When is Old Too Old in Cheerleading?

Lots of girls want to start cheerleading at an older age maybe it's because the cheer world is getting more and more popular because of social media or maybe because they just were never put in it as a child. Whatever the reason, it's a myth that you're "too old" to start cheer. Why else would they make a senior level 1? Why would they create a parent team?

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So how old is too old to cheer? Hmmm....that depends! Cheerleading is generally from ages 5-19, and there's of course open teams for highly skilled athletes and the parent team for cheerleader's parents. I say if you want to cheer, have no fear. Here's just a few things to consider:

1. High School or All Stars?

Find your type of cheer. If you want to do high school cheer that's usually where all girls start, and so you basically get 4 years of cheer experience. Then there's All Star and Pop Warner that start at age 5. The difference between the too is that high school is based around your h.s and is probably less expensive. All Star cheer can be thousands of dollars (about $4000 per season) and involves lots of traveling to competitions. So take price into consideration.

2. Time

Measure your time. If you have a jam packed schedule maybe cheer isn't the best fit for you considering it's a very time consuming sport for both high school and all stars.

3. Commit

This is pretty important and usually overlooked. You have to be willing to take a step back and look at what you need to progress in for tryouts. You need to be dedicated to stretching daily, and practicing jumps. Then once you make the team you need to be committed to going to practice on time every day required.

4. Age is But A Number

Remember that whether you're 14 and a freshman in high school or you're 17 and have no tumbling skills, it does not matter. You will be on a team and have a fantastic season. Age is just a number that's not really a deciding factor in what you're capable of.

5. Love

This is the biggest ingredient to making a good cheerleader. You need to love what you're doing. Cheerleading is a super fun sport and comes with experience and lots of friendships.

Love,

A Cheerleader