Parents My son just started gymnastics

[Lady Electra]

My son started cheerleading this year. He's very excited and shows a talent. We just got him in a class at a local gymnastics studio and the teacher was very impressed with him.

We live in a small town and are fighting against the idea of this being a girl dominated sport. The coaches, if you can call them that, were excited about him but he keeps getting left out. Nobody has adjusted pronouns so all the correspondence is always been "the girls" and pom poms and mid-drift and things that have nothing to pertain to my son. They have their initials on their jackets but not my son since his is different anyway. I know it's a little thing but children notice these things and he notice he gets treated different.

Well we now got him with a studio and the owner is a male cheerleader who had to grow up with all of this so I'm excited. My son will have a great role model. And in just one class he has showed a lot of talent and hoping this is just a starting point for him.

I know this is a lot to take for me to get to this and I apologize. I need to ask other parents what should I do from here to help him. We are new to this and there is hardly any information on what to do with males in this sport. We will probably focus on cheerleading but gymnastics is the base of that. He asked me to get a tumbling mat for him for the backyard and I do not know what I should be looking for or if there's anything that he may not know that he needs. Ideas and support would be greatly appreciated.
thank you!

 

[reluctant]

My son started cheerleading this year. He's very excited and shows a talent. We just got him in a class at a local gymnastics studio and the teacher was very impressed with him.

We live in a small town and are fighting against the idea of this being a girl dominated sport. The coaches, if you can call them that, were excited about him but he keeps getting left out. Nobody has adjusted pronouns so all the correspondence is always been "the girls" and pom poms and mid-drift and things that have nothing to pertain to my son. They have their initials on their jackets but not my son since his is different anyway. I know it's a little thing but children notice these things and he notice he gets treated different.

Well we now got him with a studio and the owner is a male cheerleader who had to grow up with all of this so I'm excited. My son will have a great role model. And in just one class he has showed a lot of talent and hoping this is just a starting point for him.

I know this is a lot to take for me to get to this and I apologize. I need to ask other parents what should I do from here to help him. We are new to this and there is hardly any information on what to do with males in this sport. We will probably focus on cheerleading but gymnastics is the base of that. He asked me to get a tumbling mat for him for the backyard and I do not know what I should be looking for or if there's anything that he may not know that he needs. Ideas and support would be greatly appreciated.
thank you!

Thank you for sharing your story. I hope your son thrives in gymnastics and cheer. They are both sports for everyone.

 

[skschlag]

Very exciting! I have a boy gymnast, andn we have been fortunate enough to find a gym that focuses on boys. It can be tough. It sounds like you have found a coach that gets it for him! Good luck with it and I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[jenjean70]

My son is a gymnast and he loves it. Our gym has a very big boys team and 3 male coaches- One of the coaches is the owners son. Welcome! Does he want to compete in gymnastics or focus on cheerleading?

 

[Lady Electra]

My son is a gymnast and he loves it. Our gym has a very big boys team and 3 male coaches- One of the coaches is the owners son. Welcome! Does he want to compete in gymnastics or focus on cheerleading?

Right now it's still cheer but it may change if he finds he loves this more. I'm happy to let him shift if that happens.

Any advice on getting home equipment, mats and other stuff?

 

[triplethreat+1]

I have girl gymnasts, my son is too young
We just have a mat. It's used for stretching and conditioning, handstand practice, and cartwheels. My YDD uses it to practice karate. Sometimes it's a pillow, a fort, a race track.
We don't allow anything more advanced, or have any other home equipment for safety reasons. I want my kids to be learning skills under the eye of someone who knows how to teach them.

 

[tucktwisttumble]

gymnast gone cheerleader here Hi!!
So excited that your son is pursuing both these sports. - You're right by enrolling him into gymnastics. I think it is an important foundation for cheer & it will really help him.
A mat is fine to have at home, in my personal opinion, but it is to be used for skills that have already been MASTERED, not to practice new skills. It can also be used for extra conditioning or body shapes. Honestly - here is an awesome blog written by a tumbling coach that should answer some of your questions regarding 'practicing at home'. His blog is an awesome resource as he is a cheer-focused tumbling coach, that really focuses on technique and correct skill progression/development which I think is a weakness when we delve into the sport of cheerleading.

Good luck! Enjoy the ride!

 

[Vondell30]

Welcome, my DS is 9 and this is his first year on team. Like others, we some mats....but he r ally wanted a mushroom.....so mushroom it was......good luck on either side, Although I don’t he has to choose one over the other if he starts gym too.

 

[sce]

Like triplethreat we just have a bat bad it’s used for lots of things. (Was given to us too.) if he does start doing more gymnastics, many people find it helpful to have a mushroom at home in the early years.

 

[rosiekat]

My female cousin was a figure skater (now a coach) who married a male figure skater. He was semi-retired at the time, but would still be a partner from time to time when girls needed to find one for competitions, etc. When he got crap about it from the hockey players, he was like "You guys are missing teeth. On the other hand, I get paid large amounts of money to escort beautiful women in skimpy costumes. Yep, I'm a real loser!"