Cheer vs. Gymnastics

[Peacock]

Please indulge me in a non-homesteading topic. It is a FAMILY topic though, so it fits, right?

We are at a crossroads, at a fairly important time, and some decisions may need to be made soon about which sport my daughter pursues, cheer or gymnastics. Not right away -- we do have some time -- we're in the middle of both sports' competitive seasons so nothing needs to change until this coming summer, maybe even not till fall. But it's something to think about seriously. This is an important time because of course she will soon enter Jr. High, it's the end of "Pee Wee" cheer. And at this age if she's going to be seriously competitive in either sport, it's time to knuckle down on the training.

Don't get me wrong -- this is entirely her decision, I will support her either way, I will support her if she chooses to do neither. But as a parent my job is to guide her and help her understand the situation, the alternatives, and upon what she's basing her choice.

Her history: she started tumbling at age 6, progressed quickly, then started gymnastics with the bars, beam, vault etc. at age 8, began competing on a team at 9, and last year competed at level 5. She joined the cheer squad at our old school for 3rd grade, and quit gymnastics this year to join her school's basketball (stunt/building) cheer squad.

Dear daughter hasn't been thrilled with cheer, mostly because she feels sort of like an outsider. She gets along with the girls, but they've been cheering together since 3rd grade, and that's a bond she doesn't have yet because we just moved here two years ago. She also thinks it is kind of silly how cheer seems to take over their lives; she feels she has a much bigger life than that. But gymnastics is the same way, if you train a lot, it does take over one's life. She misses gymnastics and is afraid she's lost some of her skills, especially on the equipment such as the bars - she loved doing the bars.

But I think cheer is a more practical sport, for the long-term. Our district doesn't have a school gymnastics team, as some do. And even if it did, as good as she is, she's actually a little behind some girls her age that might be competing against her for a spot. A true competitive gymnast trains at least 12 hours a week, sometimes more, and that is more than she wants to put in. And I don't blame her! Some girls her age are already level 7 or above. She's not Olympic material, let's face it, nor is she even college gymnast material. Gymnastics is pretty intense.

Competitive cheer, OTOH, requires serious athletic ability, conditioning, and tumbling skill, which she has. She's pretty and perky and bubbly and all the things you'd expect from a cheerleader. Next year, we've been told the cheer tryouts require good tumbling skills - it isn't required in Pee Wee, and I'm afraid a lot of the girls are going to be left out because of that. She's an ace at memorizing all the routines, and she's a good performer. I can see her doing well through high school and maybe even college. In fact, I'm thinking scholarship! She's fortunate to be in a school squad with a fabulous reputation and lots of wins at competitions, and I think that will help her chances tremendously.

I should point out that a scholarship isn't vital -- we'll make college work for them, somehow, through grants and loans and the funds we've got saved and invested. But less tuition means more money for other things they'll need when beginning their lives!

It's hard to know what she'll end up doing as a career at this early age, that's for sure! But right now she's thinking about becoming a teacher, and I can totally see her doing this, especially the younger years. She LOVES little kids. She's hoping that while her 16 year old peers get jobs at McDonald's, she'll be at the YMCA teaching little kids how to do cartwheels. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

We started talking about it this evening while watching the "Bring It On" movies on ABC Family....she'd seen them before, of course...she does love cheer and she's very good at it, but she's been talking about quitting that and going back to the bars, beam, vault and floor....both earn her medals and trophies, cheer is more showy and glittery and team-oriented while gymnastics is plainer and more individual...tough call. What do you think? Seriously, I want some other insights, it gets difficult to reason things out inside my own head all the time.

[Quint]

My late fiancee was in gymnastics for years. The mental discipline alone served her well even after she stopped competing. I'd absolutely vote for gymnastics over cheering.

[celticfalcon]

no help here,but,4dd.1 gymnasticslvl5 state compeatior(sp),1 middle school cheerleader,1 volleyball,&,softball,and the last is a tomboy.
tom

[sewsilly]

First and foremost, listen to the child, this is, after all an extra curricular pursuit.

I, personally, would encourage neither, but focus farther future, with academics.

In the grand scheme of it, gymnastics epitomy is the Olympics. and Cheerleading's epitomy is, well, professional football cheerleading.

When my only daughter was small, I put her in ballet, as we were very isolated. She took ballet for 14 years, until she was a pre-pro level 5. She danced with the state ballet and with the NYC ballet when it came through and took 'extra's.

At 14, she stopped ballet to join the marching band and I was very sad. She was very excited about a new challenge. She played a flute, piccolo and oboe and loved the music and the challenge of something new and different. In her first year of medical school, they had a memorial service for the cadavers and she played hymns on her flute. So even now, the music means more than the dance ever would.. . Ever seen a dancing doctor? Those years were not mistakes, she has perfect posture and is keenly aware of her physical health.

The passage from one thing to another should be child led, and parent supported, even if the parent prefers one over the other. One of the hard moments in parenting.

The likelihood of either thing being her 'life's calling' is slim, so again, I'd throw focus other places.

[LvDemWings]

Jr High cheering will be different than the Pee Wee so it will be hard to compare. Can you find the time and resources for her to do both for a year. Are you prepared for her to be a highschool cheerleader? One school I went to the cheerleaders were snobby socialites while at another school the coach didn't tolerate snob.

[MomOf4]

I was a gymnast for 13 years, and was on team when I quit to do orchestra and marching band guard in high school. I LOVED it. However, I would have rather gone down the cheerleading path.

A scholarship would be great, and if your schools don't have a gymnastics team, I would vote the cheer route. Cheering, IMHO, offers more opportunities like travel, etc.

With cheer, the classes still offer tumbling instruction - that was my favorite part anyway, though I enjoyed beam, bars and vault.

Good question to ask, so your DD can make an informed decision.

[Alice In TX/MO]

First, my qualifiers and disqualifiers:

1. I had sons, not daughters.
2. I taught at the secondary public school level for fifteen years.
3. I know many ex-cheerleaders.

Both sports can result in long term consequences due to injuries. There are other, lower impact, sports that cause less damage to a growing body.

It is my personal opinion that cheerleading is much too sexual. The erotic dances performed by cheerleaders at pep rallies are disgusting to me, and I am NOT a prude by nature. It's a modern version of the women of the village promising sexual favors to the warriors before they go off to battle. Watch the faces of the high school football players as the girls bump and grind. EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!

I never coached the cheerleading squad because I told my principals that I'd quit first. I could not advocate parading young women in front of a crowd and pretending that what they were doing wasn't provocative.

Academics and a non-impact sport would benefit your child more in the long run.

Off my soap box now.

[Peacock]

About the academics -- she is already (mostly) an A student. She's never been one to push herself beyond what she needs, such as taking advanced classes instead of a regular one where she knew she could earn that A, but that's all right with me. She's well rounded with many and diverse interests, and she's an achiever.

She's a sweet girl, I know her innocent modesty may change, but she's mostly focused on the athletic aspects of what she's doing. She thinks the cheer conditioning is kind of "wussy" and shakes her head at the other girls wearing too much makeup, wearing their shirts too short and wiggling like you-know-what. I think she has too much confidence in herself to get too carried away with being a snobby sleaze, cheer or not.

Ain't she cute?

[Ashtina98]

I personally am more inclined toward gymnastics, I agree with Rose that down the line cheer becomes a sexuality thing that is inappropriate for young girls. However, you said you would let her decide, so step back and don't worry, she's a smart girls and will make the decision that is right for her.

Dee

[NicoleandBrian]

I did gymnastics. Competed up to level 8. My high school didn't have gymnastics so I tried starting a team while still competing at the YMCA. Eventually, the coaches said I couldnt compete anymore (I was the only high school girl left) and there was no hope of starting a team at my high school so I joined cheerleading (ONLY because I wanted to tumble). When I was 15, I started helping out with preschool gymnastics at the Y and got a job at 16. I've been basically teaching gymnastics ever since. I prefered gymnastics because I wasn't the typical cheerleading type and I am quieter than most cheerleaders.
In the end, its whatever she wants. It seems she can be in cheerleading longer so if you think she would be looking into scholarships (if they have them) and if she would want to do it in college, I'd say pick cheerleading. If she just wants the fun and challenge for now, go with gymnastics. Good luck!

[RockyGlen]

they have cheerleading in elementary school???? WOW. Times have changed. At least the uniforms are modest on top, that will change in the higher grades.

Of the two, I would vote for gymnastics. Cheerleading seems to be all about sex, bravado, and attention-seeking. I also think it helps to promote wrong self images, as it is all about the body, and I certainly would not want my daughter to be the main attraction in all the guys fantasies. But that's just us, and our daughters played little league with skirts over their uniform bottoms, so what do I know.

[Peacock]

Originally Posted by RockyGlen

they have cheerleading in elementary school???? WOW. Times have changed. At least the uniforms are modest on top, that will change in the higher grades.

You bet they do - starting in 3rd grade.

About the uniforms...here's the HS team, still pretty modest by cheer standards.
http://www.varsity.com/nationals/07/...springboro.jpg

[Christine in OK]

I'd check about the scholarships you mentioned: around here, there are no cheerleading scholarships unless they are relatively new.

My sister-in-law cheered through college; her friend from high school never made it that far. By the time they finished high school she had pins in her ankle from cheering.

By the time she was 25, my sister-in-law, when asked if she could still throw a full - we were watching the all-star squad she helped coach practice - she said "YES!" but the next day her back hurt, her neck hurt, her arms hurt, her ankles hurt... both sports are so very hard on joints.

Gymnastics is in the Olympics, true - but the time required and the stress on the body is so terribly drastic - if she's not sure about the 12 hours, she probably doesn't want to consider trying for gymnastics, maybe not even in college.

I'm a little prejudiced, but maybe what she needs is a second low or no-impact sport to help. Cheerleading or gymnastics is great, but maybe she could replace a couple of hours of training for them a week with yoga or swimming? Swimming especially is a great aerobic workout that is no-impact and stretches the muscles, and yoga is low-impact, core-strengthening and stretches those muscles. Making her more flexible and her muscles more giving/forgiving for those other high-impact activities.

Good luck. I'm so glad I have boys.