What comes to mind when you think of cheerleading? Typically, you would imagine a group of young, lively girls with pom-poms, yelling motivating slogans for their sports team. But, guess what. Cheerleading is also a sport in itself!
In fact, cheerleading is one of those sports you can start very early in life. There are cheerleading classes for all age groups starting from toddlers and preschoolers. That means, you can enroll your child in cheer classes from the age of 3. Ideally, competitive cheerleading will ask for competence from the child’s end to understand and execute what’s asked of him or her. So, an age range of 7-9 years will be optimal for both the teacher and the student.
Do you need to start early?
Cheerleading involves tremendous physical exertion, often taking place in a competitive setting.
The most rudimentary requirement for cheerleading is the careful nurturing of the body and mind over several years of training. This is essential to build the required stamina and mental strength to carry out the seemingly effortless moves.
Starting at a young age enables a child to understand the techniques better and strengthen themselves inside-out. It is easier for kids to start training at an early age since it gives them enough time to condition themselves at a rather reasonable pace.
Have you ever witnessed the stunts performed by cheerleaders and wondered how effortlessly they do it? Those fluidic movements appear so easy because the cheerleaders undergo years of intense training that gradually converts their strenuousness into smiles.
The conditioning that these kids undergo involves a good amount of time being invested in building their stamina, mastering those graceful flips while allowing their body to tumble without injuries.
Starting at an age where the child comprehends the kinesthetics will certainly allow for mastering the techniques of the moves better. Without proper technique, a cheerleader is prone to injuries that could sometimes be dangerous.
Moreover, enrolling early allows room for growth over time, rather than cramming techniques, mental strength and social skills in one sitting. The more the time taken to simmer and steep these skills into the children, the better the outcome, both for them and the team.
What skills do you acquire in the process?
The cheerleading sport is definitely an attractive one. Be it the well-coordinated stunts, the swift flips, the flowy moves, the dance sequence or the color-coded uniforms, the whole act is highly appealing.
But, the reality behind cheerleading does not garner enough visibility. Every child in training undergoes a holistic transformation. This spans across mental and physical growth, social skills, and a lot more crucial life lessons that shape them as a person ready to take on life.
Disciple towards time
Cheerleading demands a lot as a sport. It is simply not an activity you can complete within a few hours or one that you can expect to master on the go. You need to put in several hours of physical effort, every day, to train your body and mind.
And this includes regular practice sessions, training for events, training even more for competitions, going on pep rallies, and the list just goes on.
Cheerleaders are often deemed as the popular ones in school. Ironically, with all the practice hours, events and summer camps, they can bid adieu to their social life for good.
Regardless, the dedication they hold towards putting in effort for the sport is commendable.
Fostering teamwork
When children start cheer classes from a very young age, they are bound to be surrounded by a crowd almost always. Be it mentors or teammates, they are in a group setting all the time.
Through this journey from a fresh “cheer seedling” to a fully grown “cheer plant”, children learn the importance of teamwork, the quality to be forgiving of one another, and the ability to support and motivate each other through it all.
Imagine an act where even one of them refuses to cooperate. You can expect the pyramid sequence to be a bunch of cheer kids on the floor instead. One wrong move is all it takes to tumble and fall.
As much as their social lives take an apparent hit with the time commitment towards the sport, their social skills are sharpened and they grow into well-rounded beings.
Developing unimaginable physical and mental strength
Kids in cheerleading classes are like metals under heat. Children in these classes are molded and shaped to bring out their best quality. Those who start young undergo a slow brewing process of intense conditioning over several years. This involves developing immense physical strength and mental endurance to execute every move.
Can you imagine running a good distance, throwing tumbles, performing stunts, all while being perfectly coordinated and yelling out cheery slogans for your team? You will barely have a second to catch a breath. The amount of cardio, strength training and conditioning that goes into training even for the smallest of events, is Herculean. And this needs to be consistent across all the members of the squad.
When is it too late to start cheerleading?
With the demands of starting cheer being so high, it is better to start training early in life. With the commitments that follow as you grow older, the amount of time spent in training for the sport is often not justified.
Moreover, the whole act of cheerleading requires a lot of conditioning and that definitely takes several years to master. On the other hand, if you are already a seasoned athlete and you are looking to wet your feet in the cheerleading front, you may find it easier to adapt to the rigid practice sessions. But, if you are new to moving your limbs, you may want to try an easier sport.
So, can you start cheer classes at any age? Yes, you most certainly can! But, you may be required to train longer and harder given the amount of transformation you will have to undergo. It is easier to shape the supple muscles of younger kids than to try and shake sturdy muscles of older adults.
That said, not all kids enjoy cheerleading classes and often end up quitting. The best age to join a squad is in school when you know what your likes and dislikes are. Colleges also encourage cheerleading and hence the oldest you may go to start training for cheerleading could be around 16-18 years of age.
So long as you have the stamina and mental strength to work hard, any age should be a good age to start your training.
Conclusion
Cheerleading is a life skill if anything. It shapes a person both literally and otherwise. Cheerleaders have a strong work ethic, lead a very healthy lifestyle, and are great team players.
As demanding as this sport is, it is never too late to try it out. Who knows, you may have been leading just the right kind of life this sport calls for.
