Mentors are the lifeblood of our sport and our organization.  Sounds a little dramatic but it’s something I truly believe.  I’m the mentoring chair for MCJA and what I want most for our organization is to have competent, well trained officials who promote our sport by keeping our scoring accurate and our meets run to the very best of our ability.  So what’s the best way to make that happen?  It’s with a great mentoring program, which obviously means great mentors.

So what makes a great mentor, you ask…let me tell you.  It’s an official with experience who loves the sport of competitive cheer, but that’s not enough.  It’s someone who is widely respected for her knowledge of the manual, her adherence to the rules, her support of fellow judges and her willingness to give back to a sport she loves.  But that’s not all it takes.  It’s someone who takes the time to affirm, to explain, and to guide over the bumps and uncertainties that might defeat a new official.  She checks in, checks up, and has an attitude that cares about making a new official that mirrors the lessons already learned by her experience.   And then there’s the kicker — she has to live in the same general area where our new official lives!!!!   Just kidding (sort of) on that last statement; I haven’t asked anybody to relocate yet but sometimes we ask our mentees to travel a little if we don’t have a mentor nearby.  Just know that it’s sooo worth it to have a mentor who’s there for someone new when they need a little help and guidance.

Now I would like to express my gratitude and thanks to the amazing and wonderful officials that I have been able to count on when I am looking for the very best to help guide the new people who come my way.  Please know that you are appreciated and valued; without you MCJA and competitive cheer would not be able to continue to train our officials to step up and provide a future for our sport.

Respectfully submitted by Jane Plaisted