All-star cheerleading is a competitive sport in its own right. Instead of cheering on the sidelines for another team, all-star athletes train year-round in tumbling, stunting, jumps, and dance, then perform a two-and-a-half-minute routine that is scored by judges at competitions. Teams are built by age and skill level, so brand-new five-year-olds and elite teenage athletes each have a place — and a path.
If your child has asked to "do cheer" and you're not sure what that actually involves, this guide covers everything families around Wellington, Westlake, and Royal Palm Beach ask us before their first visit: how the sport differs from school cheer, the four skills every athlete trains, how levels and age divisions work, what a season and a competition weekend really look like, what it costs, and how a total beginner takes the first step. For the rest of our new-family guides, bookmark the Cheer EDU getting-started hub.
All-star vs. sideline cheer: the key difference
School and rec-league cheerleaders support another sport — their job is the crowd. All-star cheerleaders are the sport. The routine is the competition: tumbling passes, stunt sequences, pyramids, jumps, and choreography packed into 2:30 and judged against other gyms' teams. There are no sidelines and no football games — just a sprung competition floor, a panel of judges, and a scoresheet.
That difference changes how athletes train. Sideline cheer emphasizes chants, crowd leadership, and game-day presence. All-star training looks more like gymnastics crossed with acrobatics and dance: strength and flexibility work, skills drilled in careful progressions, and a routine built section by section until the team can perform it full-out cleanly. Athletes can absolutely do both; many school cheerleaders train all-star to sharpen skills that make them stand out at school tryouts.
Three myths, corrected
Myth: cheer isn't a real sport. Reality: a full-out routine demands sprint-level conditioning, gymnastics-level body control, and lifting a teammate overhead — sometimes all inside the same thirty seconds. Judges score difficulty and execution the way they do in gymnastics or diving.
Myth: it's mostly about being peppy. Reality: performance energy matters, but the scoresheet is dominated by skills — tumbling difficulty, stunt technique, jump form, and synchronization. Smiles don't lift a score; clean skills do.
Myth: you have to start as a toddler. Reality: because teams exist at every level, athletes genuinely start at five, at ten, and at fifteen. Late starters simply enter the progression at the beginning and move at their own pace.
The four skills every athlete trains
Tumbling
Tumbling is the floor gymnastics of cheer, and it is built in strict order: forward rolls (FR) and cartwheels (CW) come before round offs (RO); back walkovers (BWO) and strong bridges come before a back handspring (BHS); and only after a confident round off back handspring does an athlete work toward a back tuck (the combination coaches shorthand as BHSBT). Each skill is a prerequisite for the next because each one builds the strength, body shape, and air awareness the next skill borrows. That is exactly how our Beginner Tumble and Level 1–3 Intro and Tech Work classes are structured.
Stunting
Stunting is what makes cheer unmistakable: flyers in the air, bases lifting, backspots protecting. Every position is coached deliberately — bases learn grips, timing, and footwork; flyers learn body tension, balance, and controlled dismounts; backspots learn to read a stunt and be first to the catch. Stunting is also the most team-dependent skill in sports: four athletes have to hit their jobs in the same half-second, which is why trust and repetition are such a big part of practice.
Jumps
Toe touches, hurdlers, and pikes look like a burst of energy, but they are really a strength-and-flexibility skill: hip flexor power, core control, and the ability to hit and hold a shape mid-air. Our dedicated Jump and Stretch/Flexibility classes exist precisely because jump height and form come from training you can't fake.
Dance and performance
The routine ends (and is stitched together) with choreography — sharp motions, formations, facial performance, and musicality. Judges reward precision and confidence, and athletes learn to perform through fatigue, which quietly builds poise that shows up far beyond the gym.
How skill levels work
All-star cheer organizes athletes by skill level so that competition is fair and training is safe. Levels run from 1 through 6, with elite divisions above that for the sport's most advanced athletes, and each level caps which tumbling and stunt skills are allowed. An athlete moves up by mastering the level below — never by birthday alone. Here is the general tumbling ladder parents can expect, described the way the sport uses it broadly:
| Level | Sample tumbling skills | What it means for your athlete |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Forward rolls, cartwheels, round offs, back walkovers, front walkovers | Fundamentals: shapes, bridges, and confident basics |
| Level 2 | Back handsprings, round off back handspring series | The first "flight" skills, built on Level 1 strength |
| Level 3 | Round off back handspring back tuck, aerials, punch fronts | Flipping skills with a running start |
| Level 4 | Standing back tucks, layouts | Flipping from a standstill; straight-body flips |
| Level 5 | Full twisting layouts | Twisting and flipping combined |
| Level 6 | Advanced twisting passes and elite stunt skills | The sport's highest difficulty tiers |
At Wellington Allstars, weekly Level 1–3 Intro classes are for athletes who have mastered the level below and are ready to start working the next level, while Tech Work classes are for athletes who already have a skill but need the connection and technique cleaned up — and Tech Work is required before promotion. That two-track structure keeps athletes challenged without ever skipping steps.
How age divisions work
Alongside levels, the sport's governing body (the U.S. All Star Federation, or USASF) groups athletes into age divisions — commonly Tiny and Mini for the youngest athletes, then Youth, Junior, and Senior as athletes grow, with exact age ranges set by the federation each season. A team is defined by the combination: a "Youth 2" team is youth-aged athletes competing Level 2 skills, and it will only ever face other Youth 2 teams. That pairing is why a five-year-old beginner and a seventeen-year-old veteran can train in the same gym and both be exactly where they belong.
Every program has a path
At Wellington Allstars, athletes land in one of four program paths depending on experience and family commitment: non-competitive Novice for brand-new athletes, competitive Prep, and Limited Travel or Full Travel All Star for families ready for a bigger season. The side-by-side breakdown — commitment, travel, and what each season involves — is on our programs comparison page.
What a season looks like
The all-star year typically starts with team evaluations in late spring, followed by summer skill-building and choreography camps, fall practices where the routine comes together, and a competition season that runs through winter and spring. Along the way there are showcases for family and friends, training camps, and — for teams that earn it — end-of-season championship events. Our own program banner photo comes from The Summit Youth Championship, where Wellington Allstars was a 2025 finalist.
Inside a normal week, that rhythm is simpler than it sounds: team practices plus optional weekly classes to accelerate specific skills. Our gym runs Monday through Friday from 3:00 to 9:30 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to 6 pm (closed Sundays), with Open Gym blocks on Monday through Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings for extra mat time.
What a competition weekend is actually like
For new families, the first competition is a spectacle: hundreds of athletes, full uniforms and bows, music echoing through a convention hall. The competing itself is compact — teams check in, warm up in a back room rotation, take the floor for their 2:30 routine, and then wait for awards. Judges score difficulty (what skills the routine attempts) and execution (how cleanly they hit), with deductions for falls or bobbles. Most events run across a weekend, and many divisions perform twice — once each day — with combined scores deciding placement. The best advice we give first-year parents: arrive early, pack snacks, and enjoy it. Your athlete will remember their first time taking a competition floor for the rest of their life.
Can true beginners join?
Yes — this is the most common misconception in cheer. Because teams exist at every level, no experience is required to start. Brand-new athletes typically begin in the Novice program or a weekly beginner tumble class, learn fundamentals in a low-pressure environment, and move up as skills grow. Evaluations are placements, not cuts — every athlete gets a team. If that is the question that brought you here, our guide on whether your child needs experience to join goes deeper.
What it costs
Costs scale with the program: a non-competitive Novice season involves the least tuition and no travel, while Full Travel All Star adds competition fees, uniforms, choreography, and travel weekends. Weekly classes are the most predictable entry point: a 6-week class session runs $75 for a 30-minute class or $95 for a 55-minute class, an additional class in the same session is $45, and drop-ins are $15 (30-minute) or $20 (55-minute) with 24 hours' notice. Families not affiliated with a Wellington Allstars team pay a yearly registration of $50 for the first athlete and $25 for siblings. We walk every family through the numbers before they commit — ask us for the current season's breakdown or see current class pricing in the Studio Pro Parent Portal.
What coaches wish parents knew
- Progressions are the safety system. When a coach holds an athlete at a skill, it is because the next one borrows strength and technique that are not there yet. Skipping steps is how fear blocks and injuries happen.
- Consistency beats intensity. One class every single week outperforms bursts of enthusiasm followed by absences.
- Trust the placement. An athlete placed slightly "low" who dominates their level grows faster — and enjoys the season more — than one placed high and struggling.
- Praise effort over outcomes. "You worked so hard on that round off" survives a tough practice; "did you get your tuck yet?" does not.
- Ask us anything. Coaches would always rather answer a question than let a family worry quietly. Start with the parent FAQ, then reach out.
Getting started near Wellington
Our gym is at 17035 Persimmon Blvd West, Unit 800, in Westlake, FL — minutes from Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, and The Acreage — with two parent viewing windows so you can watch every class, and a 4.9-star Google rating from more than 37 local families. Weekly classes run weekday afternoons and evenings plus Saturday mornings; the current 6-week session (Session 2) runs July 20 through August 29, 2026, and enrollment is handled through the Parent Portal. The easiest first step is a class or an evaluation — we'll help you pick.
Quick answers for parents
What age can my child start? Young beginners train in Novice and kids' fitness classes, and older beginners join through classes and evaluations at any age — there is a starting point for every athlete. Our age-by-age starting guide covers this in detail.
Is all-star cheer safe? Skills are taught in strict progressions — athletes never attempt skills they haven't built the strength and technique for, stunts are coached position by position, and every new skill is drilled with support before it is done independently.
How much time does it take? Anywhere from one weekly class (Novice and classes) to multiple practices plus travel weekends (Full Travel All Star). See the commitment comparison before you choose.
Does my child need to be flexible or athletic already? No. Flexibility and strength are trained outcomes, not entry requirements — that is what Stretch/Flexibility, Jump, and Kids CrossFit classes are for.
What's the difference between Novice and Prep? Novice is non-competitive and fundamentals-focused; Prep adds real competition with a lighter commitment than travel teams. Coaches recommend the right fit at evaluation.
Can parents watch practice? Yes — the gym has two large viewing windows, and we encourage new families to watch a class before enrolling.
How do we try it without committing to a season? Book a single class through the Parent Portal — drop-ins are $15–$20 with 24 hours' notice.