It’s no mystery that parents want the best for their children, either when they’re on or off the mat. And because of the sheer number of athletes that can be on the floor at one time, it’s only natural for cheer moms and dad’s to compare their child’s abilities to other cheerleaders.

So today I answer a very important question I received in my inbox (thanks to the mom that allowed me to share this):

I have a parent question that maybe other parents ask themselves as well: Are all children capable of tumbling at an elite level? And by that I mean, my 10 year old daughter goes to a competitive cheer-only gym where more and more of the younger children (6-10 yr olds) are becoming very elite, level 4 and 5 tumblers. My daughter, who has been cheering on a competitive team since she was 7, has never had that “god given” gift of tumbling. She takes tumble classes, fitness classes (CrossFit for cheerleaders in our area) and has what I often refer to as a $5,000 handspring because of how much we spent on privates just to get her to that level. She continues to have near weekly private lessons as well. She recently landed her roundoff tuck and we are very proud of her. But many of the girls are getting their tumble skills at a much faster rate and some are years ahead of her despite their younger age.

The focus on the girls getting their fulls and standing fulls is increasing more and more. Our gym even gives girls a special bow when they get their full.

So my question is this: Does every cheerleader really have the ability to be an elite tumbler or is it that some girls are “born” with it and others are not. Of course, hard work, the right coaches, more hard work and a passion for the sport is essential no matter what you are “born” with… but it is very difficult for my daughter to get pushed to the back or not get a tumble pass at all because she gets her skills at such a slower pace.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

I would love your input.

– Mary [name modified to protect identity]

That’s a great question Mary, and the simple and short answer is yes, I believe any child can learn to tumble at an elite level.

I know this because I’ve seen it time and time again. Personally, I started at 17 with barely a cartwheel, and by 19 was doing competitive power tumbling. Few years later I tumbled for a cheer team and we not only won Nationals, but went to Worlds. Those that don’t know me, dismiss it as “talent.” However, I can tell you that it was anything but.

Some of the tumblers I coach today started off being quite awkward, barely knowing their left leg from their right. But you wouldn’t know it since they’re working on fulls and doubles.

My friend Elliot had no experience, and zero professional coaching, but he was doing quad fulls in front of my very eyes at Camp Woodward last year. All it took was 4 years of constant daily practice by watching YouTube videos, and making self-corrections by filming himself.

So the evidence is out there. It’s definitely possible for your daughter to reach level 5 and 6, but you’ve got to go about it the right way. What I’m going to do is give you my opinions, along with what I think you should do to help her reach an elite level. As always, I give out advice by pretending the athlete is my own, which means their success and longevity in the sport is of ultimate importance.

1. Learning Pace

It’s pretty obvious that everyone learns at a different pace. And yes, there are some athletes that are born with greater spatial awareness (also known as proprioception), which helps them learn tumbling at a much faster rate. But that’s no different than men who are born strong and fast, making them good football players.

This is why measuring her rate of progress compared to her friends (who’s spatial awareness may naturally be better) is not something I would recommend. Instead, measure it based on her individual potential. If it took her a year to learn a back handspring, then expecting her to get a back tuck in 30 days is unreasonable. I would sit down and talk to her about this as well. Maybe create a personal goal sheet and make that her measure of progress instead of trying to keep up with everyone else.

That said, you never know – by laying off the pressure, and making sure her confidence stays high, she might just surprise you. As long as she’s doing the right things, progress is inevitable. Refer to my drops in a bucket metaphor I talked about earlier.

2. Get Her Basics Strong

Your daughter is only 10, and expecting her to be level 4 and 5 right now is not something I believe you should be pushing. The fact that she got her round off tuck means she’s pretty much exactly where she should be. Once her tuck has been perfected, the next skill in line is the pike.

I want you to remember that just because an athlete can throw a full twist, it doesn’t make them level 5.

There’s a big difference between throwing a skill and performing a skill.

I’ve developed a model of coaching I like to call P3, which I believe would be very beneficial to keep in mind as you see your daughter progress in her tumbling.

Notice how perfection comes before progression.

There’s a reason I hammer my athletes to master the layout before they can even think about learning how to full.

Funny enough, once their layouts are solid, fulls come very quickly. Usually within a month or two. This is unlike most gyms, which encourage athletes to start twisting when their layouts are only half-decent. I believe that’s a mistake – it’s short term gain, while sacrificing long term progress.

Below is a layout progression video that I made with one of my athletes that might help you out:

3. Keep Up Her Conditioning & Nutrition

Besides tumbling, I coach competitive powerlifters. Which means I teach these athletes how to lift hundreds of pounds, safely. I think it’s great that your daughter gets the conditioning she needs, and encourage to keep this trend going.

Remember, you can’t workout a joint and make it stronger, you can only strengthen the muscles and tendons surrounding the joint. So if an athlete has strong biceps, triceps, deltoids and forearm muscles, there’s a good chance that their risk of elbow injuries will drop dramatically.

If you want to know what I do, here’s a video of the 20 most frequent exercises that I have my athletes follow:

Finally, make sure she eats good food – it’s a great idea to teach kids how to prepare simple meals and the advantages of doing so (the biggest one being you know exactly what goes in your body, giving you a sense of control, which kids love). These healthy eating habits are something she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Here are few great nutrition tips that will help her recover faster.

4. Remember, She’s Got Time On Her Side

Have you seen the show Cheerleaders? I think it’s great, but one of the problems I’m noticing is that the athletes are now being treated like disposable razor blades. They get pushed to the point where they’re throwing hard skills which they’re clearly unprepared for, and it’s only a matter of time until they get injured (and some clearly do).

Once this happens, they’re out, only to be replaced by someone else. Maybe Smoed can afford this luxury, but 99% of gyms can’t, and it’s a much better investment to train and develop an athlete that will be able to perform consistently for years to come.

“There’s a big difference between throwing a skill and performing a skill” » Tweet this 

You should remind her that cheerleading doesn’t end at 18 – it’s why they have the Open divisions. This is also why many of my friends that trained their tumbling properly, are still competing at a high level in their mid to high twenties. It should be more about her journey then the destination.

I know it was more of an elaborate answer, but I hope this helps and truly wish your daughter the best. Do let me know when she reaches level 5 – I’m confident that day will come.

Train hard. Eat well. Stay Fierce!