T&T Converting from cheer...T&T a better fit than Artistic?

[AnnabelleC]

My 11 yr old daughter, who has been in all-star cheer for 1 1/2 yrs, is thinking that she may want to switch from cheer to gymnastics. She has no prior gymnastics experience, but is a very fast learner when it comes to tumbling, having gone from a front roll to a standing tuck in the short time she has been in cheer. She is lacking a bit in front tumbling skills because they don't focus on them a lot at cheer, but she is quite good at back tumbling. Can do RO multiple BHS , and RO BHS Tuck, although she is working through a bit of a block on her tuck right now after a scary neck fall. She is currently doing some tumbling lessons at a gymnastics gym, and a coach there suggested that Power Tumbling might be a better fit for her because she loves to tumble so much and is fast and powerful. He never mentioned trampoline, however she does love the tramp in our backyard, and is very comfortable doing front/back handsprings and tucks, and recently started trying twisting but can only manage a half...lol. I know that the tumbling style in the gymnastics world can be very different from cheer. I think her biggest concern is that she really enjoys competitive sport, and is unsure if she has the skills required to be able to make a competitive team in a gymnastics related sport. She has no Olympic expectations by any means, but enjoys competition and would not be happy with it just being a recreational activity....We do have a gym nearby that has a competitive T&T team, but it is by invitation only. They find their athletes via their recreational program, however my niece took the program and found it boring because she said that all they did was simple stuff and they would not let her do her bigger skills (she is also a tumbler). I worry that if my daughter leaves cheer to be in a recreational beginner class, she may regret it because she is not being challenged at all. Do you think she has a good enough skill set to warrant asking for a tryout? I know nothing about T&T and what skills are needed to be considered for a competitive team.

 

[trampolinemom]

Canada is probably a whole different thing but here in the netherlands ...
There is quite a bit of difference in gyms and the kids they allow into their team. This goes from something in between:
1. cooperates well and is a hard worker to 2. should be very young, strong, flexible, have xyz skills, fast learner, cooperates well and is a hard worker. Also the levels that gyms are competing in differ.

Hard to tell what kind the gym is what your are talking about but I would say, have a look, ask questions and if you think it might be a good fit, tell them that your daughter is interested in competitive sports and ask for a try out.
But be prepared that she might have to put effort and time in basic skills first. Even high level artistic gymnasts who switch over to our trampoline gym have to work basics first until they have good form. (they do go through basics a lot faster though)

 

[AnnabelleC]

Do you have to compete in all events, or can you just do tumbling without trampoline?

 

[trampolinemom]

Do you have to compete in all events, or can you just do tumbling without trampoline?

my DS is in a trampoline only gym so one event only, no tumbling for him. I don't know about Canada.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Canada may also be different than the US, but here's my take. We get a LOT of overlap training at my DDs T&T gym from the local all star cheer team- think basically the whole team trains their tumbling there. Not all cheer teams will train tumbling with gymnastics coaches, so these girls are more solid than many, but they are still held to a different standard than the T&T team. They often have higher/harder skills with slightly worse form. A few have switched over and have advanced on the other two events quickly. You don't compete all levels the same in T&T, so a kid with serious tumbling skills through the door would likely start at L7 on tumbling and L4 on the other two events. You don't have to compete all three, but some gyms (ours) require it. Also, there is no front tumbling in power tumbling at all, so that's a decent fit too.

 

[leapfrog]

Canadian t&t gyms differ a lot in what events they compete. Some just do tramp, some all 3, some tumbling and dmt. At mine you have to compete tramp, but the other two are more optional. And some are much more picky in who they take. Feel free to pm me. Canadian t&t is pretty small and I might be able to give you info at least about which events specific clubs compete.