All-Star Leaving Gyms Because You Feel You Belong On A Certain Team?

[Hi! It's me!]

I have always sat down and given my child the positives for teams that she may make. If you stay level 2 one more year you will have the time to really perfect your flying skills and next year you will already be working on your level 4 tumbling so you won"t be stressed out with trying to learn tumbling. She is my youngest by a number of years and I have always been BRUTALLY honest with all of my children. What work needs to be done to reach their goals, what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses. I firmly believe that the world will not end if they aren't moved up a level. I trust the owner and coaches to have my childs best interests at heart. The advantage of having so darn many kids is that you really learn that sometimes it is better to be the best in a lower level then to be the nugget in the back on a higher level. But that is just my opinion and view of the world.:p

 

[cheermommaRN]

I don't know why people do that to their kids. It is mostly about the parents and wanting their child on the highest level possible. One example I saw was a child that was clearly level 3 being shopped around by her mom trying to get her on a level 5 team. They did a season at the gym that gave her a spot but then moved the next season when gym #1 decided to not have a level 5 team. The next gym put her on a level 5 team with the same results and the next season tried to put her on a lower level....mom picked her up and took her to yert another gym! My oldest was watching a video of her team (they cheered together at our old gym) this season and she is still a mess. Imagine if her mom had let her be on a skill appropriate team? She may actually be able to double down without going inverted!
I tell my cp that her coaches will put her wherever they feel is a good fit for her. We are hoping for a youth 2 team but will take Junior again. She asked me in the car if I would be mad at her for not moving to level 3. Absolutely not! I would rather her be on a dominating 2 then a janky 3 any day of the week!

 

[xtremeteal4life]

I completely agree w/what you're saying. Unfortunately I'm seeing this on the really young teams. There are quite a few parents who I know fully expect their kids to move up to the young elite squad just bc their kid has one tumbling element that so and so on "squad a" doesn't have or bc they think that just bc their little one is super flexible she should be on said squad. Meanwhile, the jumps aren't up to par, their motions aren't really good, they forget the choreo, and they have virtually no body control and it takes all the bases can do just keep them from toppling over during a stunt....but they can do that one element so how is their child not possibly ready for "squad a"?!

What really upsets me about that, is that at this particular age group, these kids have no idea or inclination that they HAVE to make that squad. They are so happy just to be able to cheer and be a part of any team and you can see the real joy on their faces when they compete, but the parents just can't stand the fact that their little Susie isn't the star.

I've already talked with my (5 year) old daughter about upcoming tryouts and explained to her that the coaches will put her on the team they feel is best suited for her based on being able to highlight her strong suits, while working on the skills she still needs help with and being able to develop them at the right pace. I praised her for her strong suits then gently told her that it's possible bc her tumbling isn't as strong as her other attributes that she might make "team b" this year, and you know what? She was completely fine w/it despite the fact she actually has a lot of friends on "team a". The bottom line is that I trust the coaches decisions whatever they may be and I'm trying to set an early example for her to be the best that she can possibly be, without pushing her in the wrong kind of way. I want her to always love it, not feel like she's not good enough. She knows as long as she tries her best all the time, I will never be disappointed in her :)

 

[NEliteSteven]

Oh my god. This topic makes me absolutely crazy. I LOVE, LOVE the clueless girls that come from High School. A couple girls last year said they wouldn't cheer unless they made a level 4 team. Well, sweetheart, your lack of a handspring technically makes you a Level 1 athlete, so either enjoy high school cheerleading, or we'll give you Sr. 2 as a gift. They got lucky we decided to go 4.2 this year.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

I would love to shimmy the two parents who posted above me, but I'm using my phone to post so I can't :(. But I really like hearing things like that from parents. Kudos to you guys

 

[xtremeteal4life]

Oh wait, nevermind.... I figured it out! Shimmies awarded!

 

[xtremeteal4life]

Oh wait, nevermind... I figured it out! Shimmies awarded!

 

[PullandPray23]

#That awkward moment when you wanna tell someone your not going to be on senior elite ever.

 

[drewpate]

If you don't trust your gym to make the decision on where your child would be most successful then you shouldn't be there anyway. If you think you know more about coaching than your gym does, open your own. Problem solved.
Now if the gym doesn't offer your level or it's shady, your call.

 

[Mamarazzi]

I've actually thought about this, hypothetically. My cp is a ridiculously flexible flyer. But she's only been cheering for 2 years. She's working on her full, and might have it by tryouts. We've talked about the fact that her flying skills are truly level 3 all day. She was placed on level 3 this season, and I'm preparing her for the fact that strictly because of her flying experience, it might happen again next year.
She's not ok with that - and the reason is mostly because she still doesn't understand why a beast base or some other amazing flyer is on X team and clearly doesn't have that level skill. So, if she pushes herself to learn new skills in order to level up but doesn't get the chance, then she sees another child on a team who has a different set of skills (maybe not as much difficulty,) how can I tell her she's wrong? I get the disappointment. I also get that teams have certain needs. But who wants their child to be the one to be held back a level in order to help the lower-level team shine?

 

[tdittmar]

I don't know why people do that to their kids. It is mostly about the parents and wanting their child on the highest level possible. One example I saw was a child that was clearly level 3 being shopped around by her mom trying to get her on a level 5 team. They did a season at the gym that gave her a spot but then moved the next season when gym #1 decided to not have a level 5 team. The next gym put her on a level 5 team with the same results and the next season tried to put her on a lower level....mom picked her up and took her to yert another gym! My oldest was watching a video of her team (they cheered together at our old gym) this season and she is still a mess. Imagine if her mom had let her be on a skill appropriate team? She may actually be able to double down without going inverted!
I tell my cp that her coaches will put her wherever they feel is a good fit for her. We are hoping for a youth 2 team but will take Junior again. She asked me in the car if I would be mad at her for not moving to level 3. Absolutely not! I would rather her be on a dominating 2 then a janky 3 any day of the week!

I am guilty of this and am always checking myself when I get too crazy. My cp is a strong level 4 athlete. She has jumps to tuck and a full, but won't throw it without someone standing there. She's only 12 and this would be her first season she could be on a Worlds team. We don't have a jr5, but a strong jr4, which she was on this year. I found myself "suggesting" that she should really tryout for the Worlds team and maybe make it as an alternate and I got no real response. One day, I just up and asked her if she wanted to be on the level 5 team and she said not yet. She enjoys crossing over and doing our dance teams and couldn't do that with the stress of Worlds. So, needless to say, I was shocked and a little dissapointed, because doesn't every child want what their parents want? ;) I realize she's got 6-7 more years to be on a Worlds team and would never make her do something she doesn't feel ready for yet, as much as it breaks my heart.

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

We had a parent like this in our gym this past season. Starts her kid at the gym, the little girl is 4 years old. She (naturally) gets placed on the tiny team. Mom throws a tantrum at the first practice during the parent meeting, saying her daughter has been doing gymnastics for two years, she is beyond this, blah blah blah. This is in front of the other parents- nice, right?! Nevermind the fact that she has a cartwheel and roundoff. Solid level 1. To pacify her, the gym owner moves the kid to my cp's team, which was mini 1. The mom doesn't realize that the new team is another level 1. She comes to me at her daughter's first practice on the new team (I was team mom) , tells me the situation, and that the gym owner moved her because she has been doing gymnastics, etc. I, not knowing the situation, said "that's weird. This is a level 1 team too. We can't do anything that the other team can't do." Mom has a tantrum and demands that her FOUR year old be moved to the youth 2 team. Nada. Didn't happen. It's sad cause a kid that age really just wants to have fun, KWIM? Now she is walking around talking about how she (the kid) really wants to make mini 2 next season... I doubt she even knows what mini 2 is or what it means. It's just annoying...

 

[CoachJessNHS]

I feel so bad for those girls that just go from gym to gym because their parents are making them. What is that teaching the little girls? Wouldn't you feel more proud to be apart of a gym for a few years and actually be apart of the progression? I know I would!

 

[CoachJessNHS]

#That awkward moment when you wanna tell someone your not going to be on senior elite ever.

Haha!! That was hilarious! :D

 

[Ignis Pater]

CP has been up and down in our time as Rays...4 5 5 4 5 5. She has enjoyed every year and she and sis know "you are where the coaches put you." This goes for the routine as well. You will be in the front if you are needed in the front.

I have always felt if a family leaves a program because they don't agree with their childs placement, they were probably going to drama for the team anyway.