All-Star Do You Think Its Fair?

[ShallowPoms]

Rec teams are also set by age and not by ability which is why there can be huge differences in a teams competitiveness at a comp. Also, at least around here, rec teams only compete once a season and only advance to the next competition if they qualify by winning or scoring high enough for the next level. For a lot of teams it is one comp and done for season. while a few continue moving on to a 'championship' level of competition where one team per level/age group will be crowned.

Actually where im at they can compete at both their rec. comp. and other comps they sign up for.

 

[ShallowPoms]

With the recs. i have dealt with there are no levels so its a big batch of whatever.

 

[ShallowPoms]

Sure why not.....Kids want to participate in activities with their friends from school. There are a lot of parents who don't want to, or can't, make the financial or time commitment to All Star Cheer, so some kids end up cheering for a Rec team just to be with their friends. I know there are some programs who will not allow, or make it hard for All Star kids to be part of their organization. I don't think that is fair......

From what I have seen from last year I understand why some of them do exclude all star kids and thats because a lot of coaches take advantage of there being little to no guidelines and stack their teams with all star kids that clearly are more advanced then who they are competing against. Another reason is scheduling, some all star kids on rec. teams are never seen at games but show up at comps. because of scheduling and thats not fair...

 

[tdittmar]

I remember asking about Rec teams sometime last year because I noticed all-star gyms entering teams in a rec league division and wondered how that was possible. From what I can find, you can have an all-star team compete in a rec division as long as they do not practice over a certain number of hours ( 3 I think) per week and only practice a certain amount of time over the season. So half year all-star teams can qualify. Not sure how any EP could prove you only practice 2 hours a week or only 5 months out of the year though. If gyms uphold these rules, then it's totally fair. It gives cheerleaders the experience without all the committment.

 

[cheer25mom]

ur rec league teams must use the same age divisions as the football teams, and are completely ground bound because all schools in the public school system are also ground bound due to a 30 year old lawsuit. They also must practice everytime football is practicing (2 hours a day four days a week) so very few allstars do rec. We did one year when CP was 4. NEVER agian. It was the biggest waste of time ever.

 

[INeverStopCheering]

In Chesterfield VA we don't have Pop Warner, AYC, or anything like that. A long time ago a bunch of men got together and decided the local high schools need experienced football players. So they formed the Chesterfield Football League. The ladies decided that there should also be youth cheerleading and they formed the Chesterfield Cheering League. Each district had an athletic association that covers one to a few elementary schools. For example Robious Athletic Association, Swift Creek Athletic Assoc., Salem, Gordon.... They are divided into 4 age groups: Flag, Minor, Junior, and Senior and your skill set is determined by the division of your program A(basic), AA, or, AAA(advanced). So if your association is AA all the teams regardless of age can do the same thing. CCL hosts a competition of its own and my gym (Cheer Challenge) also hosts a rec competition. There is no rule that states that a cheerleader cannot cheer for both and we do have quite a few girls who do both. We pick up a huge number of rec cheerleaders for our fall teams and usually once they cheer Allstar they never go back. So yes you can do both. My question is...

Why would you want to?

At least in my area, the rec teams are not well organized, run largely by parents who have not a clue what they're doing. It's unsafe and the kids don't even like it. We do a lot of camps for rec teams, tumbling classes, stunt classes, and choreo. 90% of the kids tell us they hate cheering football. They say they wish they could stunt more and compete more. Not to mention, 90% of the coaches are incompetent to teach cheerleading. And I quote " I don't really like cradles, I think they're messy" or "What's a scorpion?" I feel like these kids are getting cheated out of having a really great cheer experience. Most people say that it's because their parents can't afford it but after speaking to a previous rec parent turned Allstar:
"It was almost as expensive, all the uniforms and warmups. Not to mention they practiced 5 nights a week! 7 years old and five night. Here she practices 2 nights and has learned 10 times as much. And they practiced on concrete! I'd rather pay a little more for mats"

 

[cupieqt]

We have a local "rec team" that is strictly competitive (they even had to change their name b/c they were calling themselves the town's rec league and they were not affiliated in any way). I wouldn't call them all-stars but the coach started this team to prepare the elementary age kids to be ready for her middle school team-- which is VERY competitive and has won UCA nationals a time or two. It's just a feeder program for the middle school team, neither all-star nor rec team.

 

[mybabywantstotumble]

my cp cheered rec last year. when i was signing her up for all stars i asked if she could do both and they said yes, however if for some reason both were at the same comp she would not be able to perform with her rec team. we did not do rec this year because there is no way i could spend 3 nights at rec practice and 3 nights at the gym.

 

[LittleMiss]

We have a local "rec team" that is strictly competitive (they even had to change their name b/c they were calling themselves the town's rec league and they were not affiliated in any way). I wouldn't call them all-stars but the coach started this team to prepare the elementary age kids to be ready for her middle school team-- which is VERY competitive and has won UCA nationals a time or two. It's just a feeder program for the middle school team, neither all-star nor rec team.

That is how some of the Rec teams that I know of in PA and NJ are. They are very competitive and the parents are more into it than the All Star parents. I have one friend from High School that has a daughter that is on one of these competitive Rec teams. They travel almost every weekend, it is insane. Granted their comp fees are a lot less than All Star but there is still the travel expenses.

 

[ShallowPoms]

Heres a rec routine tell me what you think
<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ahn4y-zq2Eo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[TheVipersMom]

Heres a rec routine tell me what you think
<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ahn4y-zq2Eo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think if I didn't compare them to all star I would of liked them a lot better!

The tumbling surprised me especially in the beginning and I will say that was impressive for them!!
Same for stunts I thought they were good as far as skill level. Now of course if executed they would have been perfect but still very nice and was more then I was expecting.

I think the routine as far as choreo was slower then I was hoping for. Looks like that would be more so for a mini level vs a youth or Jr aged group. Not sure of the ages of the girls but I'm sure they could have done better with a faster routine if given the opportunity!

Lastly, the jumps were not that good but then again I'm guessing that's no spring floor. Regardless, they could be better but they were decent given the circumstance!

I'm not a coach or qualified instructor so this is all my personal opinion! Also, I will state they would have killed in rec team in my area. So good job for them! & thanks for the video !

 

[ShallowPoms]

I thought a video example would help.
Thanks for the feedback!!!!

 

[LittleMiss]

Heres a rec routine tell me what you think
<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ahn4y-zq2Eo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Very distracted by the socks.

 

[Flaming]

DC Rec team
http://youtu.be/bK4fyGJJFVA

 

[WCMAN]

In N.J. there are many pop warner teams and many all star teams.To compare what they do on the floor is totally two different things. Its apples and oranges. My daughter started with a year of pop warner before going to allstar and did not enjoy it at all. She felt it was just not enough for her . We prefer Allstars .My CP still has some friends that cheer pop warner. I find a difference is the CPs themselves . I think for most rec CPs its more of a fun thing that they enjoy doing with their friends 3 or 4 months a year and for Allstars its a complete life-style. I know with my CP it 24/7 and 365....... " Don't let the Prada fool you" it alot of work..lol