I'm New and Confused... Cheer or Gymnasts... Need Help?

[FlippingPeeka]

Hello All!!! I signed up to this site in search of some advise. My daughter is going on 7 and has been doing competitve cheerleading for 2 years. She loves it!! However she also loves gymnastics. Tryouts for next year are coming up and she can not decide which to do?? So, I am seeking some advise on which way to go. She was just evaluated at our local gymnastics gym and they think she would be a good gymnast. I don't know what to do???

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

As a gym mom, I would vote for gym . However, I know it can be hard for little ones to choose. There are a lot of cheer mom's here to who may have better advice.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I was in this exact position last year...

Hello All!!! I signed up to this site in search of some advise. My daughter is going on 7 and has been doing competitve cheerleading for 2 years. She loves it!! However she also loves gymnastics. Tryouts for next year are coming up and she can not decide which to do?? So, I am seeking some advise on which way to go. She was just evaluated at our local gymnastics gym and they think she would be a good gymnast. I don't know what to do???

My 10 yr old dd did cheer for 3 years and last year she made the switch to gymnastics. She was taking some tumbling classes (to help her cheer) at a gymnastics gym last Feb 08 and they said she would make a great gymnast. She tried out a few more classes and then in April 08 she got invited to pre-team. She decided to take the break from cheer to try something new and it was well worth it!!! She got moved up to Level 4 in May and she has been doing really well all year so far! She has so much fun in the gym with her teammates and loves the discipline of gymnastics. She has come a long way. She still kinda misses cheer (especially the flying part) but she says that gymnastics offers so much more--more skills to learn, more apparatus to learn things on, more chances to compete at meets (4 instead of just 1 like in cheer) and more chances for medals (she likes the bling!!). She and I are very glad we made the switch to gymnastics!!

Check out my youtube page in my signature line--I have some of her meets on video as well as some of her cheerleading--it may give you an idea of how smooth the transition from cheer to gymnastics can go. Of course, everyone's experience will be different, and she will ultimately be the one to make the decision. Both sports are a lot of fun so she can't lose either way.

Let us know what you decide!!!

 

[FlippingPeeka]

Your daughter is very good!! How did your daughter feel about not competing at first? and saying good bye to all of her cheer friends?

 

[MdGymMom01]

Your daughter is very good!! How did your daughter feel about not competing at first? and saying good bye to all of her cheer friends?

Thank you! She didn't really seem to miss the cheer or the competitions--she was so involved with gymnastics, I guess it occupied her time and mind. Last year in cheer we travelled a lot (did about 12 cheer comps) so I think she was just so tired from that.

As for the cheer friends, she still keeps in touch with a lot of them. Last year her cheer team kind of went off into 3 different directions--some left and went to a different cheer gym, some stayed, some took time off to switch sports (like my dd) and some kids just took the year off b/c they needed a break completely. So dd has been to a couple cheer comps to cheer on her old cheer friends and some of the cheer friends have come to some of dd's gym meets to cheer her on in return.

Gymnastics is definitely more subdued than cheer and it is slower and more methodical (compared to the glitz and glamour and excitement of cheer) but we were ready for a change anyway.

The way I think of it is this: dd is getting a great gymnastics foundation now and if she wants to go back to cheer when she is older, she will a stronger tumbler and cheerleader because of the gymnastics. I think age 7 for your daughter is a great age to start gymnastics--she will have a blast and learn so much!!!

Good luck with the decision and welcome to the Chalk Bucket!!!!

 

[MdGymMom01]

You may also want to think about how long she will be on pre-team before she actually starts competing. Some gyms start competing at Level 2 and others Level 4. Depending on how quickly your dd picks up the skills will determine what level she is on and when they start competing. It's a little confusing and sorry if I am not making myself clear. I would find out what they think and go from there.