The Restless Mind

A lighthearted post wherein the spectacle of a cheerleading competition is backdrop to the theme of nurturing innovation. Managers, take note: you are the parents in the story.

If you’ve ever fought for a unconventional idea and been defeated by the righteousness of the “safe and secure,” you can find solidarity with the girls of the St. Mark’s cheerleading squad who placed third at this weekend’s Ultimate Holiday Cheer competition in Stittsville, Ontario.

That they were trumped by two other teams is not injustice, given all the teens in the competition were enterprising and deserving of some reward, but it was a subtle and rather sad commentary on what we teach our youth about risk, creativity, and the pursuit of innovation.

For those not among the six hundred or so squeezed into Sacred Heart’s High School on Saturday, let me provide this quick background: cheerleading competitions pit teams of roughly 20 girls against one another and ask them to develop a three-minute routine that consists of much body flipping, hip-hop, and eyeliner. Apparently by scorecard, the judges dole out points for technical and creative application in much the same way they do at the Olympics (whether there was collusion between the French judge and Russian performers I can’t be sure: there were far too many pubescent boys ogling the competitors and blocking my view).

The point about the Olympics, though, is what left me shaking my head as the St. Mark’s team was ranked third. While they had made technical errors—and clearly enough to push the other two teams to second and first place—their routine was by far more imaginative, daring, and—as I assume cheerleading is supposed to be—entertaining.

This seemed as lost on the cheerleading judges as those at the Olympics, whose awarding has become so technical in order to remove the prejudice of taste that they have eroded creative enterprise by rewarding enterprise alone. Any casual observer can tell you that gymnasts now favor a series of safe maneuvers to create a strong composite score rather than attempting risky expressions that are prone to misfire. Watch any floor routine and you’ll notice just that: routine. No magnificence from movement but rather, magnificence of mechanics.

Of course, if you remove the prejudice of judges and rely on the marketplace, you’ll find creative expression wins hands down. That’s why people crave iPods, howl at Chris Rock, and, in something closer to cheerleading, flock by the millions to catch Cirque du Soleil. We seek inspiration and cherish those who deliver it.

So why complain if these kids will find this out for themselves? Why bother to mention that the process of innovation and the output of creative thought will help them succeed if it’s all around us? Well, because they’re kids, that’s why. Because they go to school to learn about what they’ll need to survive in the world. And when the tyranny of a few judges gets them down, they need to be reminded that even if they didn’t win, their creative instincts where bang on.

To the grown ups in that gymnasium (or any other gymnasium), I ask these questions: when should we reward our kids? When they win? Or when they inspire us? Sometimes they do not come hand-in-hand and we must choose.

As for me, I salute the girls of St. Mark. While I think you need to wear more clothes (a point my son will most certainly disagree with), you needn’t feel less proud.