All-Star I Just Wish He'd Put On The Cheer Dad Shirt Already...

[cheernerd5678]

My dad couldn't care less about cheer, but it doesn't really bother me. It's kind of my mom and i's thing. She's not that into it either, but she gets better year by year. This year she was actually paying attention at comps and telling me about teams I missed. Only the ones in my division but still. Ever since we visited stingrays she brings them up at every opportunity - "I like that your coaches chose stingrays colors for their gym" *sees them in champs league* "WE WENT THERE". Comps are just me and my mom, my dad's been to one or two my first year cheering, but when they both come that means bringing my 3 brothers (and back then my sister) so they'd come for my performance then leave and go do something fun. He basically just pays the bills, sometimes says "that was cool," and comes to my showcases. I don't think he even owns a gym shirt :D he coaches my brothers' competitive basketball team and does Boy Scouts with the other one, so it keeps him pretty busy. He's involved with the boys stuff and my mom's involved with the girls :)
Ever since I got my license my parents have been less involved (they basically just send me with a check if needed) and since they're constantly running my brothers around, they're not seeing my progress day to day. comps are a nice time for me and my mom to be alone, which never happens when you have 5 kids! My sister is a little jealous of all our trips though :)

 

[Haileycheer]

My parents just told me I cannot cheer this year because they cant get off work to get me to competitions, when I could obviously catch a ride with one of my teammates to the competitions. My brother plays basketball and baseball, and travels all around our state. No problems for him! :banghead: So basically, I have to quit the one thing I love the most after doing it for 5 years. Yay me!

 

[Twinklestars]

My parents just told me I cannot cheer this year because they cant get off work to get me to competitions, when I could obviously catch a ride with one of my teammates to the competitions. My brother plays basketball and baseball, and travels all around our state. No problems for him! :banghead: So basically, I have to quit the one thing I love the most after doing it for 5 years. Yay me!

I would have to ask what sport or sports my brother was giving up. That really isn't fair.

Sorry.









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[XtremeWpg]

My mom was so against me starting cheer in high school and it was actually my dad who convinced her to let my sister and I try it.

He has been to so many competitions, watches NCA and worlds with me. Asks how the big USA competitions went. Now that I'm coaching he's constantly asking about my teams and if they've gotten their rewinds or double downs. He gives me coaching tips when I'm having trouble with an athlete. The best quote from him this year was "you know, they should do more forward roll transitions, those look great". Thanks dad. We're an IOC6 team but I'll consider adding a full team forward roll.

My mo. However doesn't understand why I do this at all and think that I'm just biding my time til I have kids and quit....little does she know. That won't be happening!!


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[SarahS]

My parents just told me I cannot cheer this year because they cant get off work to get me to competitions, when I could obviously catch a ride with one of my teammates to the competitions. My brother plays basketball and baseball, and travels all around our state. No problems for him! :banghead: So basically, I have to quit the one thing I love the most after doing it for 5 years. Yay me!

Find a solution to the problem. Talk to teammates and their parents. Work out carpools. Talk to the gym to see about fundraisers. Come up with a plan and approach your parents saying "I know you're worried about how we can manage the logistics of cheer this year. This is how I can get to practices and competitions. This is how I am going to help pay for it." It will be beneficial to you, to start figuring out these important life skills, and it will help your parents see how important cheer is to you.

 

[GForce]

My dad has always been pretty supportive. In HS he came to a lot of the football games with my mom and other family. None of my family every went to any basketball because there were soo many. He always came to our UCA national qualifier competition and was always excited to buy us a shirt to celebrate us making it to nationals. He was also always at our end of year show case, and then tried to attend at least one or two other local competitions. At our end of year show case, we always did a father daughter routine and my dad was always let down that we never did it with him, but it's kinda hard to do that with three daughters..Now in college he loves coming to any basketball games that he can! He will even watch UCA and NCA and Worlds and stuff when it is on TV! My dad was a star swimmer when he was young but he never pushed swimming on us. When we first started cheer he didn't really understand it and stuff but then my mom brought him to one of our tumbling classes and he started to see all the things we could do and since then he has been great :) I love it!!

 

[ACEDAD]

I wasn't terribly interested when Caito started, but Tiki convinced me to come watch some of the practices and meet the other dads. Bobby was very into the sport and his daughter was adorable. Our kids hit it off and he kind of showed me the ropes.

The more I learned, the more interested I was. Being at Kentucky Elite when we started probably helped. Because their large coed squad was incredible. I got hooked in 1997 and never looked back. The experiences with my wife, daughter and even my son (while he cheered for a few years) were remarkable. And I could never hope to find better friends than I did over that time.

I'm just glad I gave it a chance. Wish other dads would as well.


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[AliciaM]

My step dad used to come to all my competitions until my mom and step dad divorced and he moved. That's one thing I LOVE about cheersport! Our parents are super involved and a LOT of dads! They also dress up too. We have some awesome dads at our gym who do everything around the gym to putting up banners and trophies, painting, and putting on a Shark costume at competitions! So nice to see not only moms involved but dads too. There is even a dad who has said he may apply to be a team cheer (mom) dad next year :)

 

[xomckenzieee]

My poor dad. I quit softball to focus on cheer once I got to high school and I think I broke his heart a little. He went to every single competition, watched me for 2.5 minutes, and then watched football on his handheld TV he'd bring. By the end of my cheer career, he was making up his own names for body positions, which were quite interesting. I hope your husband comes around @Gemma :)

I'm laughing because my dad made up names for everything. God bless him. We'd get off the floor and he'd be like tiny blonde girl right side fell on her twisty spin thing to foot grab (360 to heel stretch). I give him credit because he tried, he truly did. I was very lucky to have a dad that supported me at just about every game and competition. I know he didn't love cheerleading but I knew he loved me because he came.

ETA: My dad has my cheer head on a stick in his office still and I haven't cheered in 3 years...

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I posted about my husband but forgot about my daddy!

He has always been the "dad with the video camera" from pop warner, to school cheer, to all stars, college.

He may not have known the first thing about anything I was doing, but he was going to be there and he was going to video the crap out of me.

Seriously. There is a library of film of games and comps starting from when I was 5. You know, the kind where the video is zoomed in on just YOU although there are 25 others in the routine?

Like, entire state competition routines during which you can only see me. I look like I'm levitating because he is zoomed in on me flying in every stunt. He also has great commentary like "There she goes up there! That's my girl!" To the point that you can't hear anything else. Hilarious.

 

[hawkeye87]

Wow I had the complete opposite problem. When I was in high school both my mom and dad loved cheer and were extremely passionate about it. But when I reached university and I was cheering on an International team, my mom started to really dislike it. She hated the drama that was associated with the allstar world but my dad still loves it even though I'm retired., He called me after large senior awards this year to complain about the whole Worlds debacle and to comfort me after Shooting Stars lost.He is even travelling to New Jersey in the next coming months and is going to try to get me a WCSS shirt. My mom did come to all of my competitions though but she and dad had to sit separately because he used to pace the arena while waiting for awards and it would drive her crazy. lol

 

[Cheeranswers]

wow this definitely gave me a new appreciation! I've done ever single sport i think imaginable. when i was trying to find "my" sport i pretty much did a different sport every year. my family was always supportive. unfortunately, it always took them until the end of the year pretty much to understand the rules (they're not too much into sports), and by that point i was done with the sport. when i started cheer they obviously had a very hard time learning all the names for skills and that sort of thing. fast forward years and they're finally understanding my cheer rants :)

i will occasionally come home to my father asking "how was gymnastics?" but ill take what i can get... :)

 

[12mowerd]

Neither of my parents ever went to my sporting events. My mom went to a couple of comps in high school but that was it. She went to my state games in fieldhockey. My dad never went to anything because he lived out of state.

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[lilmsthang75]

I had an uninvolved husband who thought cheer was a dumb hobby but he has changed over the years gradually with baby steps.

At the end of every year my husband will let me know how much we spent on cheer. I use to think he was complaining but to him how much he spends on the things his kids love shows that he really loves them. Warped but true! And when my kids complain about how they do not have something, he always tells them they have cheer and laughs. That is just his way and I think even the kids understand now. He literally sits around the TV with his friends and they all talk about how much money they spend on their kids extracurriculars (sp) whether it is cheer, dance, football, baseball, or dirt biking. Men love to brag.

On the other hand, he hates loud music and loud people so he does not enjoy competitions but he always comes prepared with his PS Vita, Ipod, and Ipad. He only wants to see his kids so he is not going up to VIP for every team in the gym. In the beginning it was all on me. He did not come to any comps but the kids told him they wanted him there and he struck a deal with them. He would come to showcase as long as it was not on a work night and he would go to 2 away competitions and one local competition. This makes these comps very special for the kids and they always seem to do their best. As time goes by, he even asks questions like how did you do, did your team hit, did you do your best, did you do (insert whatever skill they are working on), are you proud of what you did today, and he even asked did you have any deductions this past season. #impressed

It took time and patience with my husband but once he realized that his kids needed him to participate in the sport, he stepped up. No, he is not the dad in full costume with the bullhorn. He is not the dad at every practice and knows all the girls names. But he is the dad that has made those kids happier with his presence.

 

[Cheermom1969]

Neither of my parents ever went to my sporting events. My mom went to a couple of comps in high school but that was it. She went to my state games in fieldhockey. My dad never went to anything because he lived out of state.

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And once again you remind me how you and I had the same upbringing... :(