- Feb 5, 2017
- 28
- 8
YO, THIS IS GONNA BE LONG AND RANTY . SKIP TO THE BITS IN BOLD IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT BACKGROUND INFO.
So basically, I'm 15 now and I'm starting to wonder what's gonna happen to my passion for cheer as I get older (yes I'm worrying about that NOW).
Anyway, I intend to keep cheering for at least one more season, but after I do my GCSE's I'm not sure what to do. I'll be in sixth form, and I'm planning to quit all-star cheer while I focus on my A-Levels so I can get into a good uni. During this time I still want to take tumbling classes and condition a lot so I stay in shape. I'm also a dancer, so it means I'll have more time to work on technique and go to more dance events. Before I started cheer I was into acro, circus and contortion, so maybe I'll get back into that properly, too. Who knows?
After I finish my A-levels, I'm going on to further education. But I don't know whether I'll pursue a career in dance and go to a professional arts college, or whether I'll go to a highly academic uni like my parents want me to. I've always dreamed of being a either a writer or a cheer and dance coach- perhaps even opening my own gym/studio, but my parents do not think that it is a good career choice. They want me to do something technical and loathe anything artsy. That's not to say that I don't care about academics- I DO, but technical subject really interests me.
If I do decide to ignore my passion for dance and do what my parents want me to (get into a top uni), I hope to join cheer and dance teams at the said uni.
However, I'm so confused about the whole college/uni cheer system (it's different from america). As far as I know, there are NO cheer scholarships available in the UK (what the hell?). In fact, sports scholarships are VERY hard to come by- usually only reserved for athletes who represent our country.
Cheer is also not recognised as a sport anyway by many universities and therefore receives little to no funding.
So I'm worried. All-star cheer is expensive, and as of now my family can barely afford it, even when we only pay for the bare minimum (no crossovers, absolutely no extra classes, no expensive practicewear, only secondhand cheer shoes etc.).
How on earth will I be able to afford university cheer (which appears to be a watered down version of all-star), when uni is already ridiculously expensive?
Also, I've been looking at some of the cheer teams from the big name unis (e.g Cambridge) and, to be honest, they don't seem THAT good. Many of the unis I looked at have a weak level two team at most? On the bright side, the dance societies aren't too bad.
But what can I do if I want to SERIOUSLY want to continue dance and cheer at a high level while in uni. I've considered being in uni and being on an open all-star cheer team at the same time, but don't know if I can manage it. Assuming I get into one of the many good unis in London, I could always commute into a London-based all-star gym like Unity Allstars and practice there. It just so happens that all-star gyms in London are some of the best in the country anyway.
However I'm not sure if being on an all-star team AND a uni student will be too time-consuming, expensive or both. I'm not suggesting anything drastic like being on a worlds team, I just want to continue cheering.
So basically, I'm 15 now and I'm starting to wonder what's gonna happen to my passion for cheer as I get older (yes I'm worrying about that NOW).
Anyway, I intend to keep cheering for at least one more season, but after I do my GCSE's I'm not sure what to do. I'll be in sixth form, and I'm planning to quit all-star cheer while I focus on my A-Levels so I can get into a good uni. During this time I still want to take tumbling classes and condition a lot so I stay in shape. I'm also a dancer, so it means I'll have more time to work on technique and go to more dance events. Before I started cheer I was into acro, circus and contortion, so maybe I'll get back into that properly, too. Who knows?
After I finish my A-levels, I'm going on to further education. But I don't know whether I'll pursue a career in dance and go to a professional arts college, or whether I'll go to a highly academic uni like my parents want me to. I've always dreamed of being a either a writer or a cheer and dance coach- perhaps even opening my own gym/studio, but my parents do not think that it is a good career choice. They want me to do something technical and loathe anything artsy. That's not to say that I don't care about academics- I DO, but technical subject really interests me.
If I do decide to ignore my passion for dance and do what my parents want me to (get into a top uni), I hope to join cheer and dance teams at the said uni.
However, I'm so confused about the whole college/uni cheer system (it's different from america). As far as I know, there are NO cheer scholarships available in the UK (what the hell?). In fact, sports scholarships are VERY hard to come by- usually only reserved for athletes who represent our country.
Cheer is also not recognised as a sport anyway by many universities and therefore receives little to no funding.
So I'm worried. All-star cheer is expensive, and as of now my family can barely afford it, even when we only pay for the bare minimum (no crossovers, absolutely no extra classes, no expensive practicewear, only secondhand cheer shoes etc.).
How on earth will I be able to afford university cheer (which appears to be a watered down version of all-star), when uni is already ridiculously expensive?
Also, I've been looking at some of the cheer teams from the big name unis (e.g Cambridge) and, to be honest, they don't seem THAT good. Many of the unis I looked at have a weak level two team at most? On the bright side, the dance societies aren't too bad.
But what can I do if I want to SERIOUSLY want to continue dance and cheer at a high level while in uni. I've considered being in uni and being on an open all-star cheer team at the same time, but don't know if I can manage it. Assuming I get into one of the many good unis in London, I could always commute into a London-based all-star gym like Unity Allstars and practice there. It just so happens that all-star gyms in London are some of the best in the country anyway.
However I'm not sure if being on an all-star team AND a uni student will be too time-consuming, expensive or both. I'm not suggesting anything drastic like being on a worlds team, I just want to continue cheering.