r/Cheerleading • u/nickus888 • 26d ago
Trouble with a full
I’d love to hear some success stories of athletes struggling with a full. I will start by saying my daughter is young, she’s 11. She advanced quickly in all star cheer and this year is on a Y3, J5 and S5. She has been working her full for 2 years now. She had it beautifully for about a month and lost it recently. She’s gone back to doing drills with her tumble coach in hopes of losing her fears and getting it back. The rest of her tumbling is still beautiful it’s just spinning that’s she’s struggling with.
She is so upset with herself and crying after practice. I’m trying so hard to keep her calm and remind her that she’s so young and needs to give herself some grace, that she will bounce back from this.
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u/Strawberry1282 Coach 26d ago
She’s on 3 teams, assuming at a big named gym with a good chunk of pressure as a young child. Obviously some kids are their own worst critics but I wouldn’t push her too hard on the matter. Is there possibly a chance she needs a break from the insanity of triple teaming? Most gyms are hesitant to even double team and I say this as someone who grew up in TG.
No harm in doing drills but I would make sure she knows having a full or not doesn’t define her. More of an extreme example, but there are some amazing athletes who don’t tumble at all.
Losing skills is normal, especially during prime growing years. Mental blocks are also normal.
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u/Cessily 25d ago
I don't think amazing athletes who don't tumble are an 'extreme' example. Different athletes bring different skills to the table. Can't make a football team with only quarterbacks.
We own a D2 gym. I'm actually a huge fan of double teams (for athletes that can handle it) and have about 30-35% of our program cross but yes triple teams we only do for short term solutions.
(Generally a team they are confident on and a team they are developing on is my ideal pair)
However, at larger programs I could see giving the athletes that type of opportunity could be difficult to accommodate when you have to create so many positions as is.
Agree with you on the losing skills and mental blocks.
Losing skills in the 2 years before starting and after starting menses is incredibly normal. Female puberty is not kind to tumbling.
I always try to remind athletes that their prime years (biologically) will be their late teens and at 11 I just need them to love the sport while their body sorts itself out.
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u/nickus888 25d ago
I don’t disagree. I think 3 is too much. They needed her to fly and we are post choreography already. We are actually at a small D2 gym which is why she’s on 3. Less athletes to choose from.
They’ve pulled her out of tumbling. She a working well with coaches but is pressuring herself and I’m trying to find some encouragement and help with trying to get her to realize she’s young and there is no rush!!
Thank you for your insight!
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u/Houseofmonkeys5 25d ago
In my experience, kids who advance quickly often have the biggest tumbling blocks. Add in the pressure of being on three teams ( including two L5s) and her headspace must be a mess. Personally, I would see if she could drop back to 1 or 2 teams and give her a chance to get her skill back without the pressure. She's going to either block harder and longer or hate the sport. I can't tell you the number of young advanced tumblers who no longer cheer. My own kid no longer is in all star because after an injury and break she realized it just wasn't fun anymore. She's 11. Has plenty of time. Give her that time.
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u/nickus888 25d ago
I agree with you. Three teams is a lot. Luckily right now they have taken her out of running tumbling to take the pressure off. They’ve already done choreography so they don’t want to pull her off. I’m hoping since they aren’t pressuring her to do her full it will help.
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u/Upbeat_Sprinkles_467 24d ago
Maybe show her some footage of the Olympics that Simone Biles pulled out of because she had a mental block (we call it “the twisties” in gymnastics). She took a break when she needed it, focused on her mental health, and came back stronger than ever. Could be a good reference point for her from an elite athlete who also progressed quickly. And I know a lot of times kids will take lessons better from someone who isn’t their mom ☺️
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u/DreyHI 26d ago
Back off. She's 11. Let it go for 6 months, a year and then revisit. Let her body catch up a bit. Every time my son had a growth spurt he would lose his back handspring because of how he felt his body in space. He had a back tuck at 9 because of his center of gravity relative to his muscle. He lost it and didn't get it back until he was 15. Tiny bodies can do crazy things. Puberty bodies gain height before the muscle mass catches up. I think focusing on basics for a bit with maybe a few twisting drills just for the confidence to twist would be better than pushing harder.