Newbie Gym Question

[dawgshow]

curious, do gyms usually take a stand... age first level second? or vice versa? wondering if you could explain more about that

Ours is small, so it's level first and age second.

 

[SL&AM]

Thank you so much. I don't know people personally on the teams, so these questions are golden. Also, of the 2 gyms, one is more established and the other is newer but has a very strong gymnastics program that is established. Would you be concerned about joining a newer cheer program?

I'd likely go for the more established cheer facility, honestly, but I think that comes down to preference. CP has done a cheer team out of a gymnastics gym and a cheer team out of a cheer facility and it is very different.

curious, do gyms usually take a stand... age first level second? or vice versa? wondering if you could explain more about that

It's quite common; age first, then level and then may cross to a level first, age second team. Our gym tries to keep crossovers to a minimum though.

 

[purplecheer]

I'd likely go for the more established cheer facility, honestly, but I think that comes down to preference. CP has done a cheer team out of a gymnastics gym and a cheer team out of a cheer facility and it is very different.



It's quite common; age first, then level and then may cross to a level first, age second team. Our gym tries to keep crossovers to a minimum though.

Curious as to how it is different (cheer out of gym vs. cheer out of cheer)

 

[lynn]

Is tumbling instruction (classes and such) included in monthly price?

At our gym it is. You get two tumbling classes a week.

 

[SL&AM]

Curious as to how it is different (cheer out of gym vs. cheer out of cheer)

Philosophies were quite different, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but what I disliked was that they were experts in gymnastics but when it came to cheerleading the rules/information/tride and true was just not there.

 

[mhgirlymom]

Research how well each gym teaches technique (which can be hard to do if you are new but is so important). If I were to go back and do things all over again, I would have cared less what team or level my kids were on for the first few years as long as they were being taught how to do skills correctly. Our first gym was small and the technique they taught was not very good, and it still haunts my kids with some skills today (more than 5 years later). Our second gym taught excellent technique (as does our current gym) and it makes a huge difference with skill progression.

Yes, a kid trying to overcome a habit that another gym did not correct is difficult as they move up in skill progression. The more difficult skills require much more accuracy in body position and technique to avoid injury. What starts as bending the head back in a back walk over carries over to all other backwards skills, and a few years down the line you have a kid stuck on her tuck throwing her head back. This is what happened with my daughter. She is fighting hard to break the habit and spending more time on drills right now that reinforce proper technique than on actual tumbling. Her new tumbling coach won't even think of letting her start working towards her layout until she can keep her head in line.

 

[Quotation]

See if you can find competition videos from both gyms, and from different levels. Pay attention to which gym has better technique in all levels. Make sure that your daughter is being taught proper technique from day one for basic skills. in some smaller gyms they don't put as much focus on doing the skill well as they do on just getting the skill. I personally am in the process of re-learning basic skills because I wasn't taught proper technique in the first place. Going to a gym that values technique will make it much easier for your child to progress, and more importantly avoid injury from doing skills improperly. it's better to be on a lower level team with good technique than a higher level with not-so-good technique.

 

[Allison Swallow]

I would always check into the coach and the history of the coach. Some people come off as nice and professional but when you get deeper into the gym you realize that kids have left for a reason. Make sure the gym has a good reputation and is putting out happy, successful athletes.

 

[Cheerhastakenovermylife]

I would always check into the coach and the history of the coach. Some people come off as nice and professional but when you get deeper into the gym you realize that kids have left for a reason. Make sure the gym has a good reputation and is putting out happy, successful athletes.

Good point. Our gym is very strict & tough which is why we went there. Where I hear a parent complain all the time that the gym shouldn't dictate when we can take vacations. They are the type of people who vacation a lot & are annoyed their child isn't allowed to miss once comp. Season starts. Those are the types of people we left our other gym because of. I hate spending money going to an out of state comp. with a team that hasn't had a full team practice since the last comp.

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