The Shoe Review
News and Notes From Nfinity Shoes
August 2008 Vol 1 Issue 7

New in the Review

• Myteam411 - Yes you can finally get an account set up
• News from the Nation - The blog is a hit!!
• New Feature!! Roger Schonder with Stingray All Stars offers monthly tips on coaching a winning program.
• Love Story Part 4 - Grace goes digitial in her hot pursuit of Tate - The Love Machine
• Eat To Compete - "Hey Fats ARE good for you!!"
• Final Thoughts - Does Cheerleading Belong in the Olympics?

I know – you’re tired of hearing we’re almost ready. But there is a reason for that. In order to make sure that this program delivered what we have been telling you, it needed to be tested and tested again. The Geeks and Programmers are telling us we can start signing people up for their free account as early as next week. so here's what we're going to do. Go to www.myteam411.com and click on the "Sign Up Now" button and fill out the web form. That comes to me and I'll start the behind the scenes process of getting your account set up. It may not be ready tomorrow, but it will be ready in the next 7 days.

Nation Notes
First – thank you to those of you who read my blog at http://www.nfinitynation.com/component/option,com_myblog/Itemid,66/. It’s very flattering that anyone actually reads it, but your kind words have been much appreciated. Just click on the Nation Notes tab at the web site to find it. We have added a feature that allows you to leave a comment so I would like to invite you to do so. I don’t care if you like it or don’t like it; just let me know what you think.

Second – all I can say is there are BIG things planned for Nation Members this upcoming season. I’m not allowed to say, but I can urge you to join the Nation if you have not. You do not want to be on the outside looking in for the 2008-2009 season. Get in the Nation today – www.nfinitynation.com.

Roger’s Tips and Tricks - Are You Competition Ready?
Roger Schonder is the All Star Director for the Stingray Cheer Company. He has agreed to provide the Shoe Review with monthly pointers to help our readers get their cheerleading squads ready to be winners. Roger has personally coached several teams to World Championships (4 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze) and the Stingray All Star program is widely recognized as one of the best run programs in the country. Roger’s tip this month is, “Are You Competition Ready?”

#1.Do you have your routine?
Most teams have gone to camp weeks ago, maybe even taken some time off. School is back in session and it’s time to evaluate that routine. Have you had any personnel changes since camp? Can you mark through your routine?

#2-Do you have your music?
Of course every routine needs music, but have you got yours? Is the dance song in the music going to be used by every squad in the country this year? Have you selected your music mixer? Have you paid for and received it? Music is as important to the routine as any other part and the time it takes to get it can be longer than you think.

#3-Do you have the skills?
Just because you had a round-off back hand spring full in the summer – can you still hit it? Make sure the routine and the skill set of your squad are in sync. If the personnel has changed since camp, then make sure the skill set they have matches up well with the skills required in the routine.

You can find out mroe about the Stingray All Star program at www.stingrayallstars.com and to ask Roger any specific questions you can reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

A Love Story Part 4
For our new readers to the Shoe Review, our CEO, Tate Chalk, the ultimate bachelor, is finally getting married. And because everyone enjoys a good love story, we’ve convinced his bride to be, Grace, to share the story of how they met. So we are doing this in chapters. Today is chapter 4….

“The months passed and because downtown Orlando is about the size of my fist, I saw him everywhere I went. At one point I was looking for Tate in every crowd, at every restaurant, in cars that drove by, until I was thoroughly disgusted with my little crush and forced myself to push him out of my mind. One day in early December, when I’d just about succeeded, I was leaning over someone trying to order a drink from the bar and discovered this someone was…you guessed it…the object of my affection. Jim was with me, which made the situation awkward, but we exchanged pleasantries and parted ways. This naturally undid all of the good work I’d done in banishing him from my daydreams, so the next day I Google’d him. I found him on My Space, along with everyone else in the world, but had no legitimate reason to send an email. How would I initiate contact without looking like a lovesick girl? Why, spend three hours creating a bogus My Space page complete with pictures of Jim and I together of course! I shot off a quick email that amounted to the electronic equivalent of “Fancy meeting you here!” and waited impatiently for a reply.”

That’s a great place to stop and keep you on the edge of your seat. For those of you who want more details on the wedding you can check it out at www.tateandgrace.com.

Eat to Compete
Each month we publish a chapter from “Eat to Compete” – a book on the role that proper nutrition plays in the life of an athlete. When you add teenage girls in the mix as athletes the pressure on them to stay thin is much greater. So this month we move on to my favorite food group – “Fats”. We define what it is and why it is an important part of a balance diet. No need to run out for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia – we’re not talking about that kind of fat. Check it out by clicking here. For the complete Eat to Compete series go to www.eattocompete.com.

Final Thought
I guess it’s only appropriate with the Olympics going on that I use that as the topic this month. It’s going to be another 4 years before I can use it again (no one really counts the winter Olympics as Olympics anyway). As I have written before, I had the opportunity to go to China in April of this year and spent 3 days in Beijing – seeing all the preparations for this event first hand. In my personal opinion – the Chinese just don’t like us. And quite frankly – I didn’t care much for them. That is quite a statement coming from a Southern Redneck like myself who rarely ever meets a stranger. But they don’t like Americans over there.

Be that as it may, I have to give them kudos for an amazing Opening Ceremonies. That was without question the most spectacular thing I had ever seen since Oprah lost all that weight. The performance with all the boxes going up and down was INCREDIBLE!! Of course I told Kris while we were watching it there was no way they could have used people for that. And of course I was wrong. Again.

So the question for this month – you know where I’m going with this – is when is cheerleading going to become an Olympic sport and should it? I think we should compare the sport of cheerleading to some of the silly sports currently in the Olympics. Follow me on this….

Which is more difficult to execute?

A tumbling run that consists of a Full and a Half through to a Round-off Back Hand Spring Double or sitting in a canoe and paddling down a little creek? Answer: Duh – cheerleading.

A flyer that does a Bow & Arrow Double down or sitting in a boat and sailing in the ocean?
Hello? Sailing? Please. Answer: Cheerleading

Holding a flyer up in the air for two 8 counts that super sized the Big Mac combo meal the night before or sitting on a horse and jumping over a few railings? Do I really have to answer? Of course: cheerleading.

Come on, with “sports” like canoeing, sailing, horseback riding – I’m sorry Equestrian, ping pong - oops I mean table tennis – and Trampoline (you mean to tell me that you can get an all expense paid trip to the Olympics for jumping up and down on a trampoline?) how can you NOT let cheerleading in as an Olympic sport?

But of course the chances of that happening are slim to none – although I’m sure that one of the large companies in our industry is quietly working behind closed doors to make that happen. But if you thought there were a lot of politics in cheerleading now – just wait to see what happens IF cheerleading becomes an Olympic sport.

Cheers!
David Marler