All-Star Moving For Cheer??

[cupieqt]

Since you're at the age where it would be very difficult to dissuade you from doing something your heart is set on, I will only say this: Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose.

I hope cheer isn't the only reason you'd be disrupting your life and splitting up your parents.

 

[TheCheerleadingQueen]

thank you all for your help. I wasn't really looking to be persuaded or dissuaded, just looking for other opinions :) also its only like 2-3 hours away and so we would come back to see my dad and my friends quite often. my dad is gone a lot anyways so it wouldn't be like they're "splitting up" or anything. This is what I want to do I just need to consider all my options and weigh the pros and cons to see if it is worth it. I am extremely passionate about this sport and I'm the hardest worker I know, I just really feel like I'm not being pushed to my full potential where I'm at.

 

[cheer25mom]

thank you all for your help. I wasn't really looking to be persuaded or dissuaded, just looking for other opinions :) also its only like 2-3 hours away and so we would come back to see my dad and my friends quite often. my dad is gone a lot anyways so it wouldn't be like they're "splitting up" or anything. This is what I want to do I just need to consider all my options and weigh the pros and cons to see if it is worth it. I am extremely passionate about this sport and I'm the hardest worker I know, I just really feel like I'm not being pushed to my full potential where I'm at.

I know that you THINK you will be coming back all the time, but take it from someone who has been there, you won't. My immediate family moved away from the only city I had ever known when I was in middle school. Like you, we were 2-3 hours away and thought, oh we will be back every weekend. It didn't work out that way. 3 hours there Friday night and we were so tired we were zombies Saturday morning. It was after lunch before we felt like humans, and you have to head back after lunch on Sunday to get ready for school on Monday, do weekend homework ect. It just wasn't worth it for the half day of real time we got. With travel for cheer and school cheer commitments you will have even more on your plate, and it is likely that you would have to be back Sunday for practice. School breaks are going to be the only time you really have to get home, and I don't know about your gym, but we practice during those most of the time. I am not trying to rain on your parade here, but you need to understand that this isn't going to be easy, and you ARE going to be sacrificing time at home with friends. It isn't as easy as "we will visit all the time".

 

[Aussiekat]

I say do it. Jump in with your heart and eyes wide open and take the chance.

It's one year of your life. One year. Senior year is a big deal, but so is college. So is the year your fall in love, the year you move out of home, the year you have a real grown up job, the year you have your first kid or get married or someone you love falls ill… there are so many big years in your life to come.

The best outcome is that everything falls into place. The worst is that you learn some hard life lessons and the next big year will be a little easier to handle. Your parents relationship is not your responsibility, it's theirs. If they want to support you, then let them. Just remember to show them how much it means to you by working hard.

Good luck!

 

[TheDivineCheerYaYaSecret]

I certainly understand wanting to be at a gym that has enough quality athletes to field a team on your level. This was what led us to our current gym even though we truly love our first gym. We did not have to move and the commute is now about 25 minutes in traffic and it was previously 5 minutes tops.
Obviously I am in SC and I can speak to the SC High School League rules on eligibility. If you move then there is no required wait period. It may be a bit gray though if there is still a maintained primary residence elsewhere so you would want to check that out. The HS you are interested in attending may have a rule in place about being on a team for one year before being eligible for Varsity (if you already answered that, sorry).
Truthfully there are several great gyms in SC and close to the borders with NC and Georgia. If you are in the NW area of SC but closer to the Myrtle Beach area that may have less options. Everyone has given you some really great advice. I'll be thinking of you and please let us know how it all turns out. :cheering:

 

[SmileCat]

I don't know South Carolina geography too well but if you're set on ACX, aren't they close to USC? Could you super senior if you go to USC?

 

[TheCheerleadingQueen]

I don't know South Carolina geography too well but if you're set on ACX, aren't they close to USC? Could you super senior if you go to USC?

yes I could but usc is not where I really want to go to college

 

[SmileCat]

yes I could but usc is not where I really want to go to college

Then is it possible for you to find a gym near the college you want to attend?

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

Another thing to do is to look into the cheer programs of the college, or colleges, that you want to attend. Figure out what kinds of skills that they want and get an idea of how competitive their tryouts are. If they have a spring tryout, you got about a year and a half to prepare. Like if they just want a tuck you'll be fine, but if they want all their girls to have a standing and double running full and be able to perform level 6 stunting skills you don't want to be blindsided.

 

[kristenthegreat]

I know that you THINK you will be coming back all the time, but take it from someone who has been there, you won't. My immediate family moved away from the only city I had ever known when I was in middle school. Like you, we were 2-3 hours away and thought, oh we will be back every weekend. It didn't work out that way. 3 hours there Friday night and we were so tired we were zombies Saturday morning. It was after lunch before we felt like humans, and you have to head back after lunch on Sunday to get ready for school on Monday, do weekend homework ect. It just wasn't worth it for the half day of real time we got. With travel for cheer and school cheer commitments you will have even more on your plate, and it is likely that you would have to be back Sunday for practice. School breaks are going to be the only time you really have to get home, and I don't know about your gym, but we practice during those most of the time. I am not trying to rain on your parade here, but you need to understand that this isn't going to be easy, and you ARE going to be sacrificing time at home with friends. It isn't as easy as "we will visit all the time".

...I currently live 2 1/2 hours away from home. I work the most flexible job imaginable. Do you know the last time I went home?

July 4th. Even in college, I was routinely spending months before I would go home. Sometimes almost the full semester.

I would tread with caution. Definitely definitely DEFINITELY look into your potential school's sports rules (if you're intent on cheering). You need to find your balance- at what point of losing opportunity is this still worth it? What if you can't cheer HS? What if you can't cheer at all? What if your grades start slipping and your mother decides to pull the plug on all of it? Is it still worth going? As I say on all of these threads: On a dream-chasing adventure myself, I am the first person to tell you to go. I am also the first person to tell you it will be 6x as hard as you think it will. Everything that could go wrong, CAN. I've poured my heart sweat blood and tears into what I'm doing. I've spent nights crying myself to sleep from stress and frustration. I wouldn't do anything else- but some people can't handle it.

You're also a senior, and you'd be moving far away from your friends. You'll know VERY quickly who your friends are, and you'll probably make new ones, but connections will change. I'm amazed at how some people I've spent almost 10 years knowing can lose touch with me and we live in the same borough. I haven't spoken with her in at least 6 months. You need to be prepared for that hardship.

 

[MissCongeniality]

We moved our CP's senior year. But our whole family moved and it was based on job not cheer. I offered to stay with her (apt) in our old town or that she could live with her best friend so she could stay at her school...but she was excited by idea of a move and said it would be good prep for leaving for college. We got her to new school HS cheer tryouts and she made the team (even though it is far more of a dance/pom squad than cheer and she had to work so hard as she is not a trained dance) Anyway, the girls have been wonderful. She had not planned to do All Star cheer again, but was convinced by a wonderful coach who needed someone with her skills for the team. She is having the time of her life.

That said... some cautions: Her AP/Honors courses from her previous school DID NOT transfer credit wise to new school (unless school offers exact same course). She has great friends here but no BEST friend with "history" like she did previously. So she sometimes feels like she is a 3rd wheel as the kids here have known each other for years.

 

[nicolee]

[ignore]

 

[shorttpai]

I moved the summer after my sophomore year two hours away (from Michigan to indiana). Everyone is saying that you won't go back to your hometown, but that's not always the case. I go back every other weekend (at least) to be back with my friends/my dad. Life does get in the way, but I make it work. If you want to do it, go for it! Just think it through. A new school sounds great, having a fresh start, but it's not as awesome as its hyped up to be. My experience with it though- I was super excited about the cheer aspect (moved from doing competitive Michigan high school cheer & sideline cheer to doing allstars in Indiana) I absolutely adore my all star gym right now, but if I had moved solely for cheer I would be miserable. I didn't like my cheer team at my old school, I cried every time I got home from practice, but cheer isn't everything. I am a way better cheerleader now than I would've been, but to me it wouldn't have been worth it. It's a lot harder than expected.

 

[cheerKT]

I certainly understand wanting to be at a gym that has enough quality athletes to field a team on your level. This was what led us to our current gym even though we truly love our first gym. We did not have to move and the commute is now about 25 minutes in traffic and it was previously 5 minutes tops.
Obviously I am in SC and I can speak to the SC High School League rules on eligibility. If you move then there is no required wait period. It may be a bit gray though if there is still a maintained primary residence elsewhere so you would want to check that out. The HS you are interested in attending may have a rule in place about being on a team for one year before being eligible for Varsity (if you already answered that, sorry).
Truthfully there are several great gyms in SC and close to the borders with NC and Georgia. If you are in the NW area of SC but closer to the Myrtle Beach area that may have less options. Everyone has given you some really great advice. I'll be thinking of you and please let us know how it all turns out. :cheering:

I would check in with the High School League office on the topic of transfers. There is an "Approved Transfers" list on their website, schsl.org (Transfers) which leads me to think there may be some kind of paperwork to file when switching schools and attempting a sport right away. Perhaps that is only if you participating in that sport at another state school or from out-of-state.

@TheCheerleadingQueen, feel free to PM me with questions. I grew up in Columbia cheering at the program you mentioned and have a sibling in the program currently. Not sure where you currently reside in the state but if it's closer to the coast, there is also the Charleston gym with a very successful level 4 team. (They won NCA last year!) That could be closer to you. Hope it works out!

 

[Onfire381]

This year is my senior year, and over the summer I move as district over. It was tough decision, but I was not happy at my old school. At my new high school I was able to take a harder load, but I had to take a cooking class which took up a space for another class. I ended up not doing allstars as my gym was a lot father and a heavier courses. I ended up making my high school team where I became friends with many of them. Unfortunately, I landed weird on a dead mat and tore my meniscus, which I just got surgery on Tuesday. I am happy with my choice at moving. However, I recommend you make a pro and cons of moving. Its a tough decision and make sure its a financial wise decision. As much as you love cheerleading, make sure it will be a wise decision. Wish you good luck in whatever you end up deciding! :)

You also need to take into consideration the course load of high school as you said you currently lived in an impoverished area and the new school may be harder and require you to take on more academically. Also, doing high school competitive cheer and All Star cheer may not work and believe me it's a real juggling act to keep everything straight. My CP currently takes AP courses in high school, cheers varsity competition for high school and does 2 All Star teams. She is at a small gym that is in the same town as her high school and they both basically go to the same competitions. High School competition ends the 1st week in March, but All Star continues into May and March - May is when her all star team does nationals. She was at a big gym 2 years ago with a commute that took 1 hr each way, but she missed out on High School comp. and she really wanted to be with her friends so she went back to her smaller local gym so she could do both (they go up to level 4). Just really think things through and make sure you have asked all the questions before you make a decision.