All-Star Crossovers: Good, Or Bad?

[cheermomforever]

Crossovers could be a good thing. I know a 10 year old girl with level 4 skills so she was put on a senior 4 team. the problem is all her friends are on a youth 1 team so she decided to be on both teams so that she could be with her friends.

That is exactly the main issue that upsets everyone, crossing down 3 or more levels!


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[MamaMya04]

My CP is a crossover for J3 and J4 teams. She was on Y2 last year so both skill sets are totally new for her so she's not being used to stack a team. She asked the gym owner to crossover because she wanted to fly. Unfortunately, where we are, the flyers are teeny tiny girls and my daughter is tall and lanky for her age. But flying is her thing. She's great at it and it's her passion. So while she bases on her dream team (J4), she gets to fly on J3 (which ironically has bigger bases than J4). Thankfully, the gym schedules practices perfectly so she doesn't miss any time with either team. At the end of the day, if my kid is happy, I'm happy. I explained to her before she approached the owner that competition days will be hectic and tiring so she could make an informed decision. Of course we'll see when the season ramps up just how well she handles it but for right now, she's doing a wonderful job and has no regrets.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

I think crossovers are a good thing - as long as its not done to the extreme (like an entire team w/ level 5 skills competing as level 2 to get a summit bid) I think the benefits outweigh the downsides. They help kids w/ unbalanced skills (like a level 4 tumbler but a level 2 stunter) the ability to develop the weaker skill while still using the higher skills in competition.

One or two athletes crossing down 3-4 levels because of their age or a specific skill need, doesn't bother me as much as 11+ level 4+ athletes on a 20 person level 2 team. I think the majority of the athletes on a team should be the level of the team.

 

[MamaMya04]

Out of curiousity, why does the crossover become bothersome or an issue when it's more than a level or two between the teams? I saw a gym last year that used a whole set of kids to cross over from J2 to J4 and IMO, they were a mess on both levels and had an unsuccessful season. Is the general opinion that crossing over gives the lower level team an advantage?

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

^^^^Generally speaking.

Also, to look at the other side of the "crossing kids over to lower levels" thing.

Sometimes those higher level kids are all you have, depending on the gym size.

Not every gym has kids a level above or a level below to pull from.

Ex: If you have an injury or kids quitting on Senior 3 and need fill-ins, but don't have Senior 2 or 4, you are NOT going to pull a kid from Senior or Junior 1 to fill in. You're pulling from Senior 5.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

^^^^Generally speaking.

Also, to look at the other side of the "crossing kids over to lower levels" thing.

Sometimes those higher level kids are all you have, depending on the gym size.

Not every gym has kids a level above or a level below to pull from.

Ex: If you have an injury or kids quitting on Senior 3 and need fill-ins, but don't have Senior 2 or 4, you are NOT going to pull a kid from Senior or Junior 1 to fill in. You're pulling from Senior 5.

Yeah - you need to pull from higher level other than lower because the kids from the lower levels don't have the skills to fill in (especially when youre talking about tumbling), otherwise they would have been on the team to begin with.

I don't think one or two higher level athletes will make that much a difference in the score - like okay, you may now have a better last pass, but if the non-crosser portion of the team truly had the skills to fit the level, then that really shouldn't make that much of a difference.

Here's a question along those lines - do you think it's fair for a gym to use a specially skilled athlete who does something very well that is useful *in every level* on as many teams as possible when their age fits? - for example, an unusually tiny 10 year old w/ amazing jumps and leg flexibility for flying - is it right to have her jumping and point flying on mini 1, youth 2, junior 2, junior 3, etc. cause she's just so good at those things and just makes every team better?

 

[cheerKT]

Now, I'm not saying that specific situation was necessarily wrong. Maybe there was an injury or something, and maybe it was only one competition. But crossing an athlete down 3 levels just to be with their friends doesn't seem like a good policy to have.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

If the child just wants to cheer with her friends, maybe all-star isn't the right venue, perhaps rec would be better.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Yeah - you need to pull from higher level other than lower because the kids from the lower levels don't have the skills to fill in (especially when youre talking about tumbling), otherwise they would have been on the team to begin with.

I don't think one or two higher level athletes will make that much a difference in the score - like okay, you may now have a better last pass, but if the non-crosser portion of the team truly had the skills to fit the level, then that really shouldn't make that much of a difference.

Right. Many times, people will be like "XYZ gym has Insert Level 5 Athlete Here on their J4 at Summit! CHEATING!"

One kid is not going to pull a Summit win. Really.

I've found that when crossovers REALLY benefit a team and actually warrant a side-eye, it's usually a team in which an ENTIRE skill set is performed by higher level crossovers.

Ex: Every flyer in every stunt on Senior 2 at Summit is a Senior R5 kid. Or all major tumbling passes on Senior 3 are completed by Senior 5 kids. Or every backspot on Y3 double-teams on say, Y5. Or all the standing tumbling or jumps on 4.2 are comprised of Level 5 kids.

THAT is where you find those noticeable advantages. Not with one or 2 or even 3 kids.

 

[yojaehs]

Bad


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[Helen uk uni cheer]

If the child just wants to cheer with her friends, maybe all-star isn't the right venue, perhaps rec would be better.

The child if I saw correctly was a 10 year old senior 4 is going to be intense and she would be with kids quite a bit older by putting her on youth 1 aswell they are having on her skill level team but also keeping her in her age range then she would be much happier

 

[SparkleSpankies]

The child if I saw correctly was a 10 year old senior 4 is going to be intense and she would be with kids quite a bit older by putting her on youth 1 aswell they are having on her skill level team but also keeping her in her age range then she would be much happier

I 150% agree with you! But the fierce boarders if you can't tell feel differently! I simply added another idea to the mix! On this post or in a different thread I said EXACTLY what you did! A kid wants to be with their friends, but also loves cheer.



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[FlexyTumblerMom]

I don't mind the kid w/ level 4 skills doing level 1 to be with her friends. I think it's nice that the gym would allow her to do this. Young kids w/ high level skills who find themselves constantly in higher stress situations surrounded by much older kids have a high risk of burnout because they feel so isolated. Letting her be with her friends for the level 1 team counteracts this pressure and makes things more fun for her - and helps the level 1 team too.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

I don't mind the kid w/ level 4 skills doing level 1 to be with her friends. I think it's nice that the gym would allow her to do this. Young kids w/ high level skills who find themselves constantly in higher stress situations surrounded by much older kids have a high risk of burnout because they feel so isolated. Letting her be with her friends for the level 1 team counteracts this pressure and makes things more fun for her - and helps the level 1 team too.

On the team I was this summer we had 2 juniors from junior 2 also do senior 2 because they were amazing tumblers and also they could fly in senior. I got on with them well and they were lovely but then when I saw the the juniors all togher at comp I realised how important it was for them to be with their own age the whole team were like sisters

 

[CheerBank]

On the team I was this summer we had 2 juniors from junior 2 also do senior 2 because they were amazing tumblers and also they could fly in senior. I got on with them well and they were lovely but then when I saw the the juniors all togher at comp I realised how important it was for them to be with their own age the whole team were like sisters

It is very important and often discounted by SM in their quests to get Susie on a higher team.
Cp's gym will only let you do your age appropriate gym if you only want to do one team (and it is not a problem if that is what you want to do), regardless of the level of that team. I love that cp's junior team has about 8-9 girls cp's age; they will all age out together after this season.
A few years ago the gym made the mistake of allowing an SM to talk them into allowing Susie and her friend to be only on the senior team when they were still junior aged. They were new to the gym and as you might imagine this caused quite an uproar amongst the veteran parents at the gym. Fortunately the following year the owners got themselves back on track and held true to their original policy. Susie and her friend then left the gym. No great loss.