Recently in the competitive cheer community, there has been what most people claim to be a “problem”. All-star cheerleaders with great skill are leaving their mother gym to go compete at a much more prestige, well-known gym known to many as a “mega gym.” People however are failing to see this is much more of a blessing for this sport then a problem.
I do not view this as a problem; I see this more so as a revolution to the underappreciated sport of competitive cheer. For too long cheer has been looked as not a true “sport” but as an engaging “activity”. Many still feel that cheer is not a true sport rather chants a toe touch and an unimpressive simple stunt. However they cannot be more then wrong of what true competitive cheer consist of today; Yes basketball and football cheer fits this description, but competitive cheer does not. Competitive cheer has evolved to high-flying-life-threatening skills, difficult incredible double twisting flips and a two minute and thirty second jammed packed exhausting routine.
I feel athletes who move to a "mega gym" is great for the sport of cheerleading. I believe it is a sign that cheerleading is becoming a much more of a relevant sport in the wide world of sports. I did gymnastics at a "small gym". We never had a big elite program but our coach has trained many athletes to the elite or close to elite level and happily sent them to "mega gym" so they could achieve an Olympic or world championship title. I have also seen in tennis where most of all coaches I have worked with have personally sent there athletes to another academy for this same reason. These same coaches have watched proudly and even brag about how this athlete was once under their wing with no bitterness.
I do acknowledge that these examples are individual sports and that becoming an elite athlete in tennis, track or gymnastics is much more of a bigger deal. By bigger deal, I mean you make millions of dollars and such for being successful professional athlete. But this shows that cheerleading is evolving into something great. I see trying out across the country for a "mega gym" as just baby steps to the draft in the NBA or NFL. Yes, we are not there yet where cheerleading is as big of a deal as these other sports but how else to get there?
It is truly a great thing for the sport. I am all for a select teams having level 5 teams instead of everybody. How relevant would the NBA or NFL be if any athlete with some type of skill could go play on a NBA or NFL team half an hour away?
The only thing That I see holding cheerleading or my argument for that matter back from being recognized as a true sport is focus on senior level 5 teams instead of International 5/6. If cheerleading ever becomes a big sport the "pro" and "famous" athletes of the sport cannot age out of "relevance" at 18. Then it leads to the controversial of moving across the nation in high school simply because it is your last years of the chance to be a worlds champion, Icon to many or the team of your dreams.
So instead of Coaches and gym owners expressing their disappointment about this new found situation of their athletes moving gyms, they should take a step back and see how this is changing the face of cheerleading in all eyes. Most gyms are not equipped for the much wanted “world’s team” but that does not take anything away from their coaching it is a revolution and I cannot be more excited about the next 20 years of cheer.