You’ve made the team! I mean, your son or daughter is the actual athlete, but like or not, you’re both on the team in many ways.
Cheer or dance is a big commitment. Your title, in addition to “mom,” now includes chauffeur, costume mistress, and “near broke,” among other things. You’re the cheerleader’s cheerleader.
My first year as a competitive cheer mom felt like I was drinking from a firehose. I was always walking around looking like a deer in headlights. “What in the WORLD have we gotten ourselves into?” I would ask my husband on a regular basis. I cried often. I shut down often. I drank…often (once I took a Yeti cup full of vodka + Lacroix into a parent meeting.) Entering the cheer world can feel like a whole lot, especially when you don’t know what to expect.
Before you do anything else, I really think you should buy stock in hairspray and bobby pins. Here are some more tips to help you with your first few months of being a cheer mom:
READ ALL OF YOUR CHEER EMAILS AND MESSAGES
And I do mean, ALL of them. Especially during key times like tryouts, choreography, and competition season, new information is coming out quickly and abundantly. It’s ALL important. You don’t want to miss an important piece of information like a practice time change or a note about payment deadlines. Keeping track of your cheer information is essential.
Pro tip: Create a folder in your email inbox, just for cheer info and file all of your cheer-related emails there. That way you won’t miss anything cheer related between your BOGO offer from Old Navy and the email from your mom about plans for the holidays. Plus, you can always refer back to these messages when you need them most!
YOUR TEAM REP IS YOUR LIFE LINE
Most programs will designate a parent to be the liaison between the program coaches and directors and the parents. This person has typically had experience in this program and the sport. CLING TO THIS PERSON. Buy him or her a drink and pick their brain. They usually have so much insight and info, and you’re going to want to learn from them. My first team rep basically saved my life during our first year of All-Star cheer, and I will forever be grateful to her.
GET TO KNOW YOUR COACHES
This may be challenging based on the size and proximity of your gym or studio, but I think that knowing at least a little bit about my daughter’s coaches has really helped me with supporting her. This can be done by scheduling a private lesson for your athlete with a coach or talking with them when they make themselves available to parents (don’t try to catch them off guard: schedule it!) Some gyms will even do some kind of meet & greet with the coaches.
BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR SCHEDULE
There is usually a set practice schedule that stays pretty routine and consistent. However, when it comes to events like choreography and competition weekends, anything can happen, and it’s important to keep a flexible schedule. Cheer competitions tend to run long, and the performance order can change at the drop of a hat, with almost zero notice. In other words, if you have a cheer competition on the schedule for a Saturday morning, don’t schedule your holiday party or family reunion on the same day. You never know when you’re going to be done, and I can’t tell you how many parents I’ve seen who have had to show up to their friend’s dinner party in cheer competition gear, including me.
BE “MOM” ABOVE ALL ELSE
By joining the cheer world, your athlete has gained a whole community of people who will help her to become a better cheerleader. She will have coaches, judges, and other athletes giving her advice, tips, and feedback on how to be the best athlete that she can be. What your athlete needs most from you is to be their MOM: not their coach or their judge. The most important role you play in your child’s life is the role of their mom, and those are big shoes to fill by themselves. Be the supporter, be the encourager, be the cheerleader’s cheerleader. Let the rest take care of itself.
The sport of cheerleading brings so much value to your child’s life. It can feel overwhelming for you, but that’s why I’m here to give you all the support, information, and resources to help you navigate through this crazy, fun, all-consuming sport!
