cheerleading or dance team?

[Briar Rose 7457]

so older dd is in 7th grade and she's a cheerleader at her middle school. after school she studies dance 3 hours a week. she loves both.

younger dd is in 5th grade and can't wait to get to middle school to try out for cheerleading. she also studies dance after school, so if she doesn't make cheerleader she plans to go out for the middle school dance team.

so last night the middle school cheerleaders were invited to perform at the high school. our high dance team is going to compete in WDW, and our high school cheerleaders are headed to a competition in Virginia, and they had a fundraiser.

so at the end of the fundraiser, afte rhaving seen the older cheerleaders practice their competition piece, older dd is even more in love with cheerleading.

but younger dd has her eye on the dance team -- because "they go to WDW!"

 

[Pam]

My DD has done both - at the same time. Dance line during football season - cheerleading for basketball.

Basketball cheerleading allows you to do the gymnastics and mounts (she's a flyer), as well as dancing during half-time. Only the dance line (as well as the band and majorettes and silks) perform at half-time at football games.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

I don't know about our high school, but our middle school girls can only do one or the other. the cheerleaders and the dance line perform at both the football and basketball games. the cheerleaders do cheers and gymnastics (nothing in the air though), and also learn a dance. the dance line -- I've never seen them perform.

in the high school our cheerleaders do aerial stunts as part of their competition. I saw them do it at the show last ngiht. I don't know what else they do, though.

 

[Pam]

That's a bummer. At our HS a lot of the dance line girls switch over to basketball cheering when football season is over. (My DD did not this year as cheerleading games and practices stand at 5 nights a week and were cutting into her 3 days of dance practice and studying.)

Plus - last year she was doing a lib - about 7-8 feet up in the air and when she came down, the other girls didn't catch her. Gave her a nasty scare (as well as her Dad and I, we were sitting in the stands) and one heck of a headache! Thankfully she wasn't injured!

 

[Wendy]

I have 2 young kids that are both on competitive all star cheerleading squads. They both love it! Even my 5 year old's squad does stunts. (just prep level, though) My 7 year old's squad does fully extended stunts, libs, basket tosses, etc, plus the tumbling. The stunts and tumbling are their favorite parts.

My 7 year old recently took 2nd place at his individual nationals! I was one proud mama! We have team nationals coming up next weekend. I don't expect either of their squads to place very high, but I'm sure they're going to have a ball! We're switching gyms next year and the new gym goes to Orlando every other year. Woohoo! What a great excuse for an extra trip to WDW!

Pam, I bet that did scare your daughter! Our kids generally cheer only on cheer floors, but last week they were invited to perform at a college basketball halftime. One of our flyers was so scared to be on that wood floor, she cried through the entire routine because she was worried about falling.

 

[Pam]

Wendy,

Pam, I bet that did scare your daughter! Our kids generally cheer only on cheer floors, but last week they were invited to perform at a college basketball halftime. One of our flyers was so scared to be on that wood floor, she cried through the entire routine because she was worried about falling

She finished out the season last year - even did the lib several more times - but you are sooo right! She bounced her head off the wooden floor and for awhile, we thought she had a concussion! One of the bases sprained her ankle from throwing herself under DD to break the fall - that definitely saved DD from serious injury. (The other 2 girls just crouched and covered their heads as DD came tumbling down. )

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

that younger dd said dance team surprised me -- she and a friend took cheer at a local gym, and were learning stunts when the firend quit. she wouldn't go back without the firend. all I've heard since then is
I'll be a cheerleader in middle school". she dances outside of school.


whatever. either way it will be fun.

 

[Buckalew]

My SIL is the cheerleading sponser at her high school and she had a girl who lost 3 front teeth this year from a fall!