Level 1 Repeat Or Concentrate On Improving Tumbling?

Do you like this gym otherwise? Do they field strong, competitive teams? If I liked the gym I’d probably keep the placement, find the most amazing tumble coach at the gym, and do privates along with tumble classes this year. I’d also take her to every open gym they have. Since you are very used to the requirements (and cost!) of a competitive sport this won’t seem unusual to you. I pretty much guarantee you she will be up at least one, perhaps two levels this time next year. Gyms walk a fine line...it’s about fielding the most competitive team not about what may be best for the individual athlete. In the long run she will probably grow to appreciate that.

What is her stunting ability? Is she a base or a flyer? How are her jumps? Tumbling isn’t the only skill area taken into account with team placement, so don’t ignore those areas while she continues to work on her tumbling, especially stunting if her upper body isn’t as strong as her lower body as you described. Also, when you describe a gym as “new/big name”, that means satellite to me, so it while it doesn’t necessarily mean better coaches it does usually mean more kids and teams therefore more opportunity to be placed on an age and skill appropriate team than a smaller gym.

I would ask to sit down with the coaches/owners and ask about her placement and what areas she needs to improve in order to move up. Based on that you might have a better idea of whether to stay or look for another gym.

@CheerBank, I agree with everything she said and she has given you good advice... All I wanted to add, as an athlete and her age, your cp is not too young to know what she wants to do and is in a better position to decide if she wants to accept a L1 position or sit out and train on her own...It is all about your cp's happiness in the long run.

Only advice I will give is for your cp to focus on being a well-rounded cheerleader, lift some weights and build up her upper body strength... What I do know in cheerleading, I noticed higher level teams will give a new cheerleader a chance if they are strong in stunting, as opposed to just tumbling. Maybe she can asked a coach to be an alternate on a higher level team and so she can practice her stuntung with that team and take privates on her own for tumbling.

Pebbles49 said:

@CheerBank, I agree with everything she said and she has given you good advice... All I wanted to add, as an athlete and her age, your cp is not too young to know what she wants to do and is in a better position to decide if she wants to accept a L1 position or sit out and train on her own...It is all about your cp's happiness in the long run.

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I agree with this 100% Also, will this L1 team be a strong team? Or one where they accept even the least skilled people (No BOW/FWO, janky cartwheel) just to get the tuition? That can make a difference in her happiness.

Cheerfun2 said:

Do you like this gym otherwise? Do they field strong, competitive teams? If I liked the gym I’d probably keep the placement, find the most amazing tumble coach at the gym, and do privates along with tumble classes this year. I’d also take her to every open gym they have. Since you are very used to the requirements (and cost!) of a competitive sport this won’t seem unusual to you. I pretty much guarantee you she will be up at least one, perhaps two levels this time next year. Gyms walk a fine line...it’s about fielding the most competitive team not about what may be best for the individual athlete. In the long run she will probably grow to appreciate that.

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Yes we do like the gym, the atmosphere is very positive.

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alpaca said:

I agree with this 100% Also, will this L1 team be a strong team? Or one where they accept even the least skilled people (No BOW/FWO, janky cartwheel) just to get the tuition? That can make a difference in her happiness.

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I really don't know, it's a very small team (under 10 kids).

ImAChauffeuse said:

Yes we do like the gym, the atmosphere is very positive. She's less happy with the fact that it's a junior team and she's the oldest on it by 2 years (barely squeaks in with the age cutoff). I will look into privates here, at our previous gym it was nearly impossible to get them.

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Hmmm...that changes things a bit. It is NOT fun to be the oldest by yourself. I’m sure there are exceptions but I’d probably decline the placement and work on her tumbling, jumps and stunting through privates and classes this year. Politely explain to the director your reasons. If they are professional, they will understand. Being the only 15 year old on a level 1 team would really negate some of the fun, social aspects for your child. I am sure it would be a good leadership lesson, but it’s a loooonnnnnggg season. Good luck to your Cp with this decision.

Cheerfun2 said:

Hmmm...that changes things a bit. It is NOT fun to be the oldest by yourself. I’m sure there are exceptions but I’d probably decline the placement and work on her tumbling, jumps and stunting through privates and classes this year. Politely explain to the director your reasons. If they are professional, they will understand. Being the only 15 year old on a level 1 team would really negate some of the fun, social aspects for your child. I am sure it would be a good leadership lesson, but it’s a loooonnnnnggg season. Good luck to your Cp with this decision.

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Thank you for the advice, this is the direction I have been leaning towards.

In all honesty, my cp was in the same boat in terms of going from competitive figure skating to allstar cheer as well! Feel free to pm me if you would like to get any more of our insight!

When my cp transitioned from skating to cheer it sounds as if they were the same age! If I recall correctly she had just tested out of Juvenile and was working her double jumps with the harness. However, she discovered all star cheer and was immediately hooked. We took her to tryouts at a local gym and she too was placed on a level one team, where she was one of the "higher level" girls since she basically had a backbend kickover with a finger spot. Our gym allowed for a trial process of sorts with the teams, so I signed her up for group classes as well to see if there was a way for her to possibly level up ASAP. She learned her BWO, FWO, and all those handy dandy level one skills (as well as level 2 tumbling and flyer skills-she is extremely tiny in both height and weight for her age) quite fast, but was yet to be placed on level 2 and was still on J1.

While we both completely understood she was new to the whole cheer world and there were many other aspects to focus on with this being a team sport and such, she had hoped to level up to get the most of her time in the sport. Although she additionally gets along with younger kids quite well and respects all stunt positions, she would've been one of the older girls there and wouldn't have gotten her desired stunt position when compared to the 6 and 7 year olds on her team. So, we respectfully declined to J1 and opted to buy her a tumbling mat at home as well as private and group lessons in the gym. and she now works level 5 stunts as a flyer with level 3/4 tumbling. We've found that it's definitely true regarding teams encouraging only working on their "team level" skills to ensure perfection at competitions, so from our personal experience I highly recommend taking the year to work on building skills. Maybe she could also look into High School or Middle School comp cheer just to hold her over for the season? Who knows, she could even wind up as an alternate for the higher level teams down the road in the year!

Good luck with whatever path you choose.

ImAChauffeuse said:

We just discovered stunt classes so she will be taking some of those, they didn't offer those at the previous gym. She just has the level 1 stunting skills she learned during the season. Her jumps are high and she's flexible. She has been base and back spot - junior team though so the flyers were tiny and anyone could lift them. I didn't want to be one of "those moms" who whines about placement so I was hesitant to ask at the gym, but maybe I will rethink that.

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She’s got a lot to learn in terms of stunting if she’s only worked on Level 1 but the good news is that stunting is much easier to advance in than tumbling especially once they get to a certain age. She’ll also need those stunting skills especially if she’s thinking about someday cheering in college. Best of luck to her and I hope whatever you decide to do she has a great season.

You talk about the ability to do the skills but not her technique. My child had been pushed back a level and at first it really irked me. Her coaches were amazing technique (straight legs, pointed toes, correct angles, staying in synch with other cheerleaders ) were the focus. It made a huge impact. She is moving back up.
There is so much more to cheer than tumbling. She needs to gain upper arm strength it will help keep her safe as well as her teammates.
With regards to be the oldest yes that can be hard but she can develop skills of being a leader and role model. I know that sounds like not much but it can give her life skills as well.
If a gym is keeping you on a lower level team to work on developing skills and your child is not fully at the elite level of the next level then trust the gyms process. Give her this opportunity to get stronger. Pushing too fast and not being fully ready for the next level can lead to mental blocks.
By the way I get the age thing I have multiple girls who cheer. My one child has a birthday right after the cut off more than once she has been the oldest kid on the team. At times it has driven me crazy as we have continued on this journey (year 8) I understand the benefit to her and the team as a whole.