WAG Gymnastics or cheer?

[mouey77]

This may not be the right place to ask this, but I don't have access to other forums. DD just turned 6. Her gym had team tryouts for level 1 (new level 1), and she made the team. She is very excited and is having a lot of fun at the practices.

To make a very long story short, I had been going back and forth about the gym she is at. It's a smaller gym, but their philosophy is to start a group of young girls (5-6 yr olds) on the team at one time at level 1 (used to be level 2), and they can work their way up from there. I had thought about switching gyms earlier this year because DD was really ready to get out of the preschool group and was doing some great tumbling. I decided to stay put because the other gym we looked at was super serious. We want her having fun and not burning out. The coaches at our gym are great with young kids and very nurturing.

Meanwhile, she has done some fun holiday camps with school friends at a competitive cheerleading gym this spring (I know the tumbling is different. Probably not great idea etc.). The cheer place is talking up having her participate on their minis team.

DD is dying to do both gymnastics team and cheerleading. I told her to choose which one she likes better and she says she is doing both. At 6, should I let her try both out? Level 1 gymnastics practices 6 hours a week (yikes!) and cheer is one hour during week and one hour on Sunday. As I am typing this, that seems really extreme. Of course gymnastics says she will "fall behind" if she takes off a year, and the cheer people say the same. It seems like just about every sport gets really intense at younger and younger ages!

 

[emorymom]

If a six year old can't take off a year, I want to hear about how the super-serious gym acts!

But seriously, whether both is too much, is very personal to each child.

Cheerleading is very expensive and causes them to put big bows right on top of their heads. Bless their hearts.

If you do say no to cheerleading, if she does gymnastics until she is 10-12 or later and then wants to transition into cheer, I predict that they will be more than happy to have her and convert her gym skills into cheer skills.

 

[mouey77]

The super serious gym has them home schooling. Our gym won't put them on the team until they are 6 years old and then only at lowest level. Judging from what I'm reading in these forums, it seems like most other gyms will place them on team if ready at 4 or 5!

Yeah, it seems to me she could transition to cheer no problem, but naturally cheer says otherwise. The gymnastics is a definite, but the cheer we are just considering.

Just stewing as I tend to do when making decisions...

 

[Faith]

We have/had a similar issue.

When DD was 7 she was invited to team. The week after we accepted she went on a fun holiday course (which was already booked, as she was only doing 1 day a week gymnastics) for another sport and was "spotted".

DD wanted to do both. I did say no but they asked in front of her, saying about all the exciting stuff she'd be doing . She was 7, and had been in afterschool care everyday anyway, so we figured going to a sports club straight after school wasn't much different. She started off doing 2 days a week gym, and 1 day a week at the other sport.

Now she's 8 and still doing both, but training has ramped up to 6 days a week. We reassess constantly to make sure she's not burning out, but she's not ready to drop either yet, even though she appears to be far more talented at sport 2.

The issue I see with cheer is that it's far, far easier to go from gymnastics to cheer than the other way round. So if you have to pick, it's best to start with gym and then you can still switch to cheer later on.

If she can cope with both, and you decide to allow it, make sure both sets of coaches know, so they can make allowances for the differences in technique.

Oh and I wouldn't worry about falling behind at 6. In a year, maybe.

 

[mouey77]

Yes! That is exactly what happened. The cheer people talked it up to her. I called the cheer coach on Friday to say no and because I am a big weenie, I chickened out as she went on and on about how wonderful DD would be at the cheer. I am sure she also wants our money. I guess it boils down to cost and making sure meets and performances wouldn't conflict. I wish I could give her the opportunity to try both and figure out which one she likes best. She can't do both forever, but at 6, it seems like a good time to give her a chance to try different things.

 

[tooootsie]

Our gym will not place a kid onto team (l3) until they are 6, and they just started l3 this year. They have pre-team programs for the lil ones. But I think (but what do I know?) competing at level 1 seems weird.

 

[mouey77]

They changed the levels this year, so I guess level 1 is what used to be level 2???

 

[sglemon]

Both of my girls did a year of cheer and gymnastics about the time they were level 2 at gymnastics. It was an experience they needed to have and after the first year of cheer, both girls de died they would never do cheer again. LOL. We had a good situation, where the tumbling coaches for cheer were also gymnastic coaches, so they taught their tumbling with gymnastic form. I would let her give both a try before either sport gets more serious.

 

[iwannacoach]

If I were you, I'd be waiting for the other shoe to drop when she expresses her next interest, which is going to really make things hard for both of you. Consider gymnastics a drain that slowly draws kids in a little closer every six months until they reach the point of no return, and are lost to the outside world of activities life ballet, swim team, youth bowling league, parkour, and any other thing a kid can see once and........ I want that mommy, really, really mommy.

I don't know how the gym will view any choice but the one they've chosen her for, so they may have a problem with "diversions." The reality is...... past a certain point a child who has a dream of any sort won't succeed by just doing gymnastics, because what it takes is to become a part of the sport rather than giving a part of yourself to the sport. I'm sure this point can be expanded on by several parents who've seen the change taking place as their child became more immersed, successful, and able to progress to, and beyond, their dreams they'll publicly admit to......

What solutions you find are up to you, but my advice would be to halt any more drift toward gymnastics. Let her spend some time exploring other activities until she's old enough to engage in, and understand, a conversation concerning concepts like commitment, choice, long term and consequences.

Gymnastics-plus is very difficult.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

At 6, I would encourage trying different things (one of my kids did other 2 didn't lol). Both of my girls did a year of competitive cheer (all star and 'regular' rec comp). They were USAG Levels 5 and 8 then. Neither of them liked All Star (big bows, makeup, LOUD) but oldest enjoyed the rec competition squad so much so that she continued and last year, coached a younger team. She's now a retired gymnast turned cheerleader at 16 and they love her tumbling skills. DD2 never did more than just that one season of cheer. Gym is where her heart is.

 

[mouey77]

If I were you, I'd be waiting for the other shoe to drop when she expresses her next interest, which is going to really make things hard for both of you. Consider gymnastics a drain that slowly draws kids in a little closer every six months until they reach the point of no return, and are lost to the outside world of activities life ballet, swim team, youth bowling league, parkour, and any other thing a kid can see once and........ I want that mommy, really, really mommy.

I don't know how the gym will view any choice but the one they've chosen her for, so they may have a problem with "diversions." The reality is...... past a certain point a child who has a dream of any sort won't succeed by just doing gymnastics, because what it takes is to become a part of the sport rather than giving a part of yourself to the sport. I'm sure this point can be expanded on by several parents who've seen the change taking place as their child became more immersed, successful, and able to progress to, and beyond, their dreams they'll publicly admit to......

What solutions you find are up to you, but my advice would be to halt any more drift toward gymnastics. Let her spend some time exploring other activities until she's old enough to engage in, and understand, a conversation concerning concepts like commitment, choice, long term and consequences.

Gymnastics-plus is very difficult.

I don't really picture her begging to do random activities like swim, soccer, etc. She has zero interest in other sports, and she is really into tumbling and gym. I think they are sort of related and she just doesn't know at her age which she is better suited for. That is an interesting point though because I don't think gymnastics will be thrilled about her doing cheer. I don't think cheer would have a problem with gymnastics though.

 

[BlairBob]

Many cheer programs don't train as much as gymnastics, however cheer practices may conflict with gymnastic workout days.

I don't like the makeup the cheers girls uses but I don't like clowns either. Seriously.

Cheer competition schedules do get a bit expensive since sometimes they travel pretty far for their meets. On the hand, virtually all of them go to some kind of States, Nationals, or World's it seems. I've got no idea how they fundraise or if they do or just pay a lot of it out of pocket.

 

[Sneezyone]

We had dd take a year off at 5 when she expressed a serious preference for gymnastics...the girl did handstands down the alls of her private school...in her dresses...nicht gut. She swam, took piano, played soccer and tball and still wanted to go back to gym. Still unconvinced we had her do a full year of rec too, not JO, while we did more swimming. she still chose more gym. If they want gym, they'll make that clear and the time away wont hurt at all. This year dd even made up for lost time going from old level 3 to new level 4. So far, dd has no interest in cheer...thank God!

 

[EastCoastGymMom]

I think it's fine for her to do both at this point, but make sure the cheer coach knows that gymnastics is her priority. I think it would be virtually impossible to compete at both though, knowing the practice and competition schedule for each. Cheer seems to have twice as many competitions as gymnastics, at least in my area (like 14-15 vs. 6-8).

 

[mouey77]

^thanks, and it seems better to do both when younger before school gets more intense. This is a whole different world for us. My 9 y.o. DD plays piano, did horseback riding, basketball, soccer, and is only just now sort of settling into wanting to get serious at a particular activity. I think the gymnastics has more long term value and for sure should be the first priority. It's great to hear that your child has some talent at something, but sometimes hard to take a step back and be reasonable esp when the child is enthusiastic too.

 

[Ex member]

I have been experiencing something similar to the OP

My dd has been doing Rec Gym for 1 year and Rec cheerleading for 1 year, in January this yea dd was asked to join the cheerleading squad and I agreed to it and also continued to do rec gym, fast forward to beginning of this month (May) and just after we returned from holiday dd decided that she no longer wants to do cheerleading ( I told dd's coach that dd didn't want to do cheer and I thought that it might be too much for her as she is only 6 years old and the late practices up to 8-15pm at night once a week was too much with her other classes and school),Dd's coach agreed with me and said that they were sad to see her go but she could see that her mind was very willing but her body was tired).

My dd still does rec gymnastics and she is happy doing gym and did her first rec competition 2 weeks ago and has another rec competition in 3 weeks against other rec gymnasts from the region, dd will be competing level 1, it seems that per team or equivalent has changed at dd's gym as its now rec gym and advanced rec gym with team the next step up from that.

 

[Krystan]

No experience with cheer here, but from what I've read on these forums over the past couple of years, I do know a lot of gym coaches complain about the terrible form and poor safety awareness learned at the hands of cheer coaches. I've heard them complain about un-doing bad habits they learned in cheer, where it seems to be better to get tumbling skills faster instead of with good/safe form. Because of this, it would be much better IMO to do gymnastics first, if you must choose. I'm sure it would be pretty easy to transition to cheer from gym, and more difficult to go the other way (unless you do it while she's still pretty young).

 

[Gymmom495]

I'll throw my opinion in just for fun.
Not that you haven't heard this before but at her age and after hearing that she has an obvious interest in something other than gymnastics I would take a step back and try to expose her to a few other sporting activities.
If you are considering having your daughter going down the road of competitive gymnastics I would have her try things like cheer, softball, soccer and/or swimming. That way you know for sure gymnastics is the one and only thing she loves to do. I don't know how a child can say they love gymnastics and only gymnastics when they have never tried any other sport or activity.
I only say this because this sport is a sacrifice on both the athlete and the family for time and finance. The longer she is in it the more time and financial obligation will be asked. So making sure this is the one and only thing she wants is very important.
I agree with everyone who says that the transition to cheer is easier than to transition to gym.
Best of luck to her in whatever she chooses, and if it's gymnastics it will be nice to hear updates on how she's doing


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[mouey77]

No experience with cheer here, but from what I've read on these forums over the past couple of years, I do know a lot of gym coaches complain about the terrible form and poor safety awareness learned at the hands of cheer coaches. I've heard them complain about un-doing bad habits they learned in cheer, where it seems to be better to get tumbling skills faster instead of with good/safe form. Because of this, it would be much better IMO to do gymnastics first, if you must choose. I'm sure it would be pretty easy to transition to cheer from gym, and more difficult to go the other way (unless you do it while she's still pretty young).

Yes, they have her working on throwing back tucks (or at least that was what she was working on in the cheer tumbling boot camp), and they are at most doing back walkovers in gymnastics. In fact, i believe her floor routine for gym is going to be straddle rolls and a cartwheel, but she is doing round off backhand springs in cheer (form might not be perfect, but that's what she was doing). That is some of the appeal of the cheer. They do more advanced tumbling than in gym, and I think she is interested in stunting. The cheer coach was a level 10 gymnast, but I do think the form is less important.

 

[mouey77]

I'll throw my opinion in just for fun.
Not that you haven't heard this before but at her age and after hearing that she has an obvious interest in something other than gymnastics I would take a step back and try to expose her to a few other sporting activities.
If you are considering having your daughter going down the road of competitive gymnastics I would have her try things like cheer, softball, soccer and/or swimming. That way you know for sure gymnastics is the one and only thing she loves to do. I don't know how a child can say they love gymnastics and only gymnastics when they have never tried any other sport or activity.
I only say this because this sport is a sacrifice on both the athlete and the family for time and finance. The longer she is in it the more time and financial obligation will be asked. So making sure this is the one and only thing she wants is very important.
I agree with everyone who says that the transition to cheer is easier than to transition to gym.
Best of luck to her in whatever she chooses, and if it's gymnastics it will be nice to hear updates on how she's doing


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This seems like great advice. My hesitation is that as I read posts throughout these forums, it seems like very young kids (4 and 5 yrs old) are doing level 1 & 2 gymnastics team. So when the coach mentions that losing a year is a lot (at 6!!), it seems very plausible that she would be old starting level 1 or 2 team at 7! Yikes!