All-Star Thinking Of Doing A Exchange Thoughts?

[Amy Robertson]

Hey Im Amy Robertson

Im 17 and live in Wellington, NewZealand cheer for Bigair cheersports Elite team. I want to come to America and cheer so was thinking of doing a student exchange and coming for a year or even just 6 months wht are your thought?

 

[kenny_12]

I think coming to america in its own is amazing but so is cheer. where about would you plan on going to?

 

[Amy Robertson]

Yes Ive been once before only got to LA and San Diego, Umm Florida or NC would be amazing but tbh I would be happy with anywhere

 

[kenny_12]

Florida is humid haha people say you get used to it but I couldn't haha but I think it's a great idea to spend time out here and cheer

 

[Amy Robertson]

Hahaha Ive been to Singapore in summer so should be ok if I went there haha, I think I would just learn so much doing it where its so common

 

[kenny_12]

Yeah cheer is probably the fastest growing sport in America, what gyms are you interested in?

 

[scottish_cheerleader]

i am from scotland... where we are lucky if it doesnt rain, we get like 1 sunny day a year (our sunny days are nothing like yours) but i spent a summer at a camp in georgia and managed to adapt so im sure you will be fine! took me a week or so but u just get used to it ( got sun burnt ALOT though)

 

[12stepCheermom]

NC redefines "humid" in the summer. It's only supposed to be 99 with 70ish % humidity by Thursday this week.

We've talked about hosting an exchange student. We're currently hosting three (pretty sure it's four now, a teammate keeps coming home with them) college baseball players who are playing int the town's college summer league. That's been nice. They're good guys.

I'll say this much though, at least in our case, we're interested in hosting a student first that cheers on the side rather than someone who is just coming over to be a cheerleader for a year. The other thing for us is that when we do it, well be seeking out a reputable and established exchange student program. Not saying anything specific to you, But, there's too much internet identity shadiness out there to agree to host someone over the internet that I don't know. Where it may be perfectly legit....it also may not, and I want an agency to fall back on if things don't go the way they should.

So that's my advice. If you're serious, look into an establish exchange program and sign on with them. We'd love to host someone that is as involved in cheer as our kids are, but I not only want a guarantee it's on the up and up, I also want to ensure they understand that school is first and cheer is second and need to have support if things don't work out as planned.

 

[Mcfierceburger]

I'm from Wellington and I went to America and did high school cheerleading unfortunately where I went (MN) there wasn't any All Star Companies near by but I had a blast and I can tell you now 6 months is totally not worth it. You'd regret it trust me.

 

[kristenthegreat]

I will say this- without question, CHECK UP ON THE COMPANY if you do sign with one. I've heard absolute horror stories about students coming over to do exchange where the family locked the fridge so the student couldn't eat the food without someone there, basically used them as glorified slave labor, etc. Granted, you're Australian and you speak English so it would be a bit easier for you to get in touch with someone who could help, but it's better to be safe than sorry. America can be a wonderful place and I'd hate for anyone who comes here to get a wrong impression..

 

[Mcfierceburger]

I will say this- without question, CHECK UP ON THE COMPANY if you do sign with one. I've heard absolute horror stories about students coming over to do exchange where the family locked the fridge so the student couldn't eat the food without someone there, basically used them as glorified slave labor, etc. Granted, you're Australian and you speak English so it would be a bit easier for you to get in touch with someone who could help, but it's better to be safe than sorry. America can be a wonderful place and I'd hate for anyone who comes here to get a wrong impression..

Actually she's a New Zealander... sorry but its like saying your an American if your actually a Canadian, doesn't sit well...

 

[MNCheerMom]

I'm from Wellington and I went to America and did high school cheerleading unfortunately where I went (MN) there wasn't any All Star Companies near by but I had a blast and I can tell you now 6 months is totally not worth it. You'd regret it trust me.

There's lots of all star gyms in MN...did you not stay near the Twin Cities metro area?

 

[Mcfierceburger]

There's lots of all star gyms in MN...did you not stay near the Twin Cities metro area?

No I lived in Mountain Lake which is two hours drive to Minneapolis, plus my host family wouldn't have taken each day to drive me to and from practice only because we were a family of five kids so personally that wouldn't have been right.

 

[MNCheerMom]

No I lived in Mountain Lake which is two hours drive to Minneapolis, plus my host family wouldn't have taken each day to drive me to and from practice only because we were a family of five kids so personally that wouldn't have been right.

Bummer. Sorry to hear that!!!

 

[Mcfierceburger]

Bummer. Sorry to hear that!!!

Lol thanks, ahhh its ok I feel like I had a way better experience going to the US to cheer at high school than I would have just trying to start one back in NZ. Plus I'm in an All Star team now in Australia and I feel like the US experience helped a lot.