All-Star Privates: Can A Cheerleader Be Successful Without Them?

[cheergoogle]

How does everyone feel about privates?

Are CP's who don't have them at a disadvantage?
How much is too much to pay for a skill?
What about the families that can't afford a private?
What about families that can't fit them into their busy schedules?
Do coaches tend to bond more with the CP's that they work with in a private?

 

[lakerfantlc]

I think a cp can be successful without them though it will probably take much longer....as for all the other questions....I think we all should do our best and not stress about a bar that is set by others...kids are all different in skill and drive etc...we as parents need to keep a level head and a good sense of humor...IMO

 

[cheerymom]

My CP cheered for 10 years and never took privates. She did some "shared" (3 to 5 kids in a group) lessons when she was about 8-10 but not regularly. She did make the most of the time she had with coaches. She also trained her muscles on the skills using the tumble track and worked a lot on her own. I think it is certainly possible to be successful without it but it does seem to be dependent on the child's traits (motivation, fearlessness, drive, etc).

 

[AllHeartxo3]

I never took an official private (I had a private when no one in my group came), this summer I'm going to try them out but I don't know how well it will work. I'm only taking them because of my mental block and I know it stresses me out more when there are people behind me in line and I'm freaking out. I personally prefer open gyms. I wish gyms had them every week. For your last question, I don't think they bond per say, but you do gain a huge amount of trust quicker with a private than a group lesson.

 

[wildKITTYsofierce.]

Are CP's who don't have them at a disadvantage?
Not at all. One of my closest friends taught herself 90% of her tumbling and has never gone to a private. She's 14 with 19 BEAUTIFUL jumps to a tuck (she counted) and a double. That being said, she's a very lazy person and is lucky to have that gift come naturally to her because she hasn't taught herself any new skills in a long time.
How much is too much to pay for a skill?
I pay $35 per private with the assistant coach at Quinnipiac. The cheapest at my gym are $25 with one of our tumbling BEASTS/cheer coach/athlete.
Do coaches tend to bond more with the CP's that they work with in a private?
From what I've seen, that's not always the case. I'm sure they're friendly and such, but usually coaches in my gym bond more with whoever they can relate to or family friends.

 

[mariahnicole1216]

I haven't been to a private in about a year and my tumbling has definatly suffered a lot from the break. But I do think coaches bond a lot more. I loooooved my tumbling coach john. We got really close and he helped me through a hard time in my life. I'm excited to go back because I feel it was really good for me.

 

[MiaMia]

ofcourse people can be successful with out then, but im speaking for myself when i say privates were the best thing that ever happened to my tumbling. Classes were good for me until all my friends were in the same class aa me then all we did was talk the entire time lol. When i was in my private, i was more focused and pushed my self alot more because i was the only one there. Privates may not work for everyone, but they definitely helped me ALOT!

 

[INeverStopCheering]

How does everyone feel about privates?

Are CP's who don't have them at a disadvantage?
Not necessarily. But if you're just starting a new skill, or really stuck, it can help a lot
How much is too much to pay for a skill?
I would never pay more then 20$ a half hour.
What about the families that can't afford a private?
Look into group tumbling classes or slplit to cost with a friend
Do coaches tend to bond more with the CP's that they work with in a private?

I think yes. It gives them one on one time to get to know the CP as a person and as well as a cheerleader.

Let me say this. I coach tumbling classes. It is hard to start a skill with a kid in a tumbling class with 15 kids in your group. Our tumble class is divided into three stations-stations(wedge, barrel, springboard), trampoline(basket tramp, tumble track, tumble strip, and drill station), and floor (line and cross tumbling) with 3 groups(with coaches who stay with a group) who rotate stations. Let's say I'm with the group who has/almost has ro bhs. Let's say Suzie has every back handspring skill possible on tumble track and all but one on floor. Time to start on tucks. But, if I'm at tumble track, I can't always take the time to take Suzie over to a trampoline and start her on tucks and then do some drills and then take her back to tumble track. It's not fair to the others. I will start her, but not in the ease into it I would like. So in terms of individualized, specialized instruction, privates are the way to go

 

[cljacks99]

I am a big fan of privates. I really prefer semi privates with kids working on the same skills. The coach is able to go in great detail and fix all of the small things that he may not notice when he is having to run a large class. The semi privates are great because the kids motivate each other. I wish I had the money to do them every week.

 

[SheCheers]

How does everyone feel about privates?

Are CP's who don't have them at a disadvantage?
How much is too much to pay for a skill?
What about the families that can't afford a private?
What about families that can't fit them into their busy schedules?
Do coaches tend to bond more with the CP's that they work with in a private?

I'm not saying that this is TYPICAL, but I will say that my CP has never had a private in her life. she hasn't even consistently taken weekly tumbling classes (we often took summers off). after 3 years of tumbling, i feel she's successful. she has solid level 4 tumbling.
i've seen so many invest in privates for reasons that have not paid off...mom wanted their cp on a level 2 team, then they stayed on level 1, or all their friends were doing it, etc. my cp did express an interest in privates because another girl had a skill she didn't. i told her absolutely not. i then mentioned to her coach that she had expressed an interest in taking privates and i asked him what he thought. he said she didn't need them. so we don't.

i'm sure it would benefit her and i'm sure she'd have more advanced skills, but we're not in a rush, as she's only 8...LOL. now if she were 16 and trying out for high school varsity and didn't have a certain skill, i might consider it. it's such an individual decision.

 

[ErinS]

How does everyone feel about privates? My sister does a private once a week. She learns better individually...doesn't get as annoyed when shes tumbling with her team or other kids (esp when she ends up in a tumbling class with a younger group of kids)...and she also doesn't have to deal with the attention seeking drama queen/king or the kid suffering with the mental block that takes up 5 mins of the 50 min class getting prodded out of the corner

Are CP's who don't have them at a disadvantage? Depends on how talented the child is, how quickly they catch on, whether or not they make use of their time...whether it is a private or a group class.
How much is too much to pay for a skill? My sisters are $25 a week
What about the families that can't afford a private? Then they don't take them?
What about families that can't fit them into their busy schedules? Then they don't take them or they learn to make time.
Do coaches tend to bond more with the CP's that they work with in a private? I think so

 

[shadow]

My kid has never taken a"private" but the place she tumbles only does groups of 4 to one coach. The coaches all have a gymnastics background and stress proper technique. They also spot extensively so it really helps with fear. Great place to break a tumbling block. My kid was working whips and punched the coach in his face and he did not let her fall. He caught her! His nose was broken and she never hit the ground! Working alone is boring to her. The small group allows her to chat and be with her friends and still get a lot of tumbling time in. Don't think she would have ever done a real private.

 

[newcheerdad]

My cp started privates a little more than a year ago when she decided she wanted to try out for a level 2 team. The initial goal was to just get her robhs and standing bhs, but she loved the privates so much that we kept going.

My experience is limited to one year, obviously, but I don't think privates make or break a kid at all. There are plenty of girls on my daughter's team (and on the higher level youth team that my cp will try out for next year) who never took a single private or semi-private lesson and have excellent tumbling. There are also girls who have been taking privates for three times as long as my daughter and aren't at her competence level. It really, really depends on the kid, their work ethic and natural ability.

 

[LittleMiss]

How does everyone feel about privates? I am so torn on them. I see people with 4, 5 and 6 yr olds that put their children in privates at least once a week so they can get the next tumbling skill. I don't think the kids need or want to take them, it is kind of sad in a way......the parents are so competitive that they want their child to be the first one to get X tumbling skill.​

Are CP's who don't have them at a disadvantage? Depends on what their goals are and their natural skill/abilities. My CP is the kid that doesn't need them she excels without them and has only taken a couple to clean things up. I am the mom that asks the tumble coach to make sure she perfects the current skills before she moves onto the next. Clean is important not more skills and sloppy. I always say that if she spent as much time in the gym with privates that some of these other kids do I can't imagine how good she would be. She has another 10 years of cheer so she has plenty of time to get to Level 5. I don't want to rush her if she isn't ready.​

How much is too much to pay for a skill? I haven't a clue. I guess I should ask some of the moms that have paid thousands and their CP's still don't have the skill they want them to have.​

What about the families that can't afford a private? I can't afford privates and open tumble does the job.​

What about families that can't fit them into their busy schedules? Not only can I not really afford them we don't have the time for them. There are other children in our home and I am not a Stay at Home Mom.​

Do coaches tend to bond more with the CP's that they work with in a private? I don't think so...Coach's tend to like hard working kids who are respectful and don't waste their(the coach's) time.​

 

[retiredl5cheer]

I've had good experiences with private lessons as well as well structured classes. I took privates for 3 years and went from a cartwheel to a RO-BHS-tuck and a standing tuck. After I felt that I had leveled out of that coach, I moved on to an invite-only tumbling class that worked wonders as well. I think that if the coach of the class pushes each athlete individually, a class can work just as well as a private lesson.