welcome to mintland

Realizing there is absolutely no point to Allstar Cheerleading.

~ Welcome To Mintland ~ 1 Comment

You have dedicated most of your childhood to this. You have climbed every rung up the Allstar Cheerleading ladder to master every skill possible. You have done your best to surround yourself with amazing teammates, coaches and a community that supports you in everything you do. You have fought through injury, you have worked through lack of God given talent to master the skills that come easy for others. You have pushed through the mental challenges that tell your body there is no way on earth anyone should be able to do this, but you do it.

You have stared down fear, you perform in front of thousands of people with the bright lights blaring and nowhere to run. You go to practice when you want to quit and feel horrible. You have been the underdog. You have felt the intense pressure of being a National Champion and trying to keep that title. You have felt and pushed through the incredible pressure from being on top of the world, and tried to stay there. Knowing that if you can execute through the intense pressure of everyone gunning for you, it will create the perfect diamond. You have sacrificed parties, dances, Proms, free time, ridicule, all to be the best at what you do with your teammates.

Nfinityshoes.jpg

You respect and admire the coaches that spend the majority of the time demanding excellence and screaming at you to get every ounce of effort and focus out of you. You hate them for it and love them all at the same time.You have been blessed to let your talents shine on that stage and you have reached the pinnacle of your craft. You have earned every right to jump on Twitter, FB, Insta or Snap and scream from the rooftop that you are the absolute best there is, but you don’t, because your parents and coaches have brought you up better than that.

You will reach a breaking point during all of this. After you have done all you can possibly do, there will be a time when you say to yourself, “There is absolutely no point to Allstar Cheerleading.” At about this time, I hope and pray with all my heart that you take a look around. I would also ask you to analyze some things. We know you are young and will make some mistakes, but I would ask you to think twice about your actions. Think about the power of social media. Think about the words you choose and the actions you take. When you hide behind that anonymous Twitter handle and spew hate and tear people down who have risen to the top of their craft. When you try to tear others down because you are tired and worn out from practice, school, other responsibilities. When you are frustrated that others are getting the attention after a tough loss.

While you have been so dialed in focusing on your craft, you may have lost sight of those around you, understandably so. I hope and pray that you notice the little Tiny and Mini that idolizes you. I hope you notice the admiration in their eyes staring up at you. I hope you notice after you complete that last pass. There is a Tiny and a Mini analyzing your every move and only one day hoping to duplicate your skill level. I hope you watch when they perfect that forward roll or cartwheel and they are so overcome with joy they stumble over themselves in excitement giving their coaches huge hugs. I only wish that you could see that after those littles come home from practice and competitions they get right back to work creating new routines using your name and the team you represent. When they practice along side you and go for their water break they are longing for you to say hi or give them a high five because to them, you are their biggest hero. I hope you respect that. Carosblog

We all know you did not ask for this, but suspect somewhere along the line of your success there was someone you looked up to. Someone you admired and wanted to be like. Hopefully, they took you under their wing and gave you an encouraging smile or shout of encouragement. Your legacy means something whether you like it or not. An encouraging smile or taking a moment to watch that little team that is working so hard to be like you can move mountains.

At the end of the day, this is a very small world. You understand the bond and the legacy that Allstar Cheerleading represents better than anyone. You know that when the chips are down and you enter the real world outside of cheer, there is no one else you would rather surround yourself with than people who have went through the same challenges and triumphs as you. That could be the very person who you may or may not have been tearing down on #CheerTwitter.

You may not know it now, but the life lessons and skills you are learning that I have laid out in If you are in business…Never hire an Allstar Cheerleader mean nothing if you tarnish or don’t respect the legacy you leave. It means something…it means a lot. If you are not going to do it for the Tiny or Mini cheerleader I mentioned earlier, I understand. Maybe you won’t even consider it for your parents who have sacrificed an immense amount to give you these life skills, opportunities and experiences in life that you may not even recognize at this stage in your life. I certainly hope and pray that you do it for the person you are staring at in the mirror, because you deserve it, and the people you surround yourself with deserve it as well.

There is a circle of life that is Allstar Cheerleading. The circle will then extend into college or any other life path you choose in life. You will be amazing as you always have been. The learning curve may be longer, but you need to realize you built your craft over the course of many years. Life is the same way. The legacy you leave means everything to the future. Respect the honor of what you do by being the better person now.  Continue to be amazing in everything you do, because that is what you know and that is what you were programmed to do.

Welcome to Mintland Podcast – Chapters 1-3

~ Welcome To Mintland ~ Leave a comment

Hey everyone. Well I have submitted the podcast to iTunes and Google Play and a few other publishers in hopes they approve it. It may take a few days to go through. 

Until then, here are the first few episodes. I promise to improve on the production. It will get better as I go. I have been testing a few tools to make transitions and mixes easier.  

After listening to the first episode my daughter Kaitlyn suggested I should share a little insight into each chapter before I read it. I thought it was a great idea! So I am going to do it! I was also thinking I might want to do a few interviews of the 2015 Peppermints and maybe some of the coaches, who knows where this will go.

Hope you enjoy the first couple of episodes. Barring any problems you should be able to subscribe on iTunes or Google Play in a few days. If you could rate the podcast that would be  huge help ( once on iTunes) My girls seem to really like the audio versions much better. Let me know if you have any suggestions. 

After this things should automatically update once you have subscribed to the podcast in iTunes or your favorite podcasting platform.

http://welcome-to-mintland.madewithopinion.com/welcome-to-mintland-chapter-1/

http://welcome-to-mintland.madewithopinion.com/welcome-to-mintland-chapter-2/

http://welcome-to-mintland.madewithopinion.com/welcome-to-mintland-chapter-3/

Welcome to MintLand Review- From Dana Burkey

~ Welcome To Mintland ~ 1 Comment

Hey everyone! Welcome to Mintland is officially one year old this week!!! As I reflect on the growth of the mini team that could, I can only smile as it has been quite a journey. This morning when I woke up, I noticed a tweet from author Dana Burkey. To my surprise, she did a review of Welcome to Mintland and did a great job summarizing the essence of the book. I was honored she took the time to read it, and floored that she completed a review. I know many of the Mint alumni are going to love seeing this review.

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Some of you may have heard about Dana’s amazing fiction series about the Allstar Cheerleading team TNT Force Cheer. The first book Learning to Fly is a fantastic read and as a father of a daughter who loves to read, I can tell you she absolutely loved it! I encourage everyone to check out the series. The second book is Reaching the Summit  she also has two more books Center Stage and Top of the Worlds to round out the series.

This series an extremely fun read for fans of Allstar Cheer. You can view the entire series along with her other great works HERE .

We all know that Allstar Cheerleaders don’t like to read. Remember that quote? If you don’t I can  refresh your memory by having you read  THIS

Here is the Welcome to Mintland Review from Author Dana Burkey!

Thanks Again Dana!!!

Helping the Flood Victims in Louisiana one book at a time.

~ Welcome To Mintland ~ 2 Comments

As we all know, Louisiana has been ravaged by floods as the area was hit with unprecedented rains that exceeded over 25 inches in 48 hours. I’ve seen limited news coverage on this event but was learning the extent of the flooding via social media. As I was scrolling through twitter. I stumbled upon something that hit me directly. One of the local Allstar Cheerleading teams Louisiana Cheerforce located in Baton Rouge posted a gofundme page for all the athletes and parents affected by the flooding. My heart sank as an emotional plea the cheer gym reached out to our cheer community. As I read the gofundme page I wanted to do something to help.

The thought of the families struggling to cope with the devastation of piecing their lives together is unimaginable. We would like to think that the last thing on everyones mind in a tragedy like this would be Allstar cheerleading. To children, unfortunately, that is not the case. Many in the Allstar cheerleading community understand that being with your teammates and friends in your home away from home with your coaches is normalcy.

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That being said,  as I mentioned earlier I wanted to help. What I would like to do is donate ALL REVENUES made from book sales of Welcome to Mintland in the next 30 days to this cause. I wrote this book to make sure the story of childhood dreams and perseverance when faced with adversity, were shared with all. I know that this will not make even the slightest dent in the help needed in Louisiana, but if we can help give a little bit of hope by sharing the amazing story of the 2015 Stingray Allstars Peppermint while raising a few dollars to help flood victims get back to normal. I am all for it! I know the team that was featured in this book would love to know that their story could potentially help others. My hope is to raise funds while inspiring a few people or cheer teams by reading about a Mini Allstar Cheerleading team that achieved their dreams by overcoming challenges in the road. It only seems fitting.

If you are reading this and have a friend who Cheers or know someone who would love to read a fun story about Allstar Cheerleading I would be honored if you share this info with them.

Here is a brief trailer for the book.

If you would like to learn more about the book, or purchase a book for the cause you may do so here : Welcome to Mintland 

 

Remember all proceeds over the next 30 days from book sales will go straight to Louisiana Cheerforce GofundMe page. Hopefully, this will be a Win/Win for all involved.

If you feel compelled to donate directly to the gofundme page you can do so HERE

Thank you for taking the time to read this and we are praying for all victims of Louisiana flooding.

Welcome to Mintland Site Launch

~ Welcome To Mintland ~ Leave a comment

The number one request I’ve had over the past couple of months is how is the team doing, or where are they now?  I have done my best to keep up with the team and sharing stories and updates but unfortunately, the information has been all over the place.

Between the Welcome to Mintland FB page HERE, the Blog (You are currently reading) my YOUTUBE channel and my twitter handle, information was kind of tough to find. I wanted to let everyone know I have finally got around to creating a site where you can access all the information you would like about the team.

I have included some special parts of the season I was not able to share in the book. Including the video I created for the team before they went to Summit . I also included a video of Peppermints final performance together as a team at the Summit finals along with the book trailer explaining Welcome to Mintland. I have also included a ton of pictures that were cut from the book.

Ok i’ll stop rambling you can find the new site HERE. I hope you enjoy!

It’s time for Summit!..Never Judge a Book by its Cover!

~ Welcome To Mintland ~ Leave a comment

It is that time of year again. Almost a year has past since the amazing Mints did their thing at The Summit. If you are not familiar with Summit it is where the top 10% of the best (Level 1-5 non-worlds) Allstar Cheerleading teams from around the country are invited to the ESPN Wide World of Sports to compete in one of the most prestigious and competitive events in Allstar Cheerleading. It is an exciting time, and a time where lifetime memories will be made. The amazing event was one of the inspirations for writing the book Welcome to MintLand

Our family is very fortunate to be attending Summit once again this year with a new team The Stingray Allstars Red. It will be a very emotional time for many of us who had such an incredible time last year. I wanted to take this opportunity to address a few topics that have come up since I have written the book. Those outside of the Cheerleading world always ask me two questions about the book before they read it.

1. What does “Welcome to Mintland” mean?

2. What is the significance of the cover?

Of course, I always reply, “Well you will just have to read it and find out.” but I have thought a bit about that response and wanted to share a bit more to help people understand the significance.

Welcome to Mintland was the opening voice over in the Peppermint music. As many Allstar Cheerleaders will tell you, the team music will become your anthem. You remember each team you were on, every single motion and 8 count, your teammates and the significance of the season all by your music. Most will remember the music for the rest of their lives. It defines you, the team and the team persona.

In the book, I attempted to describe Welcome to Mintland as a culture that developed over an entire season. It began with the team formation and the bonding process of the kids. It took shape in the form of a cheer routine and overflowed with love and belief from the coaches and parents. Welcome to Mintland is indeed a state of mind. It is a living and breathing thing. Welcome to Mintland is not exclusive to Peppermint or The Stingray Allstars. This state of mind comes from the passion and love that develops over the course of the year. It was built by hours upon hours of hard work and solidified by faith in one another, and some would say fate.

As the voice over continues “The greatest place on earth has blue and green turf.” The culture was built upon everything magical about our special program. It probably has another name or significance in other gyms or other sports. Some would like to call it similar to “being in the zone.” Either way, that will give a little more insight into the significance of the book title.

 

As far as the book cover is concerned, many in the Cheerleading world will understand the significance at first sight. I will break down the significance of the cover for others to understand.

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Hopefully, I explained the significance of the title of the book. We will move on to the bow. The cover photo of the bow is the exact bow that the team wore to Summit. It was made especially for them, for this competition. The new bow signified a new attitude and a bond with the new Mints added for Summit.

Just below the photo is the red mountains. Of course, this has many symbolic references. Since the team colors were red and white, I wanted to capture the theme of the team on the cover. The mountains also capture the maturation and growth of the team along with the long journey and challenge of the season. Finally, the mountains represent the Summit competition and the celebration of how far the team went in that competition. As you can see below, the logo for the competition is represented by mountains as well.

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I thought long and hard about the cover. The obvious choice was to put the team on the front cover to easily explain what the book is about. That would have been a simple choice, but as I explained in The Dad who wrote a book about Allstar Cheerleading I wanted to share a bit more and hopefully explain what Allstar cheer is about. The term “never judge a book by its cover” played a big role in why I changed the cover so many times before deciding on this one. You see at Summit last year Peppermint competed as a YOUTH level team.

When you judge a book by its cover you can be in for some big surprises. Similar to what is inside the book Welcome to Mintland. If you know anything about Cheer you know that Peppermint is known as a Mini age level team. You also know that at Summit, the youngest age group allowed is a Youth level. How did a Mini team end up in one of the most prestigious competitions in the nation competing as a Youth team? You will just have to read and find out! I hope to see many of you soon at ESPN Wide World of Sports for Summit. If you can dream it…. you can do it ..and Welcome to Mintland proves it!

Realizing there is absolutely no point to Allstar Cheerleading.

~ Welcome To Mintland ~ 14 Comments

You have dedicated most of your childhood to this. You have climbed every rung up the Allstar Cheerleading ladder to master every skill possible. You have done your best to surround yourself with amazing teammates, coaches and a community that supports you in everything you do. You have fought through injury, you have worked through lack of God given talent to master the skills that come easy for others. You have pushed through the mental challenges that tell your body there is no way on earth anyone should be able to do this, but you do it.

You have stared down fear, you perform in front of thousands of people with the bright lights blaring and nowhere to run. You go to practice when you want to quit and feel horrible. You have been the underdog. You have felt the intense pressure of being a National Champion and trying to keep that title. You have felt and pushed through the incredible pressure from being on top of the world, and tried to stay there. Knowing that if you can execute through the intense pressure of everyone gunning for you, it will create the perfect diamond. You have sacrificed parties, dances, Proms, free time, ridicule, all to be the best at what you do with your teammates.

Nfinityshoes.jpg

You respect and admire the coaches that spend the majority of the time demanding excellence and screaming at you to get every ounce of effort and focus out of you. You hate them for it and love them all at the same time.You have been blessed to let your talents shine on that stage and you have reached the pinnacle of your craft. You have earned every right to jump on Twitter, FB, Insta or Snap and scream from the rooftop that you are the absolute best there is, but you don’t, because your parents and coaches have brought you up better than that.

You will reach a breaking point during all of this. After you have done all you can possibly do, there will be a time when you say to yourself, “There is absolutely no point to Allstar Cheerleading.” At about this time, I hope and pray with all my heart that you take a look around. I would also ask you to analyze some things. We know you are young and will make some mistakes, but I would ask you to think twice about your actions. Think about the power of social media. Think about the words you choose and the actions you take. When you hide behind that anonymous Twitter handle and spew hate and tear people down who have risen to the top of their craft. When you try to tear others down because you are tired and worn out from practice, school, other responsibilities. When you are frustrated that others are getting the attention after a tough loss.

While you have been so dialed in focusing on your craft, you may have lost sight of those around you, understandably so. I hope and pray that you notice the little Tiny and Mini that idolizes you. I hope you notice the admiration in their eyes staring up at you. I hope you notice after you complete that last pass. There is a Tiny and a Mini analyzing your every move and only one day hoping to duplicate your skill level. I hope you watch when they perfect that forward roll or cartwheel and they are so overcome with joy they stumble over themselves in excitement giving their coaches huge hugs. I only wish that you could see that after those littles come home from practice and competitions they get right back to work creating new routines using your name and the team you represent. When they practice along side you and go for their water break they are longing for you to say hi or give them a high five because to them, you are their biggest hero. I hope you respect that. Carosblog

We all know you did not ask for this, but suspect somewhere along the line of your success there was someone you looked up to. Someone you admired and wanted to be like. Hopefully, they took you under their wing and gave you an encouraging smile or shout of encouragement. Your legacy means something whether you like it or not. An encouraging smile or taking a moment to watch that little team that is working so hard to be like you can move mountains.

At the end of the day, this is a very small world. You understand the bond and the legacy that Allstar Cheerleading represents better than anyone. You know that when the chips are down and you enter the real world outside of cheer, there is no one else you would rather surround yourself with than people who have went through the same challenges and triumphs as you. That could be the very person who you may or may not have been tearing down on #CheerTwitter.

You may not know it now, but the life lessons and skills you are learning that I have laid out in If you are in business…Never hire an Allstar Cheerleader mean nothing if you tarnish or don’t respect the legacy you leave. It means something…it means a lot. If you are not going to do it for the Tiny or Mini cheerleader I mentioned earlier, I understand. Maybe you won’t even consider it for your parents who have sacrificed an immense amount to give you these life skills, opportunities and experiences in life that you may not even recognize at this stage in your life. I certainly hope and pray that you do it for the person you are staring at in the mirror, because you deserve it, and the people you surround yourself with deserve it as well.

There is a circle of life that is Allstar Cheerleading. The circle will then extend into college or any other life path you choose in life. You will be amazing as you always have been. The learning curve may be longer, but you need to realize you built your craft over the course of many years. Life is the same way. The legacy you leave means everything to the future. Respect the honor of what you do by being the better person now.  Continue to be amazing in everything you do, because that is what you know and that is what you were programmed to do.