All-Star R U Friends???

Kids are kids and I've always noticed it's a lot like school. The kids that click are friends and the kids that don't aren't. However, friends and teammates are two different things and athletes can act like teammates without being best friends. Team bonding activities are really important so maybe offer to host one at your house or plan one at a local restaurant or park.

It will only be like Rec cheer if you compare everything to rec cheer. Think about it this way, in real life not everyone is best friends. All you can hope for and ask is that your child is treated with respect and kindness, friendships will follow =).

I have two shy CP's they both try very hard and are attached to their team, yet they both feel uncomfortable sometimes. But they both love their experiences with their teams and coaches, and this is the most I can ask for.

I've had team mates I've loved, others I couldn't stand and some of my best friends are from cheerleading but at the end of the day if you're kids are willing to make an effort to talk to kids and get involved then they're bound to make some new (maybe lifelong) friends!

Some kids just prefer to be a little quiet or off by themselves! I wouldn't worry about your cp, she'll come out of her shell when she gets comfortable with her team As for the girls that have been there a few years, they might just want to stick with their "own" friends. It kinda sucks for your cp, but people do get clique-y, but maybe they'll come around if they get to know her better. Does their team do any "team bonding" activities? Those have really helped my teams get closer!

My 2 cp's are 9 & 10. They are on the same team. They are very blessed to have a great group of girls on their team. They have bonded really well together. They are great friend with the girls on their team.

Not everyone is going to get along however I do believe that team bonding outside of the gym helps greatly. Maybe you can suggest or help organize a team party.

We just left a program and joined a new one after 8 years. Cp has always been shy but after 8 years, she had good friends. When we joined the new gym I was amazed at the girls there who welcomed her with open arms and still actively try to include her in practice. At her old gym she, nor her friends, would have done that. There were definite groups and perhaps a lack of that true "team" feeling. There are girls that are closer to each other because they have cheered together for so long, but I'm grateful that they take the time to include my cp and make her feel special.

Think of all the time that you have to spend with these girls.
For high school cheer, you have class with some of them during the day, see them in the halls, eat lunch with them, then have practice and games with them. And it's probably the same for some all star girls too. Even if you don't go to school together or see each other there a lot, you're still spending hours and hours with them each week. Sometimes it's better to just not talk to one another. As long as there isn't drama and they work well together and give 100%, I don't think you have to be BFFs with every girl. (This coming from a newly graduated girl who has been cheering with some of the same, sometimes annoying, people since middle school )

As for younger kids, I would've been so shy at a gym so I can totally see why some girls may not approach one another. Maybe suggest that they play some games the last 10 minutes of practice or having a 'bonding' practice. I think a sleepover at a gym would be fun too, we did it one year and my gymnast friends have done it too. You could set up a little movie and have pizza and stuff.

its always fun to have a pizza party for the team where they can just sit and talk and chill.

In my experience, the girls on my competition team are the closest friends I have ever had. I have been with most of these girls for six years or more, and they are more of a family to me than friends. We hand out all the time outside of practice, whenever we have free time we are always together. I am so much closer to them than the girls i cheer with at school, I don't know what I would do without them.

My 9-year-old daughter tends to get along with everyone, but only has a couple of close friends on her cheer squad. Most of her friends are actually outside of cheer (softball, dance, school, etc.) and I think she likes it that way. But that's I think in large part because cheer to her is just one of many things she does, not the "big" or "only" thing.

I was the same way when I played sports, so I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing at all.