1st Year Cheer Dad Is This Normal?

[Littlebear12]

How's her double-based extension looking?

Her scorpion and heal catch need a lot of work to be clean and she does not have her needle. I don't want to push to hard on her. All she really wants to do is one man. If that was a sport she would be in it.

 

[Livvyxoxo]

@Littlebear12 why is your daughter in the gym for so 15-18 hours a week? That seems like a lot for a Youth 2 team.

 

[Official OWECheer]

She is not level 5 ready! She has her back tuck and front punch but not her aerial. Her real skills are beam and uneven bars she needs floor and vault. I don't know why she is so good at one man. Could be she is just really small and can hold her sell very stiff.

Call me odd but I see time spent on level 6 stunts at her age to be a waste of time. She's 11. Probably starting to hit puberty (or due to hit it soon). When she grows a few inches or gets curvy, you can basically kiss those skills goodbye. Her time would be better spent focusing on being a solid level 2 flyer (hence my question about the extension), and progressing to level 3. I've been told that lots of gymnasts suddenly grow when they leave the sport, so don't be surprised if the day comes that she can no longer fly. Try not to get too attached to her being a flyer, and encourage her to practice basing on order to become more well rounded (and thus less replaceable).

 

[amy1k]

In my short (7 years?) experience as only a cheer mom, I've found that young girls tend to love partner stunting with coaches. It's easy and fun and the risk of fall is small. The real challenge is stunting with children their own age. Sometimes the Susies who spend a lot of time stunting with coaches suffer the most. Like, they have difficulty adapting to stunting with their peers (who tend to be less skilled and predictable as coaches).

 

[TealShades]

She is not level 5 ready! She has her back tuck and front punch but not her aerial. Her real skills are beam and uneven bars she needs floor and vault. I don't know why she is so good at one man. Could be she is just really small and can hold her sell very stiff.

Because she has a grown man basing her. You're mad that her real coach wants to change the routine the night before but you're okay with her practicing stunts that have nothing to do with or will help her for her age and/or level. Like several people said maybe cheer is not the sport for her.

 

[amy1k]

Also, parents of young Susies who spend lots of times in partner stunting private lessons tend to pull their kids from cheer because the children on their teams clearly aren't skilled enough because, "Susie can do level six stunts so well, but her stunt group can't even manage level 2 stunting easily!!!!!!!!"

 

[KPep]

Because she has a grown man basing her. You're mad that her real coach wants to change the routine the night before but you're okay with her practicing stunts that have nothing to do with or will help her for her age and/or level. Like several people said maybe cheer is not the sport for her.

Or maybe it isn't the sport for the parent.

 

[TealShades]

Also, parents of young Susies who spend lots of times in partner stunting private lessons tend to pull their kids from cheer because the children on their teams clearly aren't skilled enough because, "Susie can do level six stunts so well, but her stunt group can't even manage level 2 stunting easily!!!!!!!!"

Darn those lazy Susie's that can't keep up with superstar Susie that can do level 6 stunts.

 

[Littlebear12]

Call me odd but I see time spent on level 6 stunts at her age to be a waste of time. She's 11. Probably starting to hit puberty (or due to hit it soon). When she grows a few inches or gets curvy, you can basically kiss those skills goodbye. Her time would be better spent focusing on being a solid level 2 flyer (hence my question about the extension), and progressing to level 3. I've been told that lots of gymnasts suddenly grow when they leave the sport, so don't be surprised if the day comes that she can no longer fly. Try not to get too attached to her being a flyer, and encourage her to practice basing on order to become more well rounded (and thus less replaceable).

She is to short to base. Our teams 8 year old are taller than she is. She is below the 5% for height and weight. I do hope she starts growing.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Her scorpion and heal catch need a lot of work to be clean and she does not have her needle. I don't want to push to hard on her. All she really wants to do is one man. If that was a sport she would be in it.

Lots of kids want to do advanced skills (even if they aren't truly prepared for them). You and her coaches have to make sure that she isn't skipping crucial steps in her training. It can be tempting to allow your daughter to do college level stunts at a young age (and I'm sure that seeing her execute them makes you feel great pride as a father). However, I urge you to think more like her gymnastics coaches (assuming that they have the mindset so deeply ingrained in coaches of that sport). Would her gymnastics coaches have allowed her to, for example (and forgive me because I am not the most savvy when it comes to gymnastics terminology), allowed her to skip over hip circles and go straight to working on more advanced uneven bar skills because she's tiny and can fly through the air easily? Or would they make sure that she has mastered all of her fundamentals first, even that means upsetting her because she can't work on the harder stuff just yet?

I would be more concerned with her working extended all-girl libs, for example (in preparation for level 3) than with her rushing into trying stunts that only a select few college and upper-level all-star cheerleaders are capable of.

 

[amy1k]

Almost EVERY young, small cheerleader can excel at partner stunting with coaches. I can't easily think of a single child who tried it and couldn't excel after a short period of time. Especially when working with a coach who is highly skilled at partner stunting. My daughter has a coach who can easily toss up any random backspot into a partner stunt. I've seen him quickly teach girls at open gyms. Adult sized girls who have never flown previously. HE is extremely talented and strong.

 

[Official OWECheer]

She is to short to base. Our teams 8 year old are taller than she is. She is below the 5% for height and weight. I do hope she starts growing.

She could definitely grow in the future. Just try to keep an open mind about things and avoid becoming too attached to the idea of her flying (the more attached you are,the more attached she'll be).

 

[Pebbles49]

@Littlebear12, I am reading your posts and I definitely get the sense that you are a parent who still might be pissed that your daughter quit gymnastics to do cheerleading... I understand and must admit, I went through these same disgruntled feelings my daughter's 1st year cheering and wanted and looked for all the negative things too. I think this is done because we lacked the full understanding of cheerleading as a sport and how all these arbitrary rules just doesn't make sense, however, when you stop and think about it, every sporting event(gymnastics) also have similar rules-early curfews, diets (gymnasts are encouraged to eat a certain way) and the longer regular training days(18-20 hrs) compare to cheerleading(4-8 hrs)...
Furthermore,
Right away when the coaches mentioned no swimming and sunbathing until after the awards, I knew this was to benefit the cheerleaders and on daughter's gymnastics team they had the early curfews and similar after hour rules too. However, my daughter and her team were able to enjoyed the amusement parks after the 1st day of performing and the coaches enjoyed that time with the team too...

I think you should give cheerleading another year and I know, the 2nd year the things you are complaining about are going to be so minor... For me, by the 3rd year, I became very proficient in doing cheer hairstyles, my daughter learned how to do her own make-up and during NCA, my daughter and I were prepared for the 6am meet up, by preparing hair the night before, (8pm curfew), purchase breakfast food the night before, etc... AS Cheerleading, I know it took me some adjustments and it may take you another year to see the benefits, but it is a great sport...

 

[randomactsofcheer]

One more question :)

Is it normal to add practices to the schedule with only a few days’ notice?
We have 3 kids they all have activities and competitions we schedule everything out months ahead of time. My CP was told she had an extra practice with only a few day notice and was told if she didn’t go she would not be allowed to compete. She had to choose between going to practice, or supporting her bother in his event that was scheduled months earlier and miss a practice. This caused a lot of family consternation and hurt feelings over a 2.5 hr practice. She is in the gym 15-18hrs a week as it is I didn’t see how 2.5hr more would make a difference. She went to the practice and miss her brothers JROTC awards sermon. He was the event MC and was promoted to Chief of Staff so it was a big deal for him

Yes, this is common. If someone is injured, if a stunt isn't hitting, if a kid is sick, the routine may need to be reworked.

In cheer, teams do not learn one routine and then keep it throughout the entire season. As the season progresses, the routine is tweaked and difficulty is added as the athletes progress in their individual and team skills. I think you need to ask yourself a question... Do you want your child to participate in a sport for the recreation or for the competition? You seemed upset that your daughter's team won the first couple competitions but was in the bottom of placings for the last two. Something for you to think about: Say a stunt in your CP's routine isn't hitting and will cause a major deduction at a competition if it doesn't hit there. The team calls for an extra practice to fix or rework this stunt. This extra practice could be the difference between being in last place or the middle of the placings, or the middle of the placings and first place because the cause of a potential deduction was removed from the routine. This has happened to my CP's team, except their pyramid went perfectly at every single practice but fell at the first two competitions. The deduction they received was the difference between placing 1st/2nd and 4th at a competition. I would have much rather had an extra practice before the last competition to make sure that pyramid was solid, even if it meant sacrificing time with my family who was visiting from out of town. If you would rather your CP be on a team or at a gym that sticks to only its scheduled practices and allows you to vacation at destination competitions, then you probably just need to find a new gym, not a new sport. But you have to understand that sometimes the extra practices make huge differences when it comes to how successful a team is.

As far as the hair and makeup go, is the coach really threatening to kick kids off or not let kids compete if their hair and makeup aren't perfect? Or perhaps is this pre-teen angst? I overheard her coach threaten a kid one time with not being allowed to compete because she didn't show up ready for the second time in a row. But it had nothing to do with perfectionism, this kid showed up with straight hair (when it was supposed to be curly) and not a bit of makeup on her face 15 minutes before warm-ups. Because of this one kid constantly being late, her entire team had to check-in 30 minutes earlier than any of the other teams. My CP is 8 (also on a Y2 team) and freaks out if her hair and makeup isn't perfect. But she is a perfectionist. Another thing to consider is that this is a team sport. So while it may not directly affect the team's score if your daughter doesn't do her hair and makeup the way the coach asks her to, if the rest of the team is putting in that effort, so should she.

But if the coaches are really being this negative and difficult, then perhaps you need to change gyms. I would question the coaches' judgment if they are allowing 11 year-olds to do level 6 stunts. ETA: I just re-read your post and saw that she is working on 2-man level 6 stunts with a coach. Carry on.

Or perhaps team sports are just not a good fit for your family and your daughter should go back to gymnastics. I found the parents, coaches, and some of the athletes to be far worse in gymnastics than in cheer. That is why my daughter is no longer doing gymnastics. But to each their own.

 

[Peazlovecheer]

Ahh, I'm thinking that there's some confusion by the OP between allstar cheer levels and gymnastics levels? I don't think they translate equally in level numbers re: tumbling skills.

FWIW, this is our second year of allstar and yes, it is a huge (time and money) commitment and sacrifice, but CP loves it. Yes, you have to be ready to adapt and be available for additional practices, especially this time of year. About routine changes, I'd worry more if your daughter's routine stayed exactly the same for the whole season. Stunting is only a part of the equation of a routine and while it may be fun to try new things, mastering all of the skill set and performance abilities for her current level (and then the next appropriate level for her skills as a whole) is more important than focusing on trying just a few things several levels ahead.

As the other posters have said, from your comments, maybe cheer isn't a good fit for your family.