Tumbling, Cheer, and Pep Squad

Since she was 6 years old, Kaitlynn has been participating in tumbling classes. She loved it from such an early age and continued progressing through each skill level as she got older. Once she hit the Level 4 (Advanced) skill level, she slowed down quite a bit. There's something about that advanced level of tumbling that has truly been a challenge for Kaitlynn. Her body knows how to do the skills but her mind plays tricks on her and she has really struggled at times to overcome the fear of flipping wildly through the air. I have to admit, even as a spectator it is sometimes quite scary to watch! But when she hits those skills, it is so fun to celebrate with her and see her years of hard work paying off.

Now that Kaitlynn is in junior high, she's finding it hard to balance her time with all of the activities she WANTS to do. She loves other sports like basketball and softball, but she feels like she needs to apply her tumbling abilities in additional areas like cheer. She has considered joining a competitive cheer squad for a while, but this year she finally decided the time was right. At the beginning of the summer, she began attending a new gym to prepare for tryouts for the new cheer season. Because she was brand new to cheer, she had a lot to learn. She was placed on a level 1 cheer team and began joining her team for practices 2-3 times each week. It seemed to start slowly but over time she formed friendships and really began enjoying the experience. Her cheer competitions will consist of tumbling, cheer stunts, and dance routines in a team of 22 girls. It has been an overwhelming learning curve for us but we are taking baby steps as we approach the start of the competition season. The hardest part so far? It's a toss-up between the heavy travel schedule versus figuring out how to properly fix her hair and makeup!

As Kaitlynn experiments with the world of competitive cheer, she is also considering whether she might like to try out for her junior high cheer squad next year. In order to be eligible for tryouts next year, students are required to participate in the 6th grade Pep Squad. The Pep Squad is a group of kids that attend select junior high events as an additional student cheering section for the junior high athletes. So far, Kaitlynn has attended several junior high football games and has really enjoyed the experience.

It has been fun for Kaitlynn to experience different areas for how she can apply her love of tumbling and showmanship. We can't wait to watch her "do her thing" as the school year progresses!