Nobody Told Me!!!

Help! Nobody told me! Nobody warned me! Nobody said ANYTHING!!!!!

OK I'm, skipping ahead here, sorry. So I helped my daughter open a cheerleading school, her very own safe place that all her students could come to and know they were part of something special, they were accepted and wanted and celebrated. It's great I'm super proud of all the amazing work she puts in to classes, routines, and her athletes.

The thing is, it got busy, like really busy, and we needed another coach. I was volunteered as tribute and sent to retake my lapsed qualifications. Now I never really wanted to teach, for one I really CANNOT dance. I was happy doing the paperwork, running things in the background. I have never felt confident enough to walk into a room of children on my own and command the respect that my daughter does.

Afterall, I'm just a mum, a cheer mum for sure, but still just a mum. I have never cheered myself, I hated dance when I was forced to go as a child, and I don't feel "adult" enough as a gen Xer/millenial hybrid, I am an eternal child and will forever look for the "adultier" adult in the room when asked a question.

But, I will always help my daughters, so here we are, with me teaching 3 classes a week and planning how to take over East Yorkshire with cheerleading and pom poms. Now, back to the thing that nobody bothered to warn me about, these pesky kids! They come to class every week, they need your help with their shoes or their hair, they have a million questions, they never remember their drink from in the car, constantly need a wee when you are about to start a stunt, and are so completely spellbindingly beautifully wonderful!

Why did not one single person warn me that I would feel so attached to these children? And that they would actually like me?! They bring me pictures they drew for me, little gifts, want to tell me their news from the week and have made me so much more confident in my own abilities just by being themselves. They always have a joke or a story (often a monologue) and they actually believe I know what I am doing! So much so that I have discovered I kind of think I do! I have put countless hours into researching techniques, finding ways of making conditioning fun, drawing on the knowledge of other coaches who I look up to and I know do amazing jobs.

I have watched our students grow in numbers, strength, passion and self belief over the last 2 years and I am in awe of how far they have come.

These athletes, these amazing small humans have taught me way more that I will ever teach them, they are the key to the future and I am so proud to know all of them.

It's been a minute

So it's been a minute, ok more than a minute. More like 4 years since my last post. These last few years have been a roller coaster of events for my now not so little cheerleader. The pandemic, a house move and a new school have all played their part in the struggles she has had, but once again cheerleading has rescued her.

After doing her BGU coaching course last year (bought for her birthday present in an attempt to remind her of the love she has for the sport, and that she was still more than capable) I half coaxed half duped her into doing a "trial class" at the local village hall. To her utter shock and amazement over 40 children turned up and loved her! Almost 12 months later and she has more than 60 little cheerleaders of her own to pass her wisdom on to in her own unique, funny, crazy way. As a mother I am beyond proud of all she has achieved over this last year, and to watch her coach is a new high in my parenting journey. She has 7 classes a week, teaches an after school club, and is constantly planning choreo, booking performances and choosing costumes! She adores each and every student, and teaching them is like oxygen for her.

Enter her childhood cheerleading team...the one who embossed her adoration and dedication for cheerleading upon her heart. With top tier coaches and athletes this team has had her love from the age of 4.

So, to be invited to join them for their pom and jazz teams in Allstar Worlds 2025 was a dream come true, and naturally was accepted.

There is nothing like your heart team, where everything just gels, the routines are immaculate and each athlete encourages the next like it was their sister.

On a personal note I have watched a lot of these now young adults grow up. They are all so talented, so passionate and it makes me ecstatic that I have been able to watch them grow throughout the years, not only in stature but through their training and successes. They really are an extraordinary group of girls, each blazing their own paths though life with a ferocity that can only come from the heart of a true cheerleader.

The joy it has given me to see my once shy little girl, who so lacked confidence find her self belief through these coaches and the girls she dances with is immeasurable. Over the years she has been uplifted in spirit (and body) by these athletes.

All the team sleepovers, sharing makeup at competitions (Ruby Woo, if you know, you know) tearing round hotel corridors at stupid o'clock laughing with each other, spa days, shopping trips, birthday parties, Christmas shows (my personal favourite) bow making, they were always together! Not just these amazing girls, but their coaches too, so happy to join in with every part of these kids lives, because they weren't just a team, they were and forever will be a family, which still shows now they are all grown.

Of course that is what she hopes to do with her own team, all the fun, the love, the laughs and the legacy will live on through her in her athletes and the opportunities she creates for them.

So now we are finally heading off to Worlds, the archetype of every cheerleaders career, and I cannot wait to see my daughter on that stage. I wonder if she knows, that next to her will be the 4 year old little girl who could only dream of the successes, accolades and joys that cheerleading has brought her throughout the years... I wonder if she knows how excited I am to finally see her on that stage....I wonder if she knows that we all knew she would make it one day...I wonder if she knows...

WOW you're motivated!!!

So, we're in the midst of all this craziness, and even as adults it is still virtually impossible to wrap our heads around it. I have been cooking, cleaning and disinfecting for days and days. I have hands so sore from all the constant washing and anti-bac that you could skin them and make a handbag to rival any crocodile skin!

My homeschooling skills have been tested on my littlest version of me, and all the while, in the background, silently buzzing round doing her own thing is my rather amazing 14 year old....

Her life is usually super busy, school (of course), school cheer, school dance team, Duke of Edinburgh, gymnastics twice weekly, and not 1 but 2 amazing cheer teams that she adores, adding up to 7 1/2 hours training per week.

I watched her going about her business yesterday, and it occurred to me that she is the one most harshly affected by this in our household, yet she seems to be managing the best.

Her life has gone from rounds trips of 9 hours for cheer classes to NOTHING. Just nothing. And she STILL isn't complaining. Having to be chased out of the fridge every 5 minutes, yes, still not making her bed in the mornings, yes, but everything else, she is just dealing with it.

Each morning she is getting up, dressed and ready to do her school work with no fuss. She is starting the day with her biggest fan (little sister), breakfast, kids yoga in the garden.

She does her school work, takes herself into the garden and does a workout set for that day from her beloved Panache, while laughing at her shadow (little sister) trying to copy her.

Lunch, more school work, another workout, and chill with the tag along (little sister) either watching Disney + or jumping in the hot tub.

After a while when she can't take the staying still any more, and has another round of exercise in the garden ( blissfully managing to lose the twittering, copying, demanding, small person for this one).

The thing is, she is doing all of this without anyone needing to nag her! Three to 4 workouts a day, school work, looking after her little sister, all done with her own self motivation. Anyone who is the proud owner of a teenager knows that this is not usually the case and they often take quite a lot of nagging to get them though a regular day! She is like the calm in the storm, not causing a fuss, no moaning, just doing it!

I am convinced this is because she needs the exercise to keep her sane. There is a drive inside her that only comes from doing a demanding, very disciplined sport like cheerleading your whole life.

Exercise and workouts, dancing, jumping, tumbling and just keeping moving is actually stopping her from going mad. When she needs that extra push or bit of support, she facetimes her EVO bestie, and they stretch together! She is sooooooo self motivated!

I have long known that being involved in cheer gives children a great many life skills, working as part of a team, pushing on when you think you cant, understanding other peoples feelings and supporting others, falling flat on your face and getting up to carry on....there are countless attributes to the cheer life, and I would always encourage any parent to let their child express themselves through a sport (especially cheer coz you know....it's the best!)

But this is one I didn't see coming, it is so built into her, so intrinsic and in her blood that in this time of crisis she turns to what she knows. Cheer balances her, it is familiar and stress relieving for her brain and her body. Then I got to wondering, does she realise that she is doing it? Does she know that she is coping better than probably 90% of the people in the UK with all this? Probably not consciously, and maybe that is for the best.

All I can say is THANK YOU CHEER, for grounding, for teaching us to go on even when we have nowhere to go, for creating athletes with the strength of mind that they can weather any storm, fight through any crisis, and create rainbows where there is rain.

Are your cheer children coping ok with the lockdown, we would love to hear any funny stories, tips etc you might have, just comment below!