All-Star K Bands Vs. Cheerbandz

[rdavis4]

Thank you all so much for your honest advice! We switched gyms this year, and our old gym operated very differently than our current. The answer to everything was privates. She was told she didn't have the strength for a fwo last year and given some things to do at home. It was definitely about getting new skills quickly. She was working on her bhs and would still do a bwo to the side at times. Lots of bad habits and no basics taught.

New gym is very different, in a good way obviously. Took me about a month to realize that the slower way they are teaching is the correct and safe way. My daughter can't get into privates because she doesn't need them according to the owner. I honestly appreciate that, saves me money! But for a 1st grader used to practicing 1.5 hours 2 days a week plus a private and tumbling, now practicing 1 hour 15 minutes once a week, she's having a harder time with the adjustment.

She is in a beginning level 2 tumbling class now, after months in a very basic level 1 to correct bad habits. I'm hoping her new tumbling class will help with her wanting to do a bunch at home, since she will feel a challenge. For now she loves the app we found and is happy to watch and do the drills (mostly stretching things) for jumps. She knows at this age she won't have high jumps, but it's helping her a lot just seeing where the arms should be.
Again, thank you all for you advise and concern!

 

[King]

Thank you all so much for your honest advice! We switched gyms this year, and our old gym operated very differently than our current. The answer to everything was privates. She was told she didn't have the strength for a fwo last year and given some things to do at home. It was definitely about getting new skills quickly. She was working on her bhs and would still do a bwo to the side at times. Lots of bad habits and no basics taught.

New gym is very different, in a good way obviously. Took me about a month to realize that the slower way they are teaching is the correct and safe way. My daughter can't get into privates because she doesn't need them according to the owner. I honestly appreciate that, saves me money! But for a 1st grader used to practicing 1.5 hours 2 days a week plus a private and tumbling, now practicing 1 hour 15 minutes once a week, she's having a harder time with the adjustment.

She is in a beginning level 2 tumbling class now, after months in a very basic level 1 to correct bad habits. I'm hoping her new tumbling class will help with her wanting to do a bunch at home, since she will feel a challenge. For now she loves the app we found and is happy to watch and do the drills (mostly stretching things) for jumps. She knows at this age she won't have high jumps, but it's helping her a lot just seeing where the arms should be.
Again, thank you all for you advise and concern!

That is an amazing attitude to take when advice comes in that might counter to what you have thought before. Bravo to you for accepting it.

Don't worry about rushing through things, there are years of cheer left. One of my favorite quotes is: Take your time... it will go faster.

As for lifting a 40 pound kid vs lifting weights it isn't that doing some curls with 3 pound weights will harm you doing it once, it is that it sets the path in motion to do some potentially not safe things. Stick with body weight stuff, and do stuff outside of cheer! Cheer is awesome, cheer is a 'part' of life, but not all of life!

 

[SL&AM]

Thank you all so much for your honest advice! We switched gyms this year, and our old gym operated very differently than our current. The answer to everything was privates. She was told she didn't have the strength for a fwo last year and given some things to do at home. It was definitely about getting new skills quickly. She was working on her bhs and would still do a bwo to the side at times. Lots of bad habits and no basics taught.

New gym is very different, in a good way obviously. Took me about a month to realize that the slower way they are teaching is the correct and safe way. My daughter can't get into privates because she doesn't need them according to the owner. I honestly appreciate that, saves me money! But for a 1st grader used to practicing 1.5 hours 2 days a week plus a private and tumbling, now practicing 1 hour 15 minutes once a week, she's having a harder time with the adjustment.

She is in a beginning level 2 tumbling class now, after months in a very basic level 1 to correct bad habits. I'm hoping her new tumbling class will help with her wanting to do a bunch at home, since she will feel a challenge. For now she loves the app we found and is happy to watch and do the drills (mostly stretching things) for jumps. She knows at this age she won't have high jumps, but it's helping her a lot just seeing where the arms should be.
Again, thank you all for you advise and concern!

Trust me when I say I can relate to this in ways you would never believe. What I found with my CP was finding other things for her to do---she was used to being in a gym 3-4 days a week and then we moved and bam everything changed on her. I've found Girl Scouts and the school's Running Club to be a great resource for her, though I know neither of those are for everyone---if you have activities like that in your area you may take a look. It's helped a lot to alleviate her boredom and I almost feel like she appreciates her gym time more because it's not an everyday or every other day thing anymore. She still asks for more, but it's getting less and less.

 

[mollymags]

Have her stand in front of a mirror and do straight jumps but with her arms/chest/shoulders placed correctly. Then move on to actual jumps, still focused on arms/chest. As a coach, any kid who has control of their upper body while jumping is like a little angel that was hand delivered to make my life a tiny bit easier... I'll take a low toe touch with correct arm placement over a hyper extended jump with flailing bird arms. We spend ENDLESS time cleaning that at practice.

 

[rdavis4]

Have her stand in front of a mirror and do straight jumps but with her arms/chest/shoulders placed correctly. Then move on to actual jumps, still focused on arms/chest. As a coach, any kid who has control of their upper body while jumping is like a little angel that was hand delivered to make my life a tiny bit easier... I'll take a low toe touch with correct arm placement over a hyper extended jump with flailing bird arms. We spend ENDLESS time cleaning that at practice.

Thank you!!! Yes, we had NO idea that the arms at this age are more important that the height of the jump until the owner told us!! That is the really big thing CP struggles with; she was never taught correct arms last year. So she's been working on that, and gets it down pretty well but then when she adds jumps the timing is way off and the arms look terrible again. I finally told her it's ok that her jumps won't be high, that they want to see those good arms. I think that helped her take the pressure off of herself and it looked so much better this weekend at their first comp! they do pike, hurdler, toe touch and the hurdler is SO ugly...but the arms are there! The other two jumps aren't bad, so I think just continuing to practice those little things will help her!

 

[NJ Coach]

The other thing kids (of all ages) tend to do in jumps is drop their head/chest. They try so hard to get their legs up, that they drop down to their legs instead of bringing their legs up. One of the things I try and tell the littles is to keep their face up, so the photographer can get a better picture. Mom doesn't want a picture of the top of their head.