PP again .. spell check changed it .. should be "morale". Don't want anyone to think cheerleaders can't be academic minded.

OP, I was for 9th & 10th. 9th was while we were still in the Middle School building. It was a good experience, in some surprising ways. We had practice every day which was almost entirely run by our squad. It was good training for working, the 8 of us, needing to agree, cooperate. We had to elect a leader and at times change that decision. The adult sponsor was mainly there to sign paperwork, look in on us but we were on our own. This was a good thing. In 9th grade the 12th grade cheer captains of the Varsity squad mentored us, somewhat. Those 2 captains, truly were 2 of the best "leaders" I have come across even in my professional life.

It's good exercise. It gets the student involved in boosting school moral. I wasn't a fan of competitions. We wanted to be good but wasn't a fan of putting great emphasis on competitive-level cheer. That was a distracting element, imo.

By the time it was time to try out for Varsity, I wanted to do other activities. Otherall, it can be a very good experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was anyone a cheerleader in middle school or high school? Just curious what you thought of your experience as an adult now. Thanks

It's a very competitive sport nowadays where people train for HS squads starting in elementary. You can't just start cheer in 9th grade when everyone else trying out for the team has been in cheer-style gymnastics and tumbling classes since 4rd grade. Seems ridiculous, but that's how it is at many schools. These girls practice at special gyms just for cheer, even at the middle school level. Not to be discouraging, just realistic. Of course at some schools the cheer team environment is more relaxed. Also there is a real possibility of serious injuries if the teams are very intense and doing competition level routines.

True - but I know at our large MCPS school there is competitive cheer and there is sideline cheer (both with JV and Varsity squads). Sideline cheer seems fairly easy to make, most of the girls have not cheered before.

I think it depends on whether cheer is a sport or a social thing at your school. My school had a pretty mediocre cheer squad in terms of the first and cheer mostly was a spirit and social thing.

Is your daughter already an accomplished dancer and gymnast? If so, just keep her in that lane. If she isn’t, cheerleading is not going to be an athletic outlet. Sorry, but cheerleading is not something I would encourage at all. I see nothing positive about it- at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Ok, now you all are scaring me. Believe me, it's NOT my first choice and I also do not like the skimpy clothes, potential girl drama, inappropriate coaches.

I understand what you mean about the stereotype of low/middle class moms steering their girls into cheer.

I'll have to think about it some more. Thanks!

Buying into a stereotype without real, first hand knowledge is a bad trait. You’re limiting your daughter on preconceived notions. Are you worried about her and the activity or are you worried what other people will think about you? Sounds like you’re worried about being perceived as low class. Do you consider swimsuits skimpy uniforms? They cover less skin. What about volleyball? Definitely shorter than a cheer skirt.

You’re small minded and could end up with your daughter resenting you.

- not a cheerleader

I wouldn't call myself small minded but I do have a brain and have a lot to consider here regarding cheerleading as all responsible parents do. I think you were offended that someone mentioned the stereotype of moms from low/middle class backgrounds going into cheer. I wasn't aware of this until someone brought it up, until this point I've only regarded cheer as a spirited, cheerful activity that is female dominated. For the record there are low/middle/high class people who probably put their kids in cheer for various reasons. Ugh only DCUM can put a child's activity into class wars.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Ok, now you all are scaring me. Believe me, it's NOT my first choice and I also do not like the skimpy clothes, potential girl drama, inappropriate coaches.

I understand what you mean about the stereotype of low/middle class moms steering their girls into cheer.

I'll have to think about it some more. Thanks!

Buying into a stereotype without real, first hand knowledge is a bad trait. You’re limiting your daughter on preconceived notions. Are you worried about her and the activity or are you worried what other people will think about you? Sounds like you’re worried about being perceived as low class. Do you consider swimsuits skimpy uniforms? They cover less skin. What about volleyball? Definitely shorter than a cheer skirt.

You’re small minded and could end up with your daughter resenting you.

- not a cheerleader

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Ok, now you all are scaring me. Believe me, it's NOT my first choice and I also do not like the skimpy clothes, potential girl drama, inappropriate coaches.

I understand what you mean about the stereotype of low/middle class moms steering their girls into cheer.

I'll have to think about it some more. Thanks!

OP, I think it’s fine to let your daughter try, just hold these concerns in the back of your head. I was a teen figure skater which is obviously a different world but is similarly female dominated and into skimpy clothing. I’m glad my parents encouraged me to skate but also encouraged me not to make it my whole life (they were always very pragmatic about how my body type was wrong for it; how it wasn’t a lifelong career; etc). I learned a lot about working hard, dealing with people I otherwise didn’t have much in common with, and working as a team (I was super into synchronized skating). I think the skimpy clothes are no big deal honestly. Sure training 4 hours a day in a leotard and tights makes you feel like that’s a fine thing to wander around in but it also means that you’re used to being confident in said leotard and tights. I had no problem turning down unwanted attention no matter what I was wearing.

I think it very much depends on the school/team. The cheerleaders at my high school didn’t fit the pretty/popular movie stereotype (not that none of them were pretty or popular, it just wasn’t a homogeneous group) but you had to have actual athletic ability and tumbling skills to make the team. They didn’t just wear short skirts and shake pompoms.

OP here. Ok, now you all are scaring me. Believe me, it's NOT my first choice and I also do not like the skimpy clothes, potential girl drama, inappropriate coaches.

I understand what you mean about the stereotype of low/middle class moms steering their girls into cheer.

I'll have to think about it some more. Thanks!

I cheered for two years of HS. I won’t be encouraging it for my daughter. From what I’ve heard about the competitive cheer team near where we live (elementary and middle) many of the girls are obsessed about/critical of their looks from a very young age.

In HS (in Fairfax County) my coaches were very serious about keeping girls safe during stunts, which I think is important. However, the coaches were verbally and emotionally abusive, and way too enmeshed in the lives of the girls on the squad. Looking back, it was really gross and inappropriate. Our freshman team coaches were actively encouraging girls to have sex as 9th graders. I don’t know if that’s the norm, but it’s enough for me to have serious pause about my DD becoming a cheerleader around here.

On the middle/school level- no it isn’t a sport. Unless your particular school has an exceptional team. But most (non southern schools) don’t and are very basic. A lot of middle/low class families gravitate toward cheer too. Or moms that are stuck on the outdated stereotype of cheerleaders being the pretty and popular girls (untrue)- those are the ones that encourage cheer.

Anonymous wrote:I was a professional cheerleader in the NFL. It actually serves me very well in the workplace. I used to perform for 75k people, I don’t bat an eye at public speaking. Unless you’re anti-women’s sports (and yes dance and cheerleading are one of them), I have no idea why this would be an issue.

I got bat mitzvah’d in front of about 300 people and before that was in every school play that came along. I also don’t bat an eye at public speaking!

I agree it's a real sport and it's hard work. But the short skirt requirement, focus on being skinny, needing to have hair and makeup a certain way, and knowing that there's a lot of mean girl drama in cheer...I'm personally glad my kids didn't want to be cheerleaders.

One of a handful of serious sports where no protective gear is allowed.
Make sure you trust the coaches who run the program as far as protecting the health of the athletes.