webcheercoach.com Blog

Saturday - Pre-Lims:
Both of my Canadian teams had good performances:
Valley All Stars Junior Small International had a good performance and made it to finals.
Valley All Stars Senior Small Open International had 7.5 in deductions and missed finals by .22.
The Koreans were very nervous and Intimidated, but had a good performance none the less. They made it to finals.

Got to see a few other teams compete, but was spending most of my time with the girls.

Sunday - Finals:
The Junior team had a great performance and placed 7th overall.
The South Koreans had a better performance today, and place 15th.
Stayed to watch the other International teams and loved it! There were 41 countries represented and all were very unique: Japan, China, Taiwan, Chillie, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Scotland, England, Canada, Germany, Ukaranian, Swiss, and many more.

If you want to see the teams, go to:

www.IASFWorlds.org

You can pay a $10.00 fee and watch all of the competing teams for the year. Great deal!

I got to speak with some of the big names with the USASF and IASF about building up the Korean team. They educated me quite a bit and are going to help out.

Bobbi said I was sawing some serious logs! (aka snoring) The Koreans got in early this morning around 1am and didn’t get to sleep till 4am. They are staying at a different hotel, which sucks. They hit the parks first thing in the morning…..just like a bunch of kids at….um….Disney World…

Judy and I scheduled practices for all three teams around noon. The Koreans showed up while I was practicing with the Junior team. Bobbi went out to meet them and introduce herself. She’s been dieing to meet them. The practice room was pretty cool and the girls were in awe. The Canadians had a pretty good practice. The Seniors recently lost a few team members, so they still need work. The Koreans practice went well and everyone thought they were cute. Judy complimented the routine and said it was a great job for the team with so little time.

Back to the hotel for a nap. Had to call my buddy Ben for some tech support on my laptop. The Korean computer jockey had to make some adjustments on my laptop so that I could get internet at the school. Ben talked me through reprogramming it. THANKS BEN!!! Ben and I became friends after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home. He’s now a Texan! Yeehaw!

There was a coaches mixer and awards ceremony at Epcot. It took forever to find the Koreans. The mixer was great and caught up with lots of friends in the industry. Made a few new ones too. During the awards ceremony, Hyo and Miss Lee started falling asleep. Jet lag was hitting them HARD. When we found out that the coaches wouldn’t be receiving their awards at the ceremony, we got them out of there to send them back to their hotel. The busses weren’t supposed to run till after the ceremony was over though. Walked to the front of the park and took the Disney bus back to the hotel. Passed out shortlly.

Got up early and David took me to the airport. I didn’t take pictures, but they were building about 50 - 100 more “Apartment” buildings all at the same time! It was an amazing site to see with cranes everywhere. You would never see so many buildings going up at the same time at the same pace!

Incheon Airport was recently rated the #1 airport in the world! It’s huge, modern, and busy! Since I couldn’t do any shopping at the school, I planned to get my souvenirs at the airport. No such luck! Liquor, cigarettes, high fasion clothing, but not one dang t-shirt shop! What the heck?? Heck, give me something with the Korean flag on it at least! These pics and blog are my only souvenir. : (

12 hour flight to DFW airport. Bobbi met me at the airport and words can’t describe how much I missed her! We repacked our luggage in the parking garage and drove to Dallas Love Field Airport. We caught a flight to Houston and then onward to Orlando for Worlds. The Koreans are about 6 hours behind me. I passed out on both flights. Did I mention it is a 14 hour difference in time? (Dallas time plus 2 hours and then flip the AM to PM).

Met up with the Judy and Gary with Valley All Stars in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). They have 2 teams competing at worlds in the Junior and Senior All Girl International divisions. I’ve been working with them since December about twice a month. There are supposed to be around 9000 competitors at this competition and 360 teams. I believe there are 28 countries represented. My have times changed!

Introduced Bobbi to the Canadians and had drinks at the bar. Judy and I had a coaches meeting to attend while Bobbi stayed with the rest of the crew. Great people and a lot of fun to hand around with. Finished up and went to the hotel to pass out. Dang I’m tired!!!

Today was my last day at the school. I taught 2 PE classes and they went great! I had the girls building thigh stands and had a couple of boys build extensions. They thought that was cool!

Had a two hour practice with the girls and it couldn’t have gone any better! A bunch of their classmates came to watch the practice and were in awe. I think they were really amazed with the girls and especially with the dance. “Just like Bring It On” as they said. I think they will set a great standard for years to come.

I spoke with one of the teachers, and he suggested forming a cheerleading organization in Korea. He’s started sever others for various activities and said he would assist. Korean Cheerleading Association, here we come!

Packed my bags and went home with one of the cheerleaders, Amber (the one with the glasses). My flight home is at 9:50am and the school is 2 hours from the airport. Amber’s family lives just outside of Seoul. Her mother, Sandra, picked us up. She is a sweet little Korean lady who understands most English, but speaks very little. Amber translated when necessary. Apparently, while I was practicing with the girls and teaching PE classes, Sandra was holding meetings with all the parents of kids in the school (not just the cheerleaders), and the administration. She said that everyone thought that I was very professional, was a good teacher and should be invited back. Yeah Sandra!! During the drive, Amber asked if I’d like to go with them to a traditional Korean Bath House. For those of you that don’t know what it is, then continue on with a confused look on your face. For those of you that do know what it is, here’s where you chuckle! I gracefully declined.

We picked up Amber’s father, David, and went out for Sushi. That was the best sushi I have ever had! I’m not into fishy tasting food, and explained that to them, so they ordered for me. It was a traditional Japanese Sushi Bar with a conveyor belt that went around the bar. The chef’s would make it and place it on the conveyor, so that you could grab what you wanted as it passed by. I had shrimp, eel, tuna, and fish eggs, among other things. Did I mention that I’ve gotten pretty good with chop sticks? In the school cafeteria, you get a set of metal chop sticks and a spoon. David owns a pharmacy and speaks English very well. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip!

After dinner, we went back to their home. They had a guest room for me. David and I had a beer, strawberries and mellon. He wanted to pick my brain about cheerleading and how the girls did. Now, let me explain the living situation in Korea. The majority of Korean land is mountains. Everywhere you go, there are clusters of 15 to 25 buildings that are all identical. They are around 20 stories tall. These are “neighborhoods”. It’s almost like they are miniature cities. Rarely will you see a house like in the states. The house Amber lives in was beautiful and very quaint. I didn’t think it was too small at all. Very modern looking.

Well, we got through the entire routine with music and it’s coming along quite well. The dance was the hardest part, so I started off with it. After that, they had a lot more energy. Several of the kids are sick and Hyojeong (the head cheerleader and only senior in the group) is the worst.

Classes went great today and we seem to be building a lot of interest in cheerleading. Five 7th graders came to practice tonight and were in awe of the girls. Still had major issues with the internet in the gym. Oh well. I also met more of the origional crew of cheerleaders. One from New Zealand.

Had another interview. I pretty much sat and watched the whole time, which is fine by me. I pulled one of the girls over next to me to translate. They are getting a lot of great press. the problem is that the interview and photo shoot took up 2 hours of my practice time. Grrrr

Got to shoot the bull with Ron and Eilkyu (the teachers) several times today. Fascinating guys to talk to. I also met several more of the male teachers. They were eager to talk to me and we all got along really well. I was asking one if he had any recommendations on books on South Korea and he pulled me into the office and said why don’t I just ask the guy that writes them. His name was Maarten and they call him the Dutchman (cause he’s Dutch). This guy has been everywhere. He gave me a signed copy of one of his books and recommended several others.
What’s So Good about Korea, Maarten?” by Maarten Meijer

The routine is finished, but they are far from ready. This is a whole new experience with having to teach cheerleading from scratch, choreograph a routine, an have them ready to perform all in one week.

At the interview, I met a couple more of the girls on the cheerleading team. They were seniors and a lot of fun to talk to. The reporter was the only one who couldn’t speak English, so there were two conversations going on. One without me and the other without the reporter….while the interview was going on. One of the girls was raised in Australia and had an accent. As she put it, she wasn’t fluent in Australian or Korean, so she flubbed a couple of my quotes in the translation. At one point after translating my comment, she turned back to me and said: “Oops! I just turned that into a negative comment.”

At the 4:00 practice, another set of reporters showed up and were quite rude in my opinion. We weren’t even told they were coming like the other two, and then they started complaining that the girls weren’t in uniform for their video. Well excuse the heck outta me! They finally grabbed one of my girls and ran off with her for an interview, not even asking for permission. Ron later told me that he had a similar problem at another school and started locking his classroom door so that he could get his work done. Wouldn’t that be nice!

Had dinner with Ron the history teacher and the Korean guy he hangs out with. They educated me more on Korea and the school. The other guy only gets to see his wife 1 day a week. I was trying to figure out why such a prestigious school would invest in a cheerleading coach. Ron explained that these kids study soo much and get so little active time that cheerleading would be a great break from the monotony. I could sit for hours shooting the bull with these two guys. They are great!

At practice today, one of the girls taught me how to say “I don’t understand Korean”. Every time they start saying something, then I say it and they all laugh. I’m just giving them a hard time, but now they take more time to translate what’s going on for me. Mainly gossip just like the American girls.

What a day and what a bunch of distractions!

I was asked to teach PE classes all week and promote cheerleading to all of the underclassmen. I taught two classes today and they went great! I heard that several boys are already wanting to do it next year. After the 2nd class the main newspaper came in for an interview. I also met some of the cheerleaders that will not be competing. One of them translated for me and the reporter. She grew up in Australia and was a lot of fun.

Finally got to practice with the girls at 4:00 pm and more reporters showed up. They weren’t happy with me because the girls weren’t in uniform. Heck, I didn’t even know they were coming. I had to be nice though, because the school is really promoting this. They did end up stealing one of my girls for an interview….causing more delays in the practice.

I just finished practice around 10:30 and got them through the whole thing. Now we need to start doing it to music. Two days left before we head to Orlando. Can we do it? I just want them to be able to get through the routine and we’ll all be happy. It’s very basic, but I really don’t think people will realize what these girls have been through. When I showed up, they were in the middle of some intense exams. That’s one of the reasons most of them couldn’t go. They are a sideline team and cheer in the true traditional style. Now they want to compete and are learning from scratch.

If they ask me back, I’ll be here in a heartbeat. They are great kids and really want to learn. Even the kids in the PE classes were great to work with.

Well, I’m off to bed. I have 4 PE classes to teach tomorrow, another interview, and then I finally get to practice with the cheerleaders.

Two weeks ago I was contacted by a cheerleading program called the Cheongshim International Academy in South Korea. They wanted to fly me up to train them for the Worlds competition the end of this month. I tried to talk them into letting me train them for next year, but they were determined and desperate. They aren’t interested in winning, but are going for the experience and to learn for upcoming years. I can do that!

After a 14 hour flight and a 2 hour drive through the mountains, I’m smack dab in the middle of a private school in the middle of South Korea. There are only 8 girls competing and they don’t know how to tumble or stunt. Just call me Moses, cause I’m gonna have to work a miracle! They do speak English though and are a great group of kids.

The campus here is beautiful and sits in the middle of the mountains. Heck, it’s built into the side of a mountain! I’m staying in the faculty dorm whish has a bed as the only furniture, and a remote control toilet! Crazy!!

Last night I had a short 2 hour practice with the girls. We worked on basic stunts and jumps. They were eager to learn and had fun.

Breakfast this morning was interesting to say the least! I had cereal and grapes, but I also had the choice of seasoned squid, fish & Kimshi (fermented cabbage that is a bit spicy). Lunch and dinner were great.

Today I was introduced to the faculty (some Americans) and next week we start training. I have also been asked to teach all of the PE classes to the lower classmen (7th - 9th) with
the hopes of building an interest for the upcoming years. They are already talking about bringing me back!
I have till the 24th and then it’s off to Orlando for the Worlds competition. All I have to do is get them a routine that they can finish without getting hurt.

I’m sure there will be people questioning why even bother. I’m very excited, because I actually have the opportunity to create the foundation for a new sport (feel free to say it’s not a sport) to another country. They are at the very beginning stages of cheerleading as we know it. All they do is sidline cheering. No jumps, no stunts, no pyramids, and very limited tumbling.

My wife and I flew to the Cheer Expo in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The travel to and from Halifax was probably the worst ever. Bad weather on the way up got us stuck in Toronto for 8 hours and coming home we were stuck in the Halifax airport (nice airport though) for another 8 hours.

Halifax was beautiful and I recommend it to anyone interested! Laura Mar, who hosted the Cheer Expo was a great host! The other judges I worked with were all total strangers, and we bonded quickly and had a great time. While we were judging, my wife was researching the area. She became Tourguide Barbi when we were done.

Historical Note: Halifax was the closest point to the Titanic when it sank. Those poor people had to fish out all of the bodies and burry them.

We visited the grave site for the victims of the Titanic. I never really watched the whole movie, but now I want to.

Toured a local brewery and enjoyed it. It was very historical and authentic. The tour guides were in 1800s costume and “took us back in time”. I’m not a beer drinker, but I do recommend the tour. I believe it was the Russel Keith India Ale Brewery. We also met a girl from Australia who was traveling around the world on her own. She fit right into our little group and we miss her already. Enjoy your trip Rachael!

In some areas there was up to three feet of snow. We hiked up the steps to the Citadel and Bobbi made a snow angel. We froze our butts off! The trek down was fast, slippery, and goofy!

I would definately judge the Cheer Expo again and would love to pick up some teams in the area…..hint…hint!

Craig

I’m back from judging All Star Challenge in Baltimore, MD. I almost didn’t make it. American Airlines moved my flight from Friday morning to Saturday morning without even telling me. Thanks American! My wife is a flight attendant for SW Airlines, so she got me to Baltimore ontime. THANKS SOUTHWEST & BOBBI!!!

The Palace Crystals flew in from London to compete. I’ve been choreographing for them since 2003. Bobbi and I met them for dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory on the Harbor. Had a blast! Those girls are dolls.

Great competition! Don Collins (owns ASC) announced that they are now a Varsity Brand company. My wife did some shopping and saw some kids in their team sports bras with the gym name plastered across the front smoking. Look it up kids! It’s called Image and Respect!

Finished on Sunday and hopped back on SW and flew home. Man my back is sore from sitting all weekend.

Craig