- Apr 28, 2017
- 514
- 482
My daughter started YCOA cheer when she was 4 and saw the sign in the local parks and rec office. It was a good fit at the time-basically a dance class with pompoms and glitter. She loved being a cheerleader.
Fast forward a few years and she set her sights on being an "Elite" and started taking tumbling classes at a gymnastics gym. In retrospect, that was a mistake. My daughter has a high level of fear, and she's not a kid who will try tumbling on her own, and the gym didn't have a lot of open gym time to practice. Every time New kids came in, the coach would focus on them. DD ended up with strong rolls, really good cartwheels going both directions, decent handstands and good bridges, but never even was taught walkovers.
About 2 years ago, YCOA in our region changed to Champion Force, and one change was that the old level 4, which had been a beginners level team for older kids turned into the first tryout team. DD tried out and made it. The first season was fine-the challenge level was what she needed, she was finally allowed to tumble in routines. And at the same time, a local all star gym ran a summer special for tumbling classes. DD came over, and immediately liked what she found. The gym owner/manager pointed out that they also had cheer skills classes, and she began spending several hours a day at the gym, doing tumbling, cheer skills and practiced. She was offered a spot on their Youth prep team, but she didn't want to leave her current team, so she kept both.
This year has been rocky. First, as DD has seen what happens at the All Star gym and the School teams that train there, she's gotten more and more dissatisfied with the level of discipline and concentration. Second, the head coach chose to only coach her level 5 since she was expecting a baby, and the person who came in had no experience with the older girls, and left most of the coaching to two high school age assistants. DD compared what was happening in stunt class at the all star gym to her team and was terrified, recognizing, now, just how likely injuries were to happen. She finished out the season, but is clear she doesn't want to go back.
She has evaluations for the All-Star gym this weekend. She knows she is probably going to place onto level 1, and is fine with that. I've done the math, and while the upfront cost for uniform, warm ups, practice clothes, etc will be high, once we're past that point, I think it will actually cost less per month to do All Star Prep because it is far less travel requiring an overnight stay.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to "know" all of you!
Fast forward a few years and she set her sights on being an "Elite" and started taking tumbling classes at a gymnastics gym. In retrospect, that was a mistake. My daughter has a high level of fear, and she's not a kid who will try tumbling on her own, and the gym didn't have a lot of open gym time to practice. Every time New kids came in, the coach would focus on them. DD ended up with strong rolls, really good cartwheels going both directions, decent handstands and good bridges, but never even was taught walkovers.
About 2 years ago, YCOA in our region changed to Champion Force, and one change was that the old level 4, which had been a beginners level team for older kids turned into the first tryout team. DD tried out and made it. The first season was fine-the challenge level was what she needed, she was finally allowed to tumble in routines. And at the same time, a local all star gym ran a summer special for tumbling classes. DD came over, and immediately liked what she found. The gym owner/manager pointed out that they also had cheer skills classes, and she began spending several hours a day at the gym, doing tumbling, cheer skills and practiced. She was offered a spot on their Youth prep team, but she didn't want to leave her current team, so she kept both.
This year has been rocky. First, as DD has seen what happens at the All Star gym and the School teams that train there, she's gotten more and more dissatisfied with the level of discipline and concentration. Second, the head coach chose to only coach her level 5 since she was expecting a baby, and the person who came in had no experience with the older girls, and left most of the coaching to two high school age assistants. DD compared what was happening in stunt class at the all star gym to her team and was terrified, recognizing, now, just how likely injuries were to happen. She finished out the season, but is clear she doesn't want to go back.
She has evaluations for the All-Star gym this weekend. She knows she is probably going to place onto level 1, and is fine with that. I've done the math, and while the upfront cost for uniform, warm ups, practice clothes, etc will be high, once we're past that point, I think it will actually cost less per month to do All Star Prep because it is far less travel requiring an overnight stay.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to "know" all of you!
