Other Afterschool Activities

[s4l4m]

Hello Again,

Do you girls have time for other after school activities or is the commitment to cheer all consuming :-). My daughter was in dance also, but with 2 practices a week and maybe a day of tumble I think this will have to be her only activity. I know it's different for everyone, but would like to hear how others are making it work or not work.

Thanks

 

[Just-a-Mom]

My older cp did not have time for anything else, but she was on 2 teams plus her school team, and in the gym 5 days a week. My younger one ran track and cheered at the same time. Now she's in irish dance, and does that, volleyball, and track. But she's only in 6th grade and none of these are serious activities for her yet (dance is getting there though).

It really depends on 5 things: your child's ability to handle lots of things, what team and how many teams they're on, your sanity level, finances, and whether you have other children.

A higher level team or multiple teams (or both) will make doing something else difficult at best, impossible at worst.

My children excel with more activities. If they have too much down time they get lazy really quickly. When they have something every day, then they are better at sticking to a schedule because they know they have to. When there's no activity that day, homework gets forgotten because they spend all day thinking they have all the time in the world (they got this from me" so I'm no help).

But you also have to consider how much YOU can take. My older one's schedule was too much for me. I about had a nervous breakdown her last year doing both allstar and school cheer. I now know that 5 days a week of activities is about all I can take, including Saturday competitions/games. Otherwise I start to get overwhelmed and can't get my own things done. So it's important to remember that you exist too.

And yes, cheer is extremely time and energy and money consumung. Of all my kids' activities, cheer was definitely the biggest commitment. If money is an issue, cheer will make it an overwhelming issue. If you have other kids, they better either cheer or be ready to sacrifice. My younger one didn't get to start Irish dance until my older cp graduated because of money and time. That probably was unfair to her, but it is what it is.

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[s4l4m]

My older cp did not have time for anything else, but she was on 2 teams plus her school team, and in the gym 5 days a week. My younger one ran track and cheered at the same time. Now she's in irish dance, and does that, volleyball, and track. But she's only in 6th grade and none of these are serious activities for her yet (dance is getting there though).

It really depends on 5 things: your child's ability to handle lots of things, what team and how many teams they're on, your sanity level, finances, and whether you have other children.

A higher level team or multiple teams (or both) will make doing something else difficult at best, impossible at worst.

My children excel with more activities. If they have too much down time they get lazy really quickly. When they have something every day, then they are better at sticking to a schedule because they know they have to. When there's no activity that day, homework gets forgotten because they spend all day thinking they have all the time in the world (they got this from me" so I'm no help).

But you also have to consider how much YOU can take. My older one's schedule was too much for me. I about had a nervous breakdown her last year doing both allstar and school cheer. I now know that 5 days a week of activities is about all I can take, including Saturday competitions/games. Otherwise I start to get overwhelmed and can't get my own things done. So it's important to remember that you exist too.

And yes, cheer is extremely time and energy and money consumung. Of all my kids' activities, cheer was definitely the biggest commitment. If money is an issue, cheer will make it an overwhelming issue. If you have other kids, they better either cheer or be ready to sacrifice. My younger one didn't get to start Irish dance until my older cp graduated because of money and time. That probably was unfair to her, but it is what it is.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to write a thoughtful and through answer to my question. You addressed many of my concerns and questions. I think since this is her first year she will only do 1 team and I'll see if we can balance it with dance and school. I do have a younger child, but she is not as activity oriented and is focused on running and dance. Both of which seem to be less demanding so far.

Thank you again!!!!!

 

[CheerBank]

Hello Again,

Do you girls have time for other after school activities or is the commitment to cheer all consuming :). My daughter was in dance also, but with 2 practices a week and maybe a day of tumble I think this will have to be her only activity. I know it's different for everyone, but would like to hear how others are making it work or not work.

Thanks

My cp has time for clubs that meet weekly or monthly before or after school, but not for a sport at her school that practices daily within season plus their games/competitions. She tried out for volleyball last fall and I was panicking when she made the first cut because I had no idea how she would make practice for that and cheer, but she was cut and I was not ashamed to admit I was sad for a minute for her and then relieved. This year she chose to do two teams at her gym and so is not even trying out for school cheer.

 

[GreenStormLucy]

My cp has no other serious activitys besides Cheer. School, cheer and coaching mini team is enough. This school year she wants to go to some gymnastics club if offered at school or nearby, to upgrade her tumbling.


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[SheCheers]

Hello Again,

Do you girls have time for other after school activities or is the commitment to cheer all consuming :). My daughter was in dance also, but with 2 practices a week and maybe a day of tumble I think this will have to be her only activity. I know it's different for everyone, but would like to hear how others are making it work or not work.

Thanks

I have 4 kids, so I limit them to one activity each because I personally can't handle anything else. My oldest isn't currently doing anything now and we have to drive a kid somewhere besides school 6 days a week. Some days we have to be in two different places. That being said, I'm with @CheerBank and will allow after school clubs that don't require any other major time commitments. This year CP is thinking about doing school choir or a musical (this is elementary school, so it's one/two afterschool days a week and ONE performance in May) so, I'm good with that. I'll consider other activities on a case by case basis as long as I know the schedule upfront and it doesn't conflict with anything.

 

[s4l4m]

Thank you all for the wonder insight on how to handle extra activites. This is our first year and she is involved in a few dance teams, so sounds like some choices have to be made to ensure we all stay sane and don't get exhausted!

 

[Just-a-Mom]

Neither of my kids cheer now (well the older one has college tryouts in April, but that is not my problem since she's 1,000 miles away ;) ). I miss sooooooooo many things about my years as cheer mom extraordinaire - my friends; the glitter :cloud9:; the excitement of the competitions (Irish dance competitions just aren't cuttin' it in excitement factor); and I even miss the 2 hour drives, since that was when cp and I did most of our talking in her high school years.

But the one thing I do not miss at all is how completely all consuming it is. It's definitely a sport that you're either all in or not. By the time my cp was on senior 5, cheer was dictating my work schedule, our vacation schedule, our finances, etc. It's a lot, and you have to be willing to make the commitment for it to work.

And the only other thing, that you've probably also experienced with dance, she will get injured. Not the end of the world, but it will also be at the most inconvenient time in the world (right before a competition, when you're broke, on a weeknight when you have 8742864254286 things to do before bed). My cp's escaped major injuries (the worst we got was broken cheek bone and nose), but still expensive and just all around sucky. The reason I bring up injuries here is that if your cp is in other activities:
1. The other activity will also have to be placed on hold while the injury heals - just something to think about
2. There is no worse feeling than when you have to tell the cheer coach that cp can't compete in 2 days because she sprained her ankle in her other, non-cheer activity. :eek: So other activities that don't have high risk of injury are probably a safer bet if she's going to be in cheer.

Anyway...I know I'm making it sound like the worst activity in the world, but really it's the opposite. I wouldn't swap out my cp's years in cheer for anything else. I wish my younger one liked it better than she did so we could still be involved in it. (Other than hanging around on Fierce Board because all my friends are here...:oops: )

 

[CougarsCoach]

No, my daughter has no time for other activities. She has one hour for homework before cheer practice starts. Practice is three nights per week (2-2.5 hours each). She has to rush home and go back to homework (she's in 8th grade). When she gets to high school next year she plans to take dance during the school day as a P.E. class.

Oh, forgot. She takes a private tumbling lesson every Saturday unless it conflicts with football games.