By “never saw this coming” do you mean your DD doesn’t have a dance or gymnastics background?

Anonymous wrote:My DD is going to try out in the fall for her freshman year. She’s at a public high school in New England where sports are more popular than cheerleading, but it’s a nice group of girls and doesn’t seem too intense. Just wondering what the experience has been like for your daughters? I never saw this coming but I’m happy if it gives her a new community.

HS cheer is pretty low key and a great way to make friends. All star cheer is more intense and requires a great deal of dedication, sacrifice, and athleticism, especially if you're at a top elite gym. I have daughters who do both.

Wow, this is a crazy negative bunch of comments. My kid is a gymnast, so has a few friends who as they got older switched to cheer. The HS cheer team is pretty low key, and I've heard the girls are super supportive and it's a great atmosphere. I think this is really dependent on the coach. No one gives the cheerleaders a hard time, because at this point, people are pretty familiar with the fact that they do routines in competitions that are unrelated to football games.

My daughter might try out next year (as a sophmore) just for the fun of it. There are definitely injuries, and I don't think you should take that lightly, but we're already in gymnastics, so that's been a part of her sports career...

Former cheerleader here, only admitted on an anonymous board, never in real life, even in my 50s now. If they are a flyer, have them do gymnastics instead, because the chance of serious injuries are too great in cheer. Also - it's a group of shallow, catty, clique girls - not who you probably want your daughter hanging out with.

My DD did cheer and is a gymnast. It was fine. Her school's team wasn't too intense. She didn't really make friends though so she's not sure if she'll stick with it.

So many injuries....

Not saying it's right but there is a big stigma on cheer/poms.

I find that cheerleaders are the butt of many jokes and aren't taken seriously as people and most certainly as athletes. I would steer my daughter away.

My daughter is a collegiate cheerleader. She’s a flyers and tumbler. She’s been cheering since 13 and has not had any injuries. It’s now its own sport in many places. Just be sure your coaches know what they are doing and have a resume to match.

Personally, I would discourage this. Doesn’t look good for future prospects, and injuries common.
Think of her future.

My DD loved it and had no injuries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's SO bad for the body - they're tumbling on a hardwood floor - if they're LUCKY there's a thin mat that's more like carpeting when they practice. The shoes don't absorb shocks, the people who are the base aren't professionals so flyers fall and get hurt, every former cheerleader I know who is an ADULT has some permanent problem that stems from a cheerleader.

Respectfully, this is not universally true. Cheer can have injuries (like any sport), but it’s not automatically a guaranteed lifelong body-damage situation.

A lot depends on the program: coaching, safety rules, conditioning, stunt progression, surfaces used, and whether it’s sideline cheer vs competitive. Many high school teams are pretty low-key, focus on spirit/community, and aren’t doing extreme stunts or elite tumbling.

It’s fine to be cautious, but the “everyone ends up permanently injured” take is really exaggerated. I was a sideline cheerleader and have 2 younger girls in All-star. Happy to answer any questions!

DP. +1. I’d also say the camaraderie on the team varies from school to school and that’s something to consider.

Anonymous wrote:It's SO bad for the body - they're tumbling on a hardwood floor - if they're LUCKY there's a thin mat that's more like carpeting when they practice. The shoes don't absorb shocks, the people who are the base aren't professionals so flyers fall and get hurt, every former cheerleader I know who is an ADULT has some permanent problem that stems from a cheerleader.

Respectfully, this is not universally true. Cheer can have injuries (like any sport), but it’s not automatically a guaranteed lifelong body-damage situation.

A lot depends on the program: coaching, safety rules, conditioning, stunt progression, surfaces used, and whether it’s sideline cheer vs competitive. Many high school teams are pretty low-key, focus on spirit/community, and aren’t doing extreme stunts or elite tumbling.

It’s fine to be cautious, but the “everyone ends up permanently injured” take is really exaggerated. I was a sideline cheerleader and have 2 younger girls in All-star. Happy to answer any questions!

It's SO bad for the body - they're tumbling on a hardwood floor - if they're LUCKY there's a thin mat that's more like carpeting when they practice. The shoes don't absorb shocks, the people who are the base aren't professionals so flyers fall and get hurt, every former cheerleader I know who is an ADULT has some permanent problem that stems from a cheerleader.

Lots of injuries

My DD is going to try out in the fall for her freshman year. She’s at a public high school in New England where sports are more popular than cheerleading, but it’s a nice group of girls and doesn’t seem too intense. Just wondering what the experience has been like for your daughters? I never saw this coming but I’m happy if it gives her a new community.