New Cheer Mom!!

[Momof3princesses]

What advice or instruction would you give me?!?!?!? I am sooo new to this that I feel like a fish out of water!
My CP just joined her first All-Star team! She is 6 and I know NOTHING about cheer! My daughter has 2.5 years of Gymnastics under her belt and is super athletic! Her coaches have told me she is a really fast learner and has been picking up the new skills really fast. We are not traveling this season (too much money and too far for us to handle with her only being 6yo.) We are in Hawaii so she is only going to be doing local competitions and performances! Practices are closed so I don't really get to learn much from watching. I know that since she joined they have been putting her up as a flyer (which she LOVES!!!)
So any information, advice, or knowledge you have gained that you would like to share is welcome!! TIA

 

[mybabywantstotumble]

welcome! and come to the parent area where you will receive lots of advice and learn a lot from the parents perspective! :)

 

[dawgshow]

Welcome to the craziness :)

 

[mhzdog]

Welcome !!! Be prepared to be amazed ! You will meet alot of great people and be blown away by alot of great kids, including your own ! My advice to anyone as they enter the sport would be to trust your coach's , one of the largest pitfalls to be aware of is that it is sometimes naturally difficult for parents to allow others to make decisions regarding their kids. So when questions arise, and they will, always try to give your coaches the benefit of the doubt and encourage others to do the same. And have fun, the season goes by fast !!!

 

[alexamarysouza]

In my 10 years in this sport, my mom & I have learned that some parents like to gossip about other children & their parents. And I'm talking terrible gossip. Saying things you just wouldn't want to hear out of a supposed adult's mouth. We thought it could've just been our old gym, but no. They're everywhere. So if you hear parents being very gossipy, I would stay away. They like to start trouble and try to make you 'feel bad' for other kids/parents.
On another hand, there are many many MANY awesome parents and kids in the sport as you can see from this forum! We will all be here for you if you need help this season and in the future! :)

 

[Deleted member 15407]

Welcome to the boards! I really don't have any advice besides; Don't be a crazy cheer mom! lol!
Best of luck to you and your daughter during your first cheer season! Its also my first All Star Season! (:

 

[Mamarazzi]

Parent Action Commitee has published some good material to help parents learn what's what with cheer.
Glad your cp is ahead of the game skills-wise, and is a fast learner, but don't forget, there are lots of different aspects of cheer and where she excels in one area, she might not in another, and that's ok!
Enjoy each cheer success and buy your cp a Frosty when she has a not-so-good day - she probably feels badly enough and doesn't need you fussing at her on the way home :)

 

[CheerBank]

Aloha and welcome! The all-star cheer world is both a fantastic and crazy place to be for both yourself and your child. It's good that you are not traveling this season, it will give you a chance to get your feet wet.
First recommendation - being that you are the parent of an athletic YOUNG cheerleader who is also flying - quickly develop a thick skin. Find your drama-free bubble, step into it and let it surround you the whole season. Do not get sucked into other parents' issues and do not let their energy fuel you.
Second recommendation - 24 hour rule (even though it's hard to stick to sometimes.) When something happens at practice, unless it's something that directly resulted in your child being injured or fearful to return, wait a minimum of 24 hours to question a coach's action or decision. I've found that my protective instincts come out way too quickly and cloud my judgement sometimes over how to respond to a situation, especially when my child is upset about something.
Third recommendation - don't get sucked into the vortex of abandoning everything else for cheer. Try to find a good balance between time spent at the gym and time spent doing other activities, especially if her cheer friends and school friends are two different groups. Hopefully she will continue to love cheer for many years to come but you don't want her to burn out - or you for that matter!
Good luck with everything and have fun with it.

 

[Momof3princesses]

Thank you everyone for the welcome and the advice! I already try and stay away from Dramatic people as it is, gossiping (shameful truth) is something in the past I have gotten sucked into and it has caused me an unknown amount of DRAMA! So since that point I have been doing my best to stay away and out of the drama and gossip as much as possible!! We are currently (attempting) to Homeschool my CP (it has been rough so far but we are trying to push through! Daddy will be home soon from a 6m deployment so we will see if behaviors change for the better when he gets home.)

Enjoy each cheer success and buy your cp a Frosty when she has a not-so-good day - she probably feels badly enough and doesn't need you fussing at her on the way home :)

OMG Perfect advice for my CP LOL She is ALWAYS begging for Frosty's! I try not to be hard on her anyway because I know that she has coaches who have already gotten onto her or she is already mad enough at herself! I don't have any experience in Gymnastics or Cheer so it isn't my place to chastise her for something she did or didn't do relating to the sport!

First recommendation - being that you are the parent of an athletic YOUNG cheerleader who is also flying - quickly develop a thick skin. Find your drama-free bubble, step into it and let it surround you the whole season. Do not get sucked into other parents' issues and do not let their energy fuel you.
Second recommendation - 24 hour rule (even though it's hard to stick to sometimes.) When something happens at practice, unless it's something that directly resulted in your child being injured or fearful to return, wait a minimum of 24 hours to question a coach's action or decision. I've found that my protective instincts come out way too quickly and cloud my judgement sometimes over how to respond to a situation, especially when my child is upset about something.

Love these!! I think I already have a pretty thick skin when it comes to my girls and the fearlessness that apparently came with all 3 of them! LOL! I understand what your saying about it though! Jealousy can cause some nasty Momma's and Daddies! I have seen it through the last 2 years sitting watching my CP at gymnastics practice! Thankfully the Cheer gym we are at has it strictly labeled in the handbook that if any issue is to arise that it should be addressed through the staff and handled in a manner becoming our of CP's! Good examples need to be set!
I can tend to be a momma bear so if my CP came to me upset about something she feels is unfair that happened during practice. I might go to the coaches a bit heated so this is a good rule of thumb to remember!

Truly I thank each of you for your advice and responses! I have so much to learn and hopefully CP will enjoy this sport for a long time! I expect injuries (honestly surprised we haven't had to make more trips to the ER then we already have) and I expect tears and triumphs! I will be sure to come back with lots of different questions!! :)

 

[cupieqt]

Great advice fiercers!
Welcome to all stars new cheer mom! I think you'll find that being on fierceboard will help you tremendously. And, like the all-wise Mamarazzi posted above, the PAC has a great getting started guide that I steer all new cheer parents to.
One thing about being on here-- use the search bar. We discuss EVERYTHING. I mean it. If there's something you want to talk about or question, we have already discussed it, analyzed it and beaten it to death. Uniforms, coaches, judging, competitions, teams, bows, skills, routines, music, gyms, rules, drama, television shows, injuries and even how to load a dishwasher ;)--all have had their own thread, or have been talked about, at some point.

Welcome to your new world :)

 

[SmileCat]

I wish my mom got involved with my cheer :(
Good luck to you & your daughter & have an amazing first cheer season!

 

[Deleted member 15407]

I wish my mom got involved with my cheer :(
Good luck to you & your daughter & have an amazing first cheer season!

Oh my gosh same. My mom will not even listen to me if i mention Cheerleading in a sentence :(