All-Star Crazy Cheer Mom Question....

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mommy2mygirls

Cheer Parent
Nov 3, 2010
223
308
My daughter does AllStar...LOVES it and has/will give up anything and everything (ie soccer, volleyball, plans with friends, trips, etc) to be able to do it.

I would like her to have an activity at school and suggested sideline cheer so she can have a group of girls at school as well as her beloved allstar cheer friends - next year is her first year in high school.

She is beyond against it. I don't get it. Says NO WAY and won't even try it.

The crazy cheer mom question - do I make her at least try a few practices in the summer? Or do I let her just not do it.
 
When I first started high school, I hated the idea of sideline cheering. It's way more basic than what we're all used to with all stars but I tried it my freshman year and it wasn't too bad. Sure not getting to do all the fun stunts as all star wasn't my cup of tea but I made some really good friends and I was involved with something at school! Might as well give it a shot!
 
Well I am split. My daughter tried it but it isnt for her. What about a speech or theater class? That is a class my daughter loved and was able to meet new people and make friends.
 
If it isn't for her, no use trying it again. I did and I know my mom hated listening to me complain about it.. haha. Theater is always a good way to meet new people and if she loves it, the classes will only get better in high school! Best of luck! :)
 
My daughter is 12 and we actually just had to have a talk about what to and not to put on Facebook because she got tired of everyone asking if she'd tried out for her middle school team.

She is vehemently opposed to school cheer and can't even figure out why kids choose to do it.

Where we are they can't stunt or tumble so it's basic hand clapping side line cheer and she wants absolutely nothing to do with it. She is on our jr4 and is at the gym 3-4 nights a week anyway. She doesn't do anything extra curricular at school and I don't force that. Her Allstar friends are her social group, and I know all of them. She plays in the band but that's during school.

Regardless of how you feel about school vs Allstar, if shes opposed to it, it will not end well. If she doesn't want to be there she won't put in the effort, or she won't have the right attitude and that will cause its own drama. I would suggest not forcing her into something she doesn't want to do. If you want her involved in something other than cheer then tell her you want her to think about what else shes interested in and give her the option to choose one activity, in addition to cheer, you would like her to explore.

However, I'd caution you against over scheduling your kid. Mine does Allstar cheer and that's pretty much it. She loves art and works in her art studio drawing manga style stuff and is really good at that, and that's what she does in her spare time. She also works on her french language program in her spare time. If she was involved in something else (like her brother who cross teams allstar and is a cadet chief master sergeant in the civil air patrol) she wouldn't have that time to draw and just be a kid. He has very little "free time" (she says as he's out with his girlfriend at her brothers baseball game tonight....)
 
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It's not really something you can "try." You either commit to the team or you don't and once you're on it you're on. Many people don't want to cheer for school because they don't like sideline, the connotation that comes with being a school cheerleaders, or maybe the school's team just isn't very good.

You should encourage to pursue interests outside of cheering at school. There are activities at school you can't do anywhere else. I find a lot of cheerleaders enjoy show choir. While it's different from cheerleading, some of the principles are familiar, and you still get that close knit group. All she needs to do is find something that interests her, be it show choir, theater, band, fashion marketing, service clubs, or art, and she will make plenty of friends
 
I'd say it depends on a lot of things, like how well the team does. I would have never even thought twice about HS had our team not competed, not tumbled, stunted etc.

Also I think a big thing to factor in, is how good are the football, basketball teams and whatever else she'd be cheering for. Because if the teams are awful and never win its going to be unbearably boring. In my town, football is EVERYTHING and to be apart of something so important in the community is so much fun and its one of the main things keeping me from going to allstar.

I think each situation is different. Maybe let her take her freshman year to settle in and see what the cheerleaders do and let her decide for herself if she'd like to do it.
 
My daughter couldnt do it, she didnt like the standing in front of people cheering at all, it gave her anxiety, I dont know why but it did, our was year round and it was too much torture.
 
Regardless of how you feel about school vs Allstar, if shes opposed to it, it will not end well. If she doesn't want to be there she won't put in the effort, or she won't have the right attitude and that will cause its own drama. I would suggest not forcing her into something she doesn't want to do. If you want her involved in something other than cheer then tell her you want her to think about what else shes interested in and give her the option to choose one activity, in addition to cheer, you would like her to explore.

Amen! I love high school cheerleading and there really is nothing like cheering for your school, but it really sucks if everyone gives 100% and one girl couldn't care less.
Anyways! If your daughter is going to be a freshman in high school she should be able to choose what sports she wants to do. My mom only "strongly suggested" when it came to sports and activities. If you really want her to just nag her a little big. If your daughter wants to be a college cheerleader, then I would nag a little more. ;)
 
mommy2mygirls Did you suggest it because it was cheer and you thought it would be an easy thing for her to fall into? I totally understand you wanting to help her out with being active and possibly finding a group of friends for hs. Is she new to the area or does she have friends that will be going to the same school as her. If so I would just let her find her place and she might surprise you and take up theatre, 4h or something else. She already knows that she likes cheer, maybe she will want to add to her list of 'likes' , goodluck!
 
This is a little bit besides the point, but it is really good to have some extracurriculars that take place at school. I honestly feel that extracurriculars are really essential to a high school experience. Whether its a club, tutoring, or a sport, its always good to be involved at school. Those types of experiences provide a great bond between the people involved and that not only enhances the extracurricular experience, but a kids' social life. Even if they don't have tons of time to hang out on the weekends, that bond is huge in high school.

Here is where my applying-to-college brain kicks in- I don't know whether your daughter plans to go to college or not or if she has other plans, but if she is, it is always good to be involved at school in some capacity from her freshman year. It shows good service, school spirit, commitment, leadership, and so on. I won't rant about this forever because this isn't about admissions, but something to consider.

Even though all-star cheerleading is very time consuming, I would encourage you to get your daughter involved in a school activity. Whether it is school cheer or even a fun club, make her do something. Most schools have at least one thing a kid would want to do, and there are some really great options that are less time consuming than adding on another sport. I wouldn't force her into school cheer, but give her other options to choose from. Many cheerleaders enjoy track because you gain so much strength and endurance. Hope this works out for you!
 
Even though all-star cheerleading is very time consuming, I would encourage you to get your daughter involved in a school activity. Whether it is school cheer or even a fun club, make her do something. Most schools have at least one thing a kid would want to do, and there are some really great options that are less time consuming than adding on another sport. I wouldn't force her into school cheer, but give her other options to choose from. Many cheerleaders enjoy track because you gain so much strength and endurance. Hope this works out for you!
Just adding to this, a lot of girls on my team also really like soccer! And they just so happen to have the best jumps:)
 
Doing something with some high school group, club, or team is great because it makes you feel connected to the school and have pride in it. That something definitely doesn't have to be cheer though!
 
If she really doesn't want to do it, don't force her to do it... but do tell her that she needs to find some other activity at school if she decides not to cheer. I loved all-star cheerleading SO MUCH but I had no interest in school cheerleading. Instead, I wrote for the school newspaper and joined Key Club (a service/leadership organization) and did tutoring/mentoring with Big Brothers Big Sisters. It was nice to do things that weren't cheerleading related- I was able to apply some of the team work and leadership skills I learned through different activities to my experiences at the gym, and vice versa.
 
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