Hello fellow moms! My four year old daughter wants to be a cheerleader. She currently has a "rehearsal time" at day care where they learn dances and get ready for shows that the cay care center she attends puts on so I believe she can handle the discapline of a practice and going to classes. I have honestly no clue where to begin.. is it with gymnastics or do they offer cheerleading for her age? Also if you can refer me to a good place to enroll her I woudl appreciate it! Currently I live in The Colony, so Carrolton is the next closet city for me or possibly Frisco. Thanks for your help
Thank you for all of your help and suggestions. Her age will not allow her to participate in the local city venues suggested. So we are enrolling her in a private gymnastics program for now and we will see where she wants to go from here
My daughter was interested in cheerleading at 4 years old as well, and last fall she cheer for my son's flag football team with the Carrollton Youth Football League. It was low cost (registration incluced uniform, pom pons, etcs) and non-competitive so it let her have fun and see what cheerleading is all about. They do allow 3 and 4 year old girls to cheer with the older girls just to have fun.
I would start with something revolving around gymnastics. Cheer in Texas is big time competitive. If she has dreams of being a cheerleader past grade school she needs to know all of the gymnastic type jumps.
For little girls, you can easily check it out through the rec center. Most towns have cheer teams for the kiddie football teams.
Depending on your interest and $$$, get involved with gymnastics.
I have a 15 yr old actively involved in cheerleading at her high school. In Plano ISD, cheer is open to any 8th grader and this gives you a chance to see if you like it. That is how daughter started. Now that she is fully into it, we have private cheer coaches as well as the cheer coaching at school. MOST of the girls have private lessons on top of anything done at school.
We are not involved with competitive cheer outside the school but there are many groups who are. One group we trained with for our competition last year was Cheer Express in Frisco. They work with competition groups and school groups. They did a good job.
Another thing to think about is the $$$. In 8th grade we were told it would be around $350 plus tax for the year....NOT. 9th grade we were told just under $600 and for 10th grade next year it estimated in the higher $600's NOT.
At least triple the $$ you are quoted and your budget will be ok. There are all kinds of fees with uniforms, fundraising, competition practices, private coaches, entrance fees, Dr. visits for injuries, etc.
My daughter did not start with a background in gymnastics but she has an extensive background in martial arts so she made the transition to all the round offs, kicks, balance etc very well.
We are still in cheer because she loves it and excels in it. Good luck with your daughter!
Hello, I live in The Colony, sounds like your daughter goes to the same day care my two boys went to.. There are a few options in The Colony for cheer, www.tcyfa.com, the have cheerleadres in the fall that start at five yo. Not sure when she will turn 5 but it has to be by a certain date then you can enroll her and also The Colony rec center has the Fun Times catalogs that come out at different seasons and they have the Cheer Panthers starting at age 4 yo. Have heard really great things about both! Hope that helps you get started.
You should look into 2 different places if you want to do it in the Colony/North Carrollton area. Prestonwood has fall cheerleading but she might have to be 5 before she can do it. We did it last year for the 1st year to see if my daughter was really into it and it was great. Also Texas Cuties a competative cheer group is out of carrollton. They are run through North American Gymnastics in Carrollton- it is off Old Denton between Rosemeade and Josey. I would look into them- they take young kids I think 3 or 4 is the youngest. I know several kids who cheer with them and they love it and have learned alot.
Things are ever-changing in the South where football and cheerleading are taken so very seriously. My daughter was a cheerleader for the city in a leage, then one for cheerleading, but she was suspended due to cheating on a test. She had ADD and they refused to give her accommodations as she was supposed to get and she rebelled. The sponsor kicked her off for the year and our fight for a suspension only won the appeal but the sponsor did ugly stuff to turn the girls against her. No other group (football players or honor students) were dealt with so harshly. So that's a good thing to know. The schools will hold her to the highest standards and kick them off for proof of high school drinking, etc., etc. Make sure she is informed if she grows up to be a HS cheerleader.
She didn't have gymnastics but the best ones did. I recommend that because they like to win competitions.
They have special cheerleading lessons at gymnasiums, some only specialize in that. Check them out. Ask the junior high sponsor where she'll go to to recommend the best one and why.
She had to have a custom cheer to try out. I can't remember how we found a college gal to make one up for her (to play to her strengths), but I credit her for getting her foot in the door. The routine focosed on snazzy with sharp moves and a little hip action. I coached her on giving eye contact to the judges and flash a cute smile and give it personality. Being very animated and flipping that pony tail.
Lastly, they need to have social strengths and high self esteem. If they are shy, or don't care about grooming, or how to be outgoing and personable to many, that will get in her way.
It teaches them some great girl skills. Don't forget to try to get in some team skills from games like T-ball (so they can learn to handle criticism, teamwork, a few hits, and the spirit of competetiveness).
Good luck. A busy, involved kid doing what they like and getting quality time with parents and good self esteem and learn to take advice to achieve their goals will go a long way toward their being able to fend off drugs and (hopefully) "bad boys" down the road.
Try looking into a Rec program or a local YMCA. I would start her in a tumbling class or some sort of dance class (I would suggest a rhythm & movement or pre-jazz type class). I have taught dance classes for years and agree that most cheerleaders have had both dance and tumbling/gymnastics backgrounds. Cheerleading groups usually start around age 6 in this area so if she has some dance/tumbling she'll be ahead of the curve in 2 years!!! Good luck!
I noticed when I was looking at Pop Warner football on line they had cheer leading for the little girls right along with it... Might be a start?
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My daughter was a competitive cheerleader so I do know all about this. She will need to do gymnastics but several cheer gyms offer classes for little ones and teach them gymnastics. Look online for local cheerleading gyms. Good luck!
