All-Star Little Fish Big Sea Vs Big Fish Little Sea

[Deleted member 8658]

i love how small gyms you will always know people for their skills and you will remeber what they do and who they are.
i also love the big gym aspect because their are so much more chances for girls to get skills and everyone seems to find people they enjoy being around.

i have to say i like both aspects but i prefer the small gym were everyone knows everyone!

 

[mommy2mygirls]

[quote
It does really depend on what you're looking for. @Mamarazzi said it just right..."Bottom line, it depends on what the child is really doing it for. Is it the attention/being in the spotlight = small gym. Personal progression to higher and higher level skills = large gym. Spending time in a "family" atmosphere = small gym. Jackets/rings = large gym."[/quote]

Unfortunately that isn't what we experienced - at the large gym the personal progression to higher and higher levels was not quite what we were hoping for/expecting..... we have been very lucky to find a small/medium gym that has a large group of girls that are within my cps age/talent range - she is still in the middle of the group with lots of room to progress and they have high hopes for these girls. I am really hoping to enjoy the best of both worlds - higher progression and a family atmosphere.

 

[cheergirlbrey]

Coming from a small program to a bigger one that was one topic I stressed to my cp. At her old gym she was the all around girl and always had great spots. I made sure she was prepared to be in a larger pool and not necessarily shine right away. Well was I proven wrong....the coaches All know her name as well as all the kids! She became rather complacement at her old program and just wasn't happy the past few seasons though I remind her she did get some great experience there but in her new gym she works so hard and enjoys being on a team comprised of kids of the true level.
Each situation offers different things for different times in a cheerleaders career. For what my 12 yr old wants for her cheer future bigger is definitely where she needs to be right now. Bottom line is what ever makes the kids happier is what works.

**sorry for the jumbled thoughts, im on my phone on lunch hr lol

 

[allthatglitters]

I must say I enjoyed being at a small gym when I first started because it was like a little family and everyone knew everyone. But I also love where I am now because everybody is so loving and the gym has a good rep. It's been quite a change but I think I'm going to like it.

**Also it was mentioned above. The three small gyms I went to ALL, and I mean ALL of them said that the big gyms were bad because they won't recognize you and you'll just be a nobody. They were so wrong.

 

[TheVipersMom]

I'm so glad you made this topic.

My daughter just turned 6 a few months ago and as of this month she started exactly 1 year ago. She is a solid level 2 tumbler and even now with her being on youth2 (we don't have mini2) she is really picking up on level 2 flying, I think her motions and technique are equal to those of level 2. They only thing with her being on youth 2 I feel like her jumps aren't as good as everyone's as far as height wise - she can do multiple jumps to BHS but there just not high!

Every kid on her team turns 9 in either the next few months or is already 10 or 11. My daughter is going into first everyone else is 3rd grade up. So everyone on the team loves her as like a star because there is no one at the gym close to her age that can even do a BHS. To where my daughter can do multiples and has a specialty pass. My daughter absolutely loves the attention.

However, some girl at my work was like you think your daughter is good..? That's nothing take her to a bigger city with a big gym and your daughter won't be special. It really offended me and I don't even talk about my daughter like that to her. She knows and she sees videos of my daughter on Facebook. That's the only place she sees things and videos of my daughter. For real it made me cry like your doubting my child. I just want her to be the best at what she does for herself she doesn't have to be better then anyone else.

Anyways, I don't know why I put that out there but it's leading to what I say now. Were moving to Texas and one of the strong contenders of where I will take my daughter is a larger gym. I already know and I'm kind of nervous because I love our gym. She will be 7 right before the season starts and she is working tucks now and she really is trying and she will probably have it by next season but I know if she doesn't she will be one of many with a BHS. Im sure there are 7 year olds with tucks there already too but I know that she would be a little more valued. I'm just worried if my daughter will let that discourage her and she won't realize how fabulous she is and will she only thrive at a smaller gym? Or is the large gym going to give her that extra boost of confidence that she can hang with the best of them!?

I'm truly concerned ..

 

[lakerfantlc]

where ever the girls are happy...

 

[mommy2mygirls]

**Also it was mentioned above. The three small gyms I went to ALL, and I mean ALL of them said that the big gyms were bad because they won't recognize you and you'll just be a nobody. They were so wrong.

I feel like I should explain my comment a little more - I am NOT by any stretch saying every large gym is that way and in many aspects the gym she was at was not that way. She LOVED some of the coaches and was well known and happy there. I mean in the aspect of trying to schedule privates, or trying to get information from the front desk or being put on "wait lists" because classes were full ... more of the aspect of the parental things she had no idea about than the way SHE felt there.

 

[tucknduck]

I'm so glad you made this topic.

My daughter just turned 6 a few months ago and as of this month she started exactly 1 year ago. She is a solid level 2 tumbler and even now with her being on youth2 (we don't have mini2) she is really picking up on level 2 flying, I think her motions and technique are equal to those of level 2. They only thing with her being on youth 2 I feel like her jumps aren't as good as everyone's as far as height wise - she can do multiple jumps to BHS but there just not high!

Every kid on her team turns 9 in either the next few months or is already 10 or 11. My daughter is going into first everyone else is 3rd grade up. So everyone on the team loves her as like a star because there is no one at the gym close to her age that can even do a BHS. To where my daughter can do multiples and has a specialty pass. My daughter absolutely loves the attention.

However, some girl at my work was like you think your daughter is good..? That's nothing take her to a bigger city with a big gym and your daughter won't be special. It really offended me and I don't even talk about my daughter like that to her. She knows and she sees videos of my daughter on Facebook. That's the only place she sees things and videos of my daughter. For real it made me cry like your doubting my child. I just want her to be the best at what she does for herself she doesn't have to be better then anyone else.

Anyways, I don't know why I put that out there but it's leading to what I say now. Were moving to Texas and one of the strong contenders of where I will take my daughter is a larger gym. I already know and I'm kind of nervous because I love our gym. She will be 7 right before the season starts and she is working tucks now and she really is trying and she will probably have it by next season but I know if she doesn't she will be one of many with a BHS. Im sure there are 7 year olds with tucks there already too but I know that she would be a little more valued. I'm just worried if my daughter will let that discourage her and she won't realize how fabulous she is and will she only thrive at a smaller gym? Or is the large gym going to give her that extra boost of confidence that she can hang with the best of them!?

I'm truly concerned ..

It would appear you may be making too much of it. Perhaps your friend may not have come across as cordial but perhaps may be saying to take a step back, relax and let your CP just have fun and cheer. At 6, what kind of pressure does a 6 yr old need? You can't predict how far advanced she will be at that age. You just don't know. She could peak out at 10 or she could improve each year and progress into the higher levels as she gets older. As a former baseball coach, I've seen t-ball parents go bonkers over the posiions their kids play, who's better than who etc and many of them burn out before they ever finished little league because they were never able to have fun....Do yourself a favor..Let your CP enjoy cheerleading and let things progress as they go. These things will take care of themselves.

 

[MissBee]

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development basically states that learners will rise to the level of those around them. So, if your kid is the best, they're going to stagnate...but if your kid has someone better than them they will increase their skill level to try and match the skill level of the more advanced kids.

 

[TheVipersMom]

It would appear you may be making too much of it. Perhaps your friend may not have come across as cordial but perhaps may be saying to take a step back, relax and let your CP just have fun and cheer. At 6, what kind of pressure does a 6 yr old need? You can't predict how far advanced she will be at that age. You just don't know. She could peak out at 10 or she could improve each year and progress into the higher levels as she gets older. As a former baseball coach, I've seen t-ball parents go bonkers over the posiions their kids play, who's better than who etc and many of them burn out before they ever finished little league because they were never able to have fun....Do yourself a favor..Let your CP enjoy cheerleading and let things progress as they go. These things will take care of themselves.

Never mind, I guess everyone is going to go off on a tangent think I'm pushing my child to much and she isn't having fun. I don't push her to make her do it; I just wonder how it will effect her if were at a bigger gym and she is no longer that one! She is one of many. If she doesn't go past level 2 ever then although I will question if its the coaching I will be ok with that long as she is having fun. I want the best for her.
But thanks anyways.

 

[cheer97]

Never mind, I guess everyone is going to go off on a tangent think I'm pushing my child to much and she isn't having fun. I don't push her to make her do it; I just wonder how it will effect her if were at a bigger gym and she is no longer that one! She is one of many. If she doesn't go past level 2 ever then although I will question if its the coaching I will be ok with that long as she is having fun. I want the best for her.
But thanks anyways.

I don't think everyone is going off on a tangent..

 

[TheVipersMom]

I don't think everyone is going off on a tangent..

I don't mean it like that, I was more so looking for people's opinions on both subjects. Not just saying oh well your daughter is 6 you shouldn't be worried about what skills she has. Like she isn't having fun or something. Maybe someone here understands me.

 

[lilmonstermaker]

We started at a small gym and also did rec cheer before moving to a larger gym. My CP was a little celebrity in our small gym with her BHS at 6. I had no clue what the cheer world was really like until our small gym closed and we went to a larger gym. She was placed on a Mini Level 2 with team BHS. She had flown for 2 years prior and didn't get to fly when we moved to the larger gym, but her skill progression has definitely been worth it! If our old gym didn't close, neither one of us probably would have known what a full was and there is no way that she would have been working one now.

We have encouraged some of our other friends from the small gym to join our gym and they love it as well. There are so many parts to play on a cheerleading team and within a cheerleading program - everybody has part regardless of if it is a small or large gym, it just not be the part that you are used to.

 

[lilmonstermaker]

I don't mean it like that, I was more so looking for people's opinions on both subjects. Not just saying oh well your daughter is 6 you shouldn't be worried about what skills she has. Like she isn't having fun or something. Maybe someone here understands me.

My cp did not make progress because I wanted her progress, she only did it because SHE wanted to do it and I think that seeing other girls her age with the same skill or better encouraged her to push herself. When she was the number 1 girl at the old gym, she was happy to be there and didn't feel the need to get any better. Now she has a lot of models that she can see and aspire to those higher skills.

 

[armycheermom]

@Kris10boo From what you have said about your cp, she seems pretty advance for her age. She started cheer at 5, with no skills and exactly 1 year later, she is a soild level 2. If she keeps going like that, she has a possibility to have level 5 before she hits double digits. I know on another thread, you said your cp has the skills she has because she pushed herself to get them. I believe she would progress and could be a stand out at any size gym because she works hard, in fact, it might make her push herself harder, because she sees kids her age or kids a little older than her with advance skills. And FYI, I don't think you are one of those crazy moms who pushes her daughter to be in a sport that she hates or doesn't have fun in.