All-Star Average Age To Start All-star Cheer?

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Jan 31, 2017
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Hello!

I'm new to this board and new to the cheer world. My 6 year old daughter is a new competitive level 2 gymnast. She went through a few months of not loving gymnastics so we tried a two month fun rec cheer program. She LOVED it! After the session ended, the coaches talked to me about having her try out for All-Star cheer in May. They said she would be perfect for their team. However, she's not ready to throw in the towel on gymnastics just yet. Although she would love to do both, competitive gymnastics and All-Star cheer, I just feel that it is too much for her and I'm guessing practices/meets/competition days would clash. So- I suggested we continue doing the fun rec cheer class this year along with competitive gymnastics and can reassess whenever she wants to. She seemed content with that. I mentioned our decision to other cheer parents at cheer practice and they told me I was making a mistake and I had to start her in All-Star cheer young if I wanted her to be successful, especially if the coaches had approached me about her. She's only 6. I just want her to have fun and stay active, but now I have these parents' comments in the back of my brain.

What's the average age kids start All-Star cheer? Is there a typical progression of levels? Is my daughter totally missing out by waiting a year to try out? What are the benefits/disadvantages of starting All-Star cheer younger vs. older?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hello!

I'm new to this board and new to the cheer world. My 6 year old daughter is a new competitive level 2 gymnast. She went through a few months of not loving gymnastics so we tried a two month fun rec cheer program. She LOVED it! After the session ended, the coaches talked to me about having her try out for All-Star cheer in May. They said she would be perfect for their team. However, she's not ready to throw in the towel on gymnastics just yet. Although she would love to do both, competitive gymnastics and All-Star cheer, I just feel that it is too much for her and I'm guessing practices/meets/competition days would clash. So- I suggested we continue doing the fun rec cheer class this year along with competitive gymnastics and can reassess whenever she wants to. She seemed content with that. I mentioned our decision to other cheer parents at cheer practice and they told me I was making a mistake and I had to start her in All-Star cheer young if I wanted her to be successful, especially if the coaches had approached me about her. She's only 6. I just want her to have fun and stay active, but now I have these parents' comments in the back of my brain.

What's the average age kids start All-Star cheer? Is there a typical progression of levels? Is my daughter totally missing out by waiting a year to try out? What are the benefits/disadvantages of starting All-Star cheer younger vs. older?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Every child s different and no one can answer that for u....if she loves gymnastics why stop? She has plenty of years to switch or try cheer. Let her decide....
 
I would stick with gymnastics for now.

Cheer is easier to get a start in at a later age than gym.

There is a reason you do not see kids coming into gymnastics at like, middle school age.
 
Every child s different and no one can answer that for u....if she loves gymnastics why stop? She has plenty of years to switch or try cheer. Let her decide....

I totally feel this way too. Every kid is different. We tried cheer because for awhile she wanted to quit gymnastics. She wants to do All-Star cheer AND competitive gymnastics and that's just not plausible. I don't know anything about all-star cheer and just wanted to see if it's like competitive gymnastics where you have to start young. If it is, I'll have a more serious talk with my daughter about which one she wants to pursue. If it's something you can switch to at a later age, well then we'll stick to the fun rec cheer program for now until she says otherwise,
 
I didn't think you could compete level 2 gymnastics?

At 6, I would let her do whatever she enjoys.


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CP started at 9. Where I live that's quite normal. There's no rush to start her really young if you don't want to.

And in my cynical little mind, I'd be aware that every gym wants the younger kids to move into all star from rec. That means more $$$ for them.
 
Your mistake was talking to other cheer parents! If your child still loves gymnastics, stay with that for now and do another year of rec cheer. She's 6. Let her have fun.

Edited to add: my oldest started at almost 8. She took a cheer class while still going to gymnastics and cheering on a town team. She came out of the class and announced "this is what I want to do" and never went back to gymnastics. My second cheerleader started at 5, but she was also already at the gym because of her sister.
 
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I started at 4 (almost 5). I was in dance and casually doing gymnastics at the time but then my family moved and my mom sent to to a gym that also had a cheer team and I just ended up liking cheer more than gymnastics. I still took classes in gymnastics to help me tumbling but focused on floor instead of bars or beam.

I would say if your daughter is still really into gymnastics to stick to that for now. If she wants to do cheer later she should be fine. gymnastics should give her the tumbling. I always thought stunting was much easier than tumbling to pick up. In high school we had a gymnastic come in with great tumbling but no stunting but she was able to pick up the basics by the end of the year.
 
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No right answer. Go with what works for you and your family. Mine begged to start cheer at about 6 after getting stunted by some cheerleaders that were practicing at the gymnastics gym she was tumbling at. I said no. She stuck with gymnastics until 8 almost 9 and then did about 6 months of overlap before doing only all star. (Bars killed it for her in gymnastics) Was on a World's team at 12. Now, in college, had a class with a gymnastics coach (tumbling only) and he had a ball cleaning up her "cheer form" but she had a lot of that gymnastics form still left in her and progressed quickly doing things the gymnastics way again.
 
My daughter started AS Cheer at 8, almost 9... But based on cheer, she competed as an 8 yo, due to the late birthday...She actually started gymnastics at 4yo and competitive gymnastics at 5yo... I definitely would say to keep your daughter in gymnastics, as long as possible... Honestly, there is not an ideal age, but for tumbling progressions, I think 10 yo is an ideal age to start AS Cheer... It seems that the cheer gyms are lacking the skills to teach techniques and too many of the athletes, imo, that are taught tumbling by cheer tumbling instructors have a tendency to suffer mental blocks...
 
I totally feel this way too. Every kid is different. We tried cheer because for awhile she wanted to quit gymnastics. She wants to do All-Star cheer AND competitive gymnastics and that's just not plausible. I don't know anything about all-star cheer and just wanted to see if it's like competitive gymnastics where you have to start young. If it is, I'll have a more serious talk with my daughter about which one she wants to pursue. If it's something you can switch to at a later age, well then we'll stick to the fun rec cheer program for now until she says otherwise,
Gymnastics can only help her with the tumbling aspect of cheer! I taught gymnastics so my daughter was a "gym rat" from age 3-8 and then went to cheer.
 
I agree, you won't hurt her by keeping her in gymnastics. Mine started gymnastics at 3, and I became alarmed at 5 when the very driven owner of the gym started telling me she needed to be training everyday and he wanted her on the pre-team...I was like, "whoa Nelly, I just wanted her to get her wiggles out!" I happened to see something called a "Cheer & Tumble" gym when I was running errands & thought it looked awesome. No apparatus(es) which always petrified me. I signed up for a tumble class, then they encouraged her to join the prep class...all the while brainwashing my little unicorn. :) She was put on Mini 1 at age 6, and we've been hooked for 8 years now (like a flounder on a line, lol.) As long as they have the tumbling, the other stuff is easier to pick up at an older age. I have heard, though, that it is harder for older cheerleaders who have never tumbled to pick up the tumbling. It's just easier to fling yourself around when you are young & fearless.
 
My daughter began all star at 12. She did gymnastics and dance prior to doing all star. She wishes she began earlier but I think it was perfect timing.
 
Thanks for all the responses. We'll stick with competitive gymnastics and rec cheer for now. That's what I was thinking originally, but all those cheer moms made me second guess myself. They were all quite intense! Ha! I really appreciate all the comments.
 
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