Any moms of high school cheerleaders out there?

[deedeetoo]

I need to understand cheerleading better. My dd (15yo sophomore) is doing cheer for the first time this year. She really just went out for it on a whim because some friends encouraged her and made varsity, primarily due to her gymnastics skills, I think. Last week we had our league championships. Her team finished second behind last years state champions. Top two teams move onto regionals so that is tomorrow. I'm not sure how many teams move onto states which is the following Sunday, but my dd tells me that their scores have been good enough to get them there even if they don't finish first.

So here is my question. Her coach is talking about going to nationals. Apparently their scores are good enough. My reaction is why do you go to nationals when you can't even win your own league. What is the purpose of this? How may teams go to nationals? Does this make any sense at all? Can someone fill me in on how nationals work for high school cheer?

BTW, I am not a fan of the idea of going to nationals. I'm not sure when it would be but high school gymnastics season starts right after Thanksgiving and she has already committed to doing gymnastics. I don't want her pulled back into cheer. One sport at a time is all her schedule can handle.

 

[WDWJDS]

Virtual hug. I can tell that this unknown is unsettling to you. My DD was a cheerleader and gymnast so I have a little experience.

I may be wrong, but I sense a little resentment towards the whole "cheerleading" experience. You've been used to the gymnastics world, which is quite intense (and can be a little, how do you say......well, different than cheerleading), and this new endeavor may seem to be a lot of work for something so........well, different than gymnastics.

I was both a cheerleader and gymnast as well, so I speak from even more experience. Cheerleading is so challenging due to the entire "group" thing. Being synchronized is extremely difficult. Gymnastics is more individual, even though you belong to a team.

There are masses of cheerleading teams that compete all over, so there are many opportunities for more teams to compete, as opposed to just the #1 team from the state. It's not just an intense competition. It's an overall experience of the weekend, or week. It's very popular and attracts lots of revenue, and a lot of media coverage on many different levels.

Take a deep breath, keep an open mind and enjoy this "different" ride.

 

[Hrhpd]

I need to understand cheerleading better. My dd (15yo sophomore) is doing cheer for the first time this year. She really just went out for it on a whim because some friends encouraged her and made varsity, primarily due to her gymnastics skills, I think. Last week we had our league championships. Her team finished second behind last years state champions. Top two teams move onto regionals so that is tomorrow. I'm not sure how many teams move onto states which is the following Sunday, but my dd tells me that their scores have been good enough to get them there even if they don't finish first.

So here is my question. Her coach is talking about going to nationals. Apparently their scores are good enough. My reaction is why do you go to nationals when you can't even win your own league. What is the purpose of this? How may teams go to nationals? Does this make any sense at all? Can someone fill me in on how nationals work for high school cheer?

BTW, I am not a fan of the idea of going to nationals. I'm not sure when it would be but high school gymnastics season starts right after Thanksgiving and she has already committed to doing gymnastics. I don't want her pulled back into cheer. One sport at a time is all her schedule can handle.

Not a high school cheer mom, but an all star mom.

Nationals are not really a single National type of competition in that you have to qualify and move up the ranks. There are many National competitions out there, put on by many different cheer companies. What it really means is a competition that draws teams nationally vs regionally. People fly in to Nationals to compete against other teams from across the country.

Most high school nationals (somebody correct me if I am wrong) I believe from the kids I know are in the Spring. So, if you have good scores in the fall, with more practice, you can be great. Especially when you start focusing exclusively on a Nationals routine.

You might want to check any kind of commitment stuff you may have signed when your daughter joined. Not sure if it is the same in high school, but in all star, there is often a hefty monetary fine to quit before the season is over. That is because your daughter made a commitment to this team and unlike gymnastics where it is an individual sport, cheer is a team sport. Every person has an important role in it and you can't just say "I am not going to do it." Also, unlike many other team sports, there is not a bench to pull from if a player, or in your case, cheerleader is missing.

Depending on your school, it may be difficult and not very popular for your daughter to pull out, causing the routine to have to be completely reworked. Personally, I would not want to be the cheerleader who quit and caused the Nationals routine to have to be reworked.

Of course, you also have the flakey High School coaches (one of our friend's coaches) who pulls an expensive Nationals out of the hat without ever warning the parents it may happen later in the season.

Just something to think about.

 

[Coonhound]

I don't know anything about cheer leading but I do understand it's one of those things where every person counts.. and of someone isn't there, then they either have to pull out of the contest and not compete at all, OR, they'd have to learn a whole new routine because the old routine won't work with someone missing and they can't just stick another person in their place to fill in for them.
It seems like a big commitment.
If you want to pull out I think it's better to do it between seasons (do they have seasons?) Tell her she made the commitment for this year so you have to follow through and do all the things the team is doing, but that once the season is over she can decide then if she wants to not do cheer leading again next year and then just stick with gymn next year.

 

[deedeetoo]

I may be wrong, but I sense a little resentment towards the whole "cheerleading" experience. You've been used to the gymnastics world, which is quite intense (and can be a little, how do you say......well, different than cheerleading), and this new endeavor may seem to be a lot of work for something so........well, different than gymnastics.
.

You are correct here. Maybe its because I don't like the coach, and the loud blasting music, but I really would rather she didn't do cheer. I also don't understand it at all and because its high school you never really see the coach to ask questions and learn what is going on.

Most high school nationals (somebody correct me if I am wrong) I believe from the kids I know are in the Spring. So, if you have good scores in the fall, with more practice, you can be great. Especially when you start focusing exclusively on a Nationals routine.

You might want to check any kind of commitment stuff you may have signed when your daughter joined. Not sure if it is the same in high school, but in all star, there is often a hefty monetary fine to quit before the season is over. That is because your daughter made a commitment to this team and unlike gymnastics where it is an individual sport, cheer is a team sport. Every person has an important role in it and you can't just say "I am not going to do it." Also, unlike many other team sports, there is not a bench to pull from if a player, or in your case, cheerleader is missing.

Depending on your school, it may be difficult and not very popular for your daughter to pull out, causing the routine to have to be completely reworked. Personally, I would not want to be the cheerleader who quit and caused the Nationals routine to have to be reworked.

Of course, you also have the flakey High School coaches (one of our friend's coaches) who pulls an expensive Nationals out of the hat without ever warning the parents it may happen later in the season.

Just something to think about.

This is interesting. Cheer is considered a high school sport here so it keeps to the high school sports seasons. My dd only signed up for fall because she knew she was going back to gymnastics for the winter. Three other girls on the team are also leaving to go back to gymnastics. If the national competition isn't until the spring, then I don't see how they will do it. Maybe nationals is just the coach's wishful thinking. Maybe she dangling this in front of them to try to keep them on cheer.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

My daughter cheered for her high school team and now coaches that team.

Most "nationals" are open competitions. The only "qualufication" is the entrance fee. Most coaches try to find a competition suited to the skill level of the team. When my daughter was in high school they competed in a regional competition sponsored by the local cheerleading coaches association, and never placed very high. But they thought they had a shot at winning a national competirion at Disneyworld (flyer got hurt in the middle of a stunt and crawled off the mat, so that was the end if that.)

In her high school there was no "penalty" for quitting the team. They did have to re-work the routine more than once because of injury and illness. It's not the best situation for the team.

 

[woodkins]

What Nationals are they looking to attend? The biggest and most respected high school national is run by UCA and is in February in Walt disney world. You must attend a qualifier competition and receive a bid to participate. If they aren't winning regionals that doesn't mean they can't win nationals. Many teams change routines, different judging panels score, so if they are close at regionals they have a good change at nationals.

If she is going to quit she needs to do it now, each girl plays a part in stunt groups, pyramids etc & the loss of one girl can mean reworking an entire routine. Cheer is a sport just like gymnastics, hockey, soccer and lacrosse. It equites fitness, practice and dedication.

 

[lauradis]

Op I never let my children quit a team sport.

The emotional nastiness that could come from her bowing out could effect her whole social life of high school .

I spent three years of cheer mom to hs level teen. 1 year for ms. several for peewee level.

just be prepared to folk over some traveling money, sometimes we got notice sometimes we got "oh this one is last min." from hs coach.

 

[mhsjax]

OP, if you are going to quit, talk to the coach and do it now. YOu can't leave the team in a jam at the last minute. These routines are choreographed and practiced for a certain number of girls in certain positions. If you quit late it is unfair to the rest of the whole team. Cheerleading doesn't have substitutes or 2nd strings.

Also be sure that your DD never wants to cheer again, if you quit, it will be the end of cheer in HS, and there could be a possibility of friends on the cheer team being angry. You signed up for this commitment, she needs to stick it out.

 

[deedeetoo]

Just to be clear, my dd is not quitting cheer. The season is ending at Thanksgiving. The fall cheer team and the winter cheer team are considered two different teams and not everyone who is on fall continues onto winter. They actually have tryouts again the week after Thanksgiving. My daughter and three other girls will be changing to gymnastics for the winter. Though we have not been part of it before, I understand that this happens every year and the winter team is never as good as the fall team because the gymnasts leave. From what many of you are writing it seems that this set up with two different teams is not the way it is done in other schools.

As people here have described it, this whole idea of going to nationals doesn't seem to make sense since it seems that it will be the winter team that goes, if they do. I don't know enough to know what nationals they would go to but from what little I hear it sound like something you qualify for.

Edited to add: Just learned this morning that it is the February tournament in Orlando that they are looking at. Somehow the cheer coach thinks she can bring all the gymnasts back onto the team just for that tournament even if they aren't on the winter cheer team. I don't know how she will do this since they won't be practicing with the team after next week. I'm also not sure what the gymnastics coach will have to say about that. Even if logistically it works out, the girls will be rusty on doing the routine.

 

[OceanStateKelly]

I hope she'll be able to do both , I do understand how you feel,, My daughter quit gymnastics (USAG) after 12 years because she hates the beam LOL. Now she's on an all-star team and we travel everywhere.. Dallas, Maryland, Atlantic City, Orlando FL to name a few.

The commitment is huge, we could pick the meets we wanted to do now we have to go to all the computations

Hope your daughter has a great gymnastics season

 

[Fire14]

When I was in HS and from what Sister of my pt says. Cheerleading is Fall ( football season) and Winter ( basketball season), 2 separate teams.