I waited to post this because I didn't want to post hastily and emotionally. I haven't been very critical of Kelli and Judy in the past, probably because they are usually edited to look better in the show. My eyes have finally been opened to what awful leaders they truly are. They had absolutely no idea how to handle this situation and ended up with a disjointed, unorganized, self-serving training camp for a season in which they couldn't even dance on the field. Their egotistical attitudes toward some of the veterans was disgusting. Judy is a wrinkly, old shell of a coach at this point. I've always wondered why she hardly talks, but after everything I've read here, I now understand it is because she isn't capable of faking any emotion to hide her spite. Perhaps naively, I do still think Kelli was a good coach earlier in her time as director, but time has eroded that leadership. I do believe the anguish she used to feel when cutting a veteran, but her tears are blatantly insincere on the show now. They should just stop showing them because they're not fooling anyone. Her ridiculous story about how much it hurt to see TK cut might have meant something to the viewer if they hadn't just shown her cold-hearted bloodbath moments earlier.
People are always going to quibble with her choices for the squad. That's part of the allure and why CMT airs the show. This seasons goes way beyond a simple matter of keeping one dancer and cutting another. This was about exposing the charade of the DCC sisterhood and showing it for what it really is: a perpetuating cycle of toxic, Mean Girls culture. They are appalled when women like Kalyssa and Julia use DCC as a stepping stone to celebrity, yet that's exactly what the show promotes. They want the exposure, but don't want it for anyone else. I'm going to echo a sentiment that I never agreed with until now: it's time for Kelli and Judy to retire. Pat Riley, a HOF coach, used to say that a coach should never stay in one place for more than 10 years. For even the best coaches, eventually you become too comfortable and your message becomes stale. You're seeing a prime example of that in Kelli and Judy. Hopefully they're grooming KaShara to take over. She has the genuine personality that is required to be an effective leader. You can only fake empathy for so long until your lack of compassion is exposed. KaShara has the ability to turn around the culture that has taken hold of the organization. Maybe she's too young and inexperienced right now. Maybe she doesn't want that kind of responsibility and scrutiny this early in her career. It's a lot easier to be an assistant coach working in the background that it is to be front and center with the spotlight shining on you, but she handled the spotlight as point very well. Make Phil the coach and let KaShara run things from the shadows. Anything other than what they have now.