All-Star Larger Gyms At Local Comps

[ryann3794]

I dont think the size of your gym has anything to do with how succesfull your teams are. My gym, Vizion All Stars, Is pretty small but we're very succesfull. Last year we had 2 jamfest supernatinal titles and a level champs along with 2 cheersport grand national titles. this year our junior 2 won indy and our large senior coed 3 and 4 took 2nd in very tough divisions, we also just got back from a first place sweep at Athletic Championships in columbus and took level 2 grand champs.

 

[AaronHilton]

I have heard this before so I am going to ask.....
This weekend Fame attended a local comp in Richmond (soffe open- which you should attend if you are going to CANAM nationals in Myrtle Beach). We were the largest gym there and won every division we were in. I overheard parents from another local gym saying that we should no be there- that we were trying to make the other gyms look bad. That our gym was too big to compete at a regional competition. My question is why shouldn't we compete locally? That is how we get practice for bigger comps and is also a marketing tool for showing off our gym to maybe get more cheerleaders next season. Do you think that local gyms should not compete at a regional comp?

People give cheer extreme coed elite and senior elite when we go to local comps like what are they doing here. we dont usually have any competition but its good practice for nationals and worlds =]

 

[kristenthegreat]

...I wonder if it depends on your area too. I can imagine it would be more frustrating to try to build a successful small program in an area like Texas, Virginia, NC, Jersey, etc. When there are a MILLION and a half programs to choose from, and many rather large, how frustrating is it to feel like your opponent has to drop (because they've got enough people to make the smartest level choices possible) in order for you to win? Most programs in CT are smaller, and most of the 'bigger' ones are rather geographically spread out (USA Wildcats has a few locations but they are pretty far from CT Spirit, and a good distance from ECE CT, all of which are a ways away from Champion)..

Whether or not you're intentionally recruiting (although one poster said they do use it that way and one said they didn't lol), either way you are. Not that it's necessarily you're fault, but how many posters on this very thread have said 'How much they LOVED their going well small gym' and then in that same post mentioned how they left it..probably after seeing a big dog in competition? Also, many of these small gyms aren't on the fierceboard, so I doubt they have the same level of cheer devotion we do. They aren't excited to see CEA SE, they just know their small gym is about to get creamed by a 5-gym Cheer Machine.

Although I wonder if this will have a negative effect on the industry..if it becomes the 'Rise of the Big Jim' and there are no local comps nearby because everyone has been swallowed up, don't you then make cheer more expensive because you now are FORCED to travel?

 

[WCMAN]

I can see smallers gyms having a problem excepting the fact that a large gym is at a local when dealing with the level 5 teams.Most of the time a large gym will march out a ton of talent that makes it hard to compete. I think when it comes to levels 1-4 the insane amount of cross overs that a small gym will put on the floor levels the playing field.For example ,A large gyms level 2 team is a level 2 team. A small gyms level 2 team is made up of their level 2,3 ,&4s all crossing over to make a team.The same for levels 3&4.I see that as being an advantage to a smaller gym.As far as the level 5 teams go at most locals the large gym usually does not have any teams in their division and competes against nobody. They go for the floor time experience.

 

[tumbleyoda]

WCMAN - I have seen the 5's go for the experience, to throw new skills to get ready for a larger competition, or just to exhibition. Another thing that I have heard (which I strongly disagree with) that is if the Level 5's win their divisions, then that was the better gym, even if the lower levels lost. This is based on the belief by some that since Level 5 is the highest division, it truly represents the best a gym has to offer. Again I strongly disagree with this premise that because your level 5 beat my level 5 you are better all the way down to mini 1.

Then you have the much debated crossover issues. I have also seen the 5's dropped down to Level 4, 3, and 2 to beef up their lower level teams that may not be as strong as another local gyms to give them a much better shot at winning that division as well. Especially when it happens for that competition alone. But any size gym can do that. So to me competing true level means absolutely nothing until we establish athlete credentialing and mandating they can only compete certain levels barring injury or sickness, and even then only up to a certain number of spots.

In some big gyms their large 3 is a true 3, it may also very well be technically team full of athletes who were not good enough to be on Level 4 or 5 because those team are already stacked. They may have level 4 or 5 skills but they have no place for them on those teams. So large 3 becomes their team, but skill wise and competition wise they are much better than that. They would be a Level 4 or 5 in many smaller gyms. Typically in a small gym that same parent would leave and go somewhere else. In a big gym the parent realizes that if they want their child to stay in position for a place on a higher level "showcase" team in that program in the future, they will take being on Large 3 for this season working in front of those coaches that will give them that chance. For some that is a option they love having.

To get back to the thought of the OP. Both big gyms and small gyms have their issues. But to say any gym can not compete locally makes no sense at all.

 

[mom24girls]

My dd cheers at a small gym that is only in it's second season and we look forward to competing against the bigger gyms. Our owners take us to the bigger competitions for that very reason. I would rather lose then not try. We may not win but we are competetive and these competitions help us improve so that one day we will beat the big gyms.

 

[Cheerleader-4-life]

Most nationals have have small and large team split anyway. Anywhere WECC has competed it has been split. NCA even splits the gym size. All the athletes work just as hard regardless of size. The only advantage a large gym has is they are able to move kids around more easily when injuries arise or someone quits. Monetarily large gyms can afford higher paid choreographers as well but if you have good coaches than none of that should matter. I don't know. I understand where small gyms come from because it seems they win all all the time. At Cheer America Woodlands Elite won a lot so to a small gym may have been overwhelming but that's only because we have like 13 teams so you just heard name more where as the small gym may only had 4 teams so not heard as much but did well. Idk if made sense but like I said all programs do just a great.

 

[gymcatmomx2]

To add to my earlier comment, I feel like there are plenty of small gyms that stay small and are very successful . GBE, Spirit Central and Spirit of Texas come to mind. Just because you are a small gym does not mean that you cannot be super sharp and fulfill the requirements in each level. =)

Is Spirit of Texas considered a small gym?!!!!

 

[tumbleyoda]

I think some consider them to be a small gym when compared to the likes of Top Gun, Cheer Athletics, CEA, World Cup, Cali, Gymtyme and ACE. Then again Wal Mart is small compared to ACE and CEA J/K.

 

[libertycoach]

I think it's great that larger gyms will support more local competitions. Many times family members and friends would like to attend competitions but can't because most of them are so far away. This a great way to get to see a competition and boost the profit for whoever is hosting the competition- which many times is a high school team or smaller company can use the extra help. It also shows that the bigger gyms don't think "they're above" competing at a local.

 

[east2westandbackagain]

Is Spirit of Texas considered a small gym?!!!!

In the past they have been small from what I remember. Now EP consider small gyms 75 and under I believe but I consider anything around 125 and under small .

 

[thecheernerd]

@Julie P
...for now....
Love it!

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

 

[yooolizzi]

I have cheered for both big gyms and small gyms, and to be honest, I prefer the small gym. When I went to the main gym, I felt so overwhelmed by not knowing every face I saw. I'm the kind of person who likes to know everyone in a place I spend alot of time, so it was bothersome to me not knowing everyone. I'm probably really alone on that, but I love my small gym. I don't have my full by myself yet (SOOOO CLOSE) but when I get it, I can promise you I won't be running off to Twisters or to Marlins to try and be on a level five team. I pay less now (alot less) and I feel like I get more than the time I spent at the big gym. To each their own, but I can't be "just a number."

 

[Fameous MOM]

I have cheered for both big gyms and small gyms, and to be honest, I prefer the small gym. When I went to the main gym, I felt so overwhelmed by not knowing every face I saw. I'm the kind of person who likes to know everyone in a place I spend alot of time, so it was bothersome to me not knowing everyone. I'm probably really alone on that, but I love my small gym. I don't have my full by myself yet (SOOOO CLOSE) but when I get it, I can promise you I won't be running off to Twisters or to Marlins to try and be on a level five team. I pay less now (alot less) and I feel like I get more than the time I spent at the big gym. To each their own, but I can't be "just a number."

I respect that!!! Good luck on your full. Fame is a larger gym and my daughter is not just a number. All the coaches know her and myself by name. I think some larger gyms do a great job with know the kids. Our owner Phil can name almost every kid in the gym!

 

[CGAcheer]

I love my gym! After reading this thread, we are really the best of both worlds. I'm the owner, I know everyone of our 105 allstars' names as well as what skills they are working on and I probably know about 95% of our tumblers as well. We can walk into a local competition and steal the show and win grand champs in all our divisions. We also get to test ourselves against the big dogs at cheersport. There is not another cheer gym within an hour of us, yet we are only an hour away from a city that hosts plenty of competitions. We only use crossovers for injuries, our teams have for the most part squad skills for their level. And all of our teams have kids who are now a level or sometimes even two levels above their teams level. But we are big enough, to not run into Suzy wanting to take her tuck and tick tock to a level 5 team an hour and half away. We have the occasional issue with someone thinking they should have been a higher level but they usually get it by the first few practices. We are taking our time moving up the levels, were not rushing to be a worlds gym and it's paying off.