's are pretty much "irresponsible."

Cheerleading offers you an opportunity to meet these needs, learn how you can meet these needs for yourselves once you leave high school, and as a bonus- an it gives you a chance to help fill these needs for the whole school and community!

Meaningful involvement and contributing something worthwhile, making a difference.

This may sound far fetched, but I mean every word of it. Everyone likes to feel like they're a part of someting bigger than just themselves. That's why schools have mascots and school colors. You're not just a girl or a guy, a Smith or a Jones- you are a Bulldog and it's the cheer squad's job to make everyone feel proud to be a Bulldog too!

Meaningful involvement- being part of something and contributing something worthwhile, making a difference. These take effort and committment. It's a big responsibility, but it's very rewarding.

This isn't just about school spirit. Remember, it's about meaningful involvment- interpersonal skills, and it's about feeling worthwhile because you contribute something.

If you let me, I want to help you become responsible members of a team. I can be a tutor, an advisor, and even a mentor. Someone who will care about you and yet hold you accountable for being more than you thought you could be.

But this isn't just about athletes and their coach. Remember, it's about involvement and commitment, relationships and responsibility. You are no longer just another kid, you are part of the cheer squad.

It didn't seem to work to get everyone together for tryout practices this week. It doesn't look like there will be any inexpensive cheer camps around our area this summer, and between Volleyball, Cross Country, and jobs, it may not look like we'll get a lot of practices in between football games next Fall. So communication and flexiblitiy are going to be important.

Once or twice a week this summer, I'll send you a note like this talking about some of the things that make people a leader and what makes a team. If you read them and take them to heart, it should help us be able to work together better when we do get together next Fall. I hope that it might even end up helping you some in the rest of life too, not just cheerleading.

I really believe that cheerleading can make a positive difference in each of your lives, just like a good cheer squad makes a positive difference in their school.

(Posted on Facebook, 2010 Football Squad members were tagged in the note)

Cheer LDRSHIP

In the mid- to late 1990s, the Army officially adopted what have come to be known as "The 7 Army Core Values." The Army began to teach these values as basic warrior traits.

There was a time when my cheerleaders thought I acted like a drill sergeant, but I've gotten a lot more squishy over the years. Be that as it may, there may be some an things we can learn from the military

The seven Army Core Values (as adopted for a cheerleading squad) are as follows:

1. Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to your school, your team, and your squadmates.
   
2. Duty - Fulfill your obligations.
3. Respect - Treat others as they should be treated.
4. Selfless Service - Put the welfare of the community, the student body, and your squadmates before your own.
5. Honor - Live these 7 Values.
6. Integrity - Do what's right, both legally and morally.
7. Personal Courage - Face fear, danger, or adversity, both physical and moral.

The values were arranged to form the acronym LDRSHIP (leadership).

CheerLEADERSHIP

How to Win Friends and Influence People
By Dale Carnegie

I have been looking for a cheap copy of this book in used bookstores this summer but haven't managed to find it yet. You can find it at your local library. Business leaders and politicians have sworn by it for over 70 years now. If you want to be successful in life, not just cheerleading- you might just want to give it a look. (I added cheerleading comments in parentheses and italics.)

How to Win Friends and Influence People
This is Dale Carnegie's summary of his book, from 1936

Part One
Fundamental Techniques in Handling People
1. Don't criticize, condemn or complain. (Be positive, duh)
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want. (In other words, sell them on you, or in our case- sell them on school spirit- sell them on having fun- it does not mean "arouse" in a sexual way, duh)

Part Two
Six ways to make people like you
1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile. (How often do I try to beat that into you?)
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. (Learn their name, remember their name, use their name- I'm terrible at this)
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Part Three
Win people to your way of thinking
(I always used to try to make sure my Newspaper students knew the difference between just going off on a rant and actually trying to persuade people. A lot of it is the difference between talking to them and talking at them.)
1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. (The best way to lose a chess match is to be too aggressive. The only person who ever wins an argument is the one who refuses to engage in one.)
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong." (Most people who are wrong, still hold their opinion very sincerely and for what they think are good reasons)
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. (You'd be amazed at how much credibility you gain by admitting your mistakes- you'd think it would be revealing your weaknesses, but it truly makes you stronger in other people's eyes.)
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view. (It's called empathy, and the world needs a whole lot more of it.)
9. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas. (We should be doing this at pep-rallies.)
12. Throw down a challenge. (First we do a chant, then we get a group of kids in the crowd to chant, eventually most of the crowd will be chanting.)

Part Four
Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

A leader's job often includes changing your people's attitudes and behavior.
Some suggestions to accomplish this:
1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation. (That's what cheerleading is all about, Charlie Brown)
2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct. (Now THAT'S what cheerleading is all about, Charlie Brown)
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest. (Cheerleading at it's CORE!)

Dale Carnegie Page

Loud and Proud!

Leadership

GET BUSY

Someone gave me this advice once: "If you need to get something done quickly, ask a person who is really busy to do it." I've come to understand why this advice works. Busy people are busy for a reason--they get stuff done! Busy people are the most reliable at producing results, but they can have a life out of balance because of their busyness. Unfortunately, many student leaders fi t into the category of people who are overachievers and out of balance in their lives.

You need to learn as a young leader that when you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else. For example, you have lots of activities filling your schedule, and a friend asks you to try out for the school play. If you say yes to the play, you'll have to say no to other things. You have only so much time. The number of minutes in a day doesn't change to accommodate all your desires. You'll need to learn how to say no to things, or you'll overschedule yourself and have no margin in your life. When you overschedule, you'll find yourself saying no to your family, no to sleep, or no to time with God. Time with God helps you establish clear priorities about how to spend your time.

God created you intentionally with limitations. You're not designed to do everything. He made you to be dependent on others. When you decide to learn how to make the most of your time, you'll learn to say no without feeling guilty.

Just a note: Your life may not be out of balance because you're too busy. You may be out of balance because you're too self-absorbed. If you spend most of your time focusing on your own needs, you may need to take a positive step toward finding ways to get involved with helping others at home, church, and school.

Some students who are the least happy in life are the ones who are couch potatoes. They tend to be bored with life and are filled with relational tension, especially with their parents. If this describes you, you need to do something to improve your outlook on life. If you're bored, make it a goal to fi nd something to do besides lie on the couch and watch TV or play video games. Finding constructive ways to occupy your time will help you improve your feelings about life and help you learn to be a good steward of the time God gives you.

Whether you're overstressed or underchallenged, I hope you'll take a serious look at your life and discover what you can do to bring it into balance and make the most of the time you have. You'll be amazed at what God will do with a little extra time in your schedule. Your family will notice, too, and they'll thank you for it.

Taken from "Help! I'm a Student Leader" by Doug Fields, copyright 2005, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here: http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/259614

FORGETTABLE FACT

Slinkys were among the first toys to to travel into space.

POTENT QUOTABLES

"A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit."
- John C. Maxwell

"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships."
- Charles Simic

PARTING SHOT

Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

copyright 2006 :: Youth Specialties