Where have all the cheerleaders gone?

In our high school, as in many others, cheerleading has been phased out. Seems many kids lost interest in cheering for others when they had their own sports to compete in. And I totally get that. In my high school days (many eons ago, when Title 9 was still a toddler) I, too, opted for sports vs. cheerleading.

I know, I know – cheerleading IS a sport unto itself in many schools. But at our school it went the way of the dinosaur.

I’d like to make a plea to bring back the cheerleaders. The kind who can tame a crowd by leading upbeat, positive cheers during sporting events, not the kind who became almost a cliché before they faded away.

George Bush was a cheerleader. And he became president. Cheering for others didn’t seem to hold him back from becoming top dog. FDR, Samuel L Jackson, Halle Barry, Steve Martin and Sheryl Crow were also cheerleaders. Not bad company.

Cheerleaders serve a very important purpose: Cheerleaders keep the crowd in the game and the players get energy from that crowd. Crowds need leaders and cheerleaders make great ones. Without them, a cheering crowd often descends into booing or name-calling. This makes school officials quite nervous.

Isn’t it time for cheerleading to make a comeback at the high school level?

Shopping for Basektball Shoes

It's that time of year again - time to shop for basketball shoes for the upcoming season. Whether you buy your shoes online (Eastbay is my favorite) or at the mall, the quest is on. Four competing forces make this purchase a challenge: 1. Fit & performance, 2. Cost, 3. Team colors, 4. Cool factor. As a mom, I tend to focus on the first three. My high school basketball player, however, puts a lot of emphasis on #4. And when it comes to cool factor, I admit to being completely out of my league. So last year when Stephon Marbury launched his $15 line of basketball shoes I wondered if they would pass the cool factor test among teenagers. The shoes launched in Oct'06 with a lot of press. So one year later - what is the scoop? Are they cool enough for teenagers? Are sales strong? Should we buy them?

Stephon Marbury on Good Morning America

All about the launch of $15 Starbury from 1 year ago.

Stars in my eyes

I don't see my kids clearly. I'll admit it. I see them as stand-outs, as angels, as stars.

When my son runs down the basketball court, I hear music. Harps. I see beams of light shooting out behind his head.

How about you? When my son makes a basket do you hear music and see bright light? I didn't think so. And no offense taken.

When OPKs (other people's kids) run down the court, I hear nothing. I see no beams of light. Oh I see great performances from OPKs, but they are human performances and full of reality.

The funny thing is, I hear the music and see the beams even when my kid misses a pass or gets a foul. Or sits on the bench.

Is there a name for this phenomenon?

Taken to its extreme, it has parents believing their kid is never wrong, never at fault and keeps them from holding kids accountable for their actions. That’s not the kind of affliction I’m talking about. I’m talking about the kind that is relatively harmless and usually only hits when we see our kids on the playing field or on stage.

I look down the row of chairs I’m sitting on and I see other parents with stars in their eyes. Or is it just me?

Mom's practice - it's all about the shirts

The new head coach of Ranger basketball held a mom's practice at the beginning of last season. And as I reflect back on it now, I bet the coach was more nervous about the meeting than we moms were. He'd faced the moms before. He knew what we could be like.

Ostensibly, we were there to hear about his coaching philosophy, tour the locker room and receive matching shirts. Coach even brought coffee and doughnuts to that Saturday morning meeting. But the real reason for the meeting was to get us to brace ourselves for the coming reality - some of our kids weren't going to start or even play much. And we needed to get comfortable with that.

This photo shows what we looked like that day.

But I wonder what we looked like to the coach? Perhaps a pride of lionesses ready to pounce if our cubs were to get hurt?

It's the coach's job to pick the best players for the team, but I bet if he had taken a secret ballot that day, most moms would have ranked their own kid as one of the best on the team. Probably nature's way of insuring our offspring grow into adulthood. But it can't be easy for a coach, who sees our kids and their talents realistically.


Lionesses we are. Lionesses we must be. At least we all have matching shirts.