All-Star My Daughter Wants To Quit Allstar Cheer...

[icecheermom]

My daughter is 12 and just made Senior Open 5. She has been cheering for 5 years straight and told me the other day she doesn't want to do it anymore. I think she may just be burnt out & maybe a little intimidated by the level. She loves the competition season but hates the hard work that leads up to that. I'm hoping with school now out for the summer she will realize she really wants to do it. Any suggestions on how to motivate her?

 

[lakerfantlc]

My daughter is 12 and just made Senior Open 5. She has been cheering for 5 years straight and told me the other day she doesn't want to do it anymore. I think she may just be burnt out & maybe a little intimidated by the level. She loves the competition season but hates the hard work that leads up to that. I'm hoping with school now out for the summer she will realize she really wants to do it. Any suggestions on how to motivate her?

she needs to miss it and if she doesnt...she made the right decision..:/

 

[beccamarie]

My daughter was the same way at the beggining of last season, so we took a year off and by the middle of last season she missed it so much. Encourage her to try just one more year, and if she doesn't want to do it anymore at the end of this season, then don't force her to.

 

[icecheermom]

she needs to miss it and if she doesnt...she made the right decision..:/

She thinks we will still go to comps and she can just kick back and watch. She needs to miss it though and maybe taking a year off will do just that. Well put...thanks for the advice. Cheers!!

 

[notimeforthat]

I agree...It is too exspenisve and time consuming to just go through the motions.... if the level intimadates her perhaps she can move to a lower level team? Then she won't have to work as hard!

 

[Jennajal]

I had a bad first couple months this past season with only wanting to be on our senior 3 team and possibly not cheering at all. I was motivated by my coaches and other cheerleaders and finally I got over my hump. I am back to loving it and competiting at the higher level. It was really hard wanting to quit and going to practices that at the time I really didnt want to be there but i forced myself to push through it, and im so glad I did. I would have missed it soo much. Make sure she thinks about the things she would do if she quit, in my case it was nothing. Tell her to think about the last time competiting and make sure she understands that that feeling will never come again if she decided to quit. Don't let her quit until she is 100% sure the sport isnt for her anymore...I'm so glad my mom and coaches didnt.

 

[cheerfan27]

Sonds like it is all of a sudden. Maybe if she was with kids her own age on Youth or Junior it would be better. But if she s just burnt out let he take a year off to see how she feels or maybe she has other things she may want to explore.

 

[icecheermom]

I had a bad first couple months this past season with only wanting to be on our senior 3 team and possibly not cheering at all. I was motivated by my coaches and other cheerleaders and finally I got over my hump. I am back to loving it and competiting at the higher level. It was really hard wanting to quit and going to practices that at the time I really didnt want to be there but i forced myself to push through it, and im so glad I did. I would have missed it soo much. Make sure she thinks about the things she would do if she quit, in my case it was nothing. Tell her to think about the last time competiting and make sure she understands that that feeling will never come again if she decided to quit. Don't let her quit until she is 100% sure the sport isnt for her anymore...I'm so glad my mom and coaches didnt.

She is on a cruise right now with her grandparents and I think when she returns and the reality of sitting around this summer will hit her. She always hates the summer conditioning but I tell her that's what helps you become a better athlete. We lost 2 of her favorite coaches so I think the change is hard. I think she will come around when she returns from the cruise. If not...then I will keep her in tumbling classes so she doesn't lose her skills and we will see next season.

 

[icecheermom]

I agree...It is too exspenisve and time consuming to just go through the motions.... if the level intimadates her perhaps she can move to a lower level team? Then she won't have to work as hard!

Off subject but..I love your avatar!!! Fierce!

 

[icecheermom]

Sonds like it is all of a sudden. Maybe if she was with kids her own age on Youth or Junior it would be better. But if she s just burnt out let he take a year off to see how she feels or maybe she has other things she may want to explore.

Well we had two coaches leave and she really liked them both. Asked her about doing the Senior 3 or 4 squad but she wants to be with her friends which are all on the Senior open 5. She has been really emotionally lately so I think her body is changing (if you know what I mean). I hope she comes around but like lakerfantlc says she probably just needs to miss it. She crossed last year also so I think we were at the gym just way too much.

 

[Angelica]

I dont think a year off would kill her...i hate to see people leave this sport, but i love to see them make a comeback! Maybe a break is what she needs.

 

[Diamond]

Let her quit. If she really wants to do it, she will go back.

 

[ellie]

i actually decided to take a break and doing allstar dance instead maybe do a half year team this year. Sometimes i think it is good to take a break and try other things and if she starts to miss it she could go back.

 

[garretttt]

wait til choreography! thats when everything starts getting exciting again!

 

[armycheermom]

When my daughter wanted to quit, it broke my heart, but I let her do it. As upsetting as it is for us moms to let them quit, if she really wants to quit, you have to let her do it. It makes no sense to pay thousands of dollars on a sport that her heart isn't in. I would sit her down and explain to her, that once she quits, there are no more team bonding events, traveling out of state to comps, going to all of the instate comps and all of the other things that made her fall in love with cheer. If she really wants to quit after that, then you have to let her do it. But keep her in tumbling classes! I am regretting that I didn't do it for my own daughter now.....
Good luck on whatever you and your daughter chose!