Most of us have probably dabbled in a recreational sport or two. My kids have played t-ball, soccer, and have participated in Tae Kwon Do. Activities, whether they’re athletic or not, are important for our kids’ social and physical development. They don’t have to be competitive, but sometimes there comes a day when your child finds their passion or something he or she is particularly good at and wants to take it to the next level. While I can’t bring expertise on every All-Star sport, there are many things they have in common.
Take it from this All-Star Cheer mom, competitive sports are no joke. They’re usually high impact, high commitment, and high cost. There’s no way to sugar coat it. That’s why it’s essential to decide what’s most important to your athlete and anyone involved in their lives before committing to the sport. Here are some things to consider:
THE TIME COMMITMENT
All programs are different but based on my experience and research, a regular week involves an average of 3 practices and usually an additional tumbling or skills development class. Plan on up to five practices during the week of competition. Private lessons aren’t usually required by the program, but any cheer parent or coach will strongly encourage them for your athlete’s improvement. Abby only really started to advance after consistent private lessons long term. Oh – and a regular cheer season runs from May to April. It’s a year-round sport!
THE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT
The cost will vary based upon the gym, where you live, and the size or demands of the program, but we factor in the following costs each year for cheerleading:
Monthly Tuition: $200-$300 per month for 9 to 10 months
Uniform Fee: Up to $1,000 (usually every two seasons)
Practice wear: $350 per year (shoes alone are over $100)
Travel Fees: $1,000-$1,500 per trip, including airfare, hotel, food, etc. (for our program this is two to four trips per season)
Competition fees for your athlete: $75-$150 per month (this depends on the number of competitions your program plans to attend, and whether or not they intend to go to Worlds or The Summit)
Competition costs for you and your family (yes, you must pay to watch your athlete compete): $75-$100 per competition
The inevitable t-shirt, sweatshirt and other crap your athlete will want from competitions: $200 per season
Contributions to team bonding events, parties, gifts, etc: $150 per season
All in, we budget for $8,000-$10,000 per year for cheer expenses.
Yes, that’s right: TEN. GRAND. We could basically buy a Ford Focus for every year our daughter competes in cheerleading.
THE TEAM COMMITMENT
We all learned about being a team player when we were kids, but All Star cheer takes this to a whole new level. In a team sport like baseball or basketball, there’s always a bench with backup players who can play or practice in the event a teammate is unable to play. This is generally not so with cheerleading. In some cases, an entire team may not be able to do part of the routine if just one athlete is missing and there usually aren’t extra people to fill in on a regular basis, especially not on competition day. Be prepared for mandatory practices or having your athlete removed from an upcoming competition if you choose to take a family vacay instead of going to practice. Oh, you’re sick? Throw a mask on and go ahead and mark your tumbling, but still come to practice. Trust me, it happens (with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic, of course. I’m wondering if the days of going to practice or competition while sick are long gone.)
THE PHYSICAL COMMITMENT
I don’t mean to scare you right out of the gate, but did you know that cheerleading is only second to football in youth sports concussion rates? Not to mention the fact that it comes with a litany of other injuries and ailments. Make sure both you and your athlete are aware of the risks and that you have the support system to ensure safety and proper recovery.
THE EMOTIONAL COMMITMENT
…and I’m not just talking about your athlete! Cheer is a stressful sport. The athlete works for hours upon hours, weeks upon weeks, just to show the judges everything she’s got with a time limit of two minutes and thirty seconds. There aren’t four quarters to make any time or points up. They get two minutes and thirty seconds whether you’re a level 1 team or a level 6 team, whether you’re 5 years old or 15 years old. That’s a lot of stress, pressure, build up and adrenaline crashes, win or otherwise. Make sure your athlete and YOU are prepared for that kind of emotional environment.
THE LIFE LESSONS
For our family, cheer isn’t everything. Living a good life, being a good human, and contributing to positive change in the world around you is everything. But cheer has contributed to so much of that for our daughter. She has learned to work with difficult people, perform in stressful situations, and she has learned how to lose. In fact, the disappointment and negative parts of this sport have taught her the most about what’s really important in life, and we are so grateful for those tough moments.
All Star cheerleading requires more from my daughter – and from me – than I ever thought a kid’s sport could. It’s expensive. It requires nearly half of my regular week. It’s expensive. There’s drama. There’s disappointment. There’s travel. Have I mentioned that it’s expensive? But every time I wonder why we’re here, I picture that little girl having the time of her life on a tumble mat, and I remember that THIS is why.
