All-Star Flyers- Average Weight/height?

[SparkleSpankies]

There is not a "world law" that says you have to be a certain weight/height to be a flyer. Cheerleading is a team sport and most gyms/colleges/high schools/rec programs are trying to maximize their difficulty and trying to use all of their team members in stunts. With that being said it is going to come down to who has the skills needed in which position and how they don't have a whole stunt group of extra people just standing there b/c they don't base/fly/back.

A good coach is also going to always try and maximize the ability of the specific cheerleader and if the coach feels this person will best maximize their talent and the success of the team flying then you fly, if you have to bring in additional girls due to overall skills and one happens to be a flyer and they may have to make a switch and ask you to do something else, it's not personal, but for some reason we all take it personal.

 

[Goosepatrick]

Tight is light.. No matter what. Be strong , be flexible and be tight. All those things make good flyers... Now given that ... The proportion of flyer to bases is important, but that's a coaching decision. It's dangerous for a flyer to be too much for the bases

 

[mamabear]

I second the notion that the coaches wouldn't have you flying if they thought you couldn't do it.

The BMI discussion has been interesting to me and it happens even at a younger age (as you guys all know) if you are an athlete.

We moved out here a year ago and my six year old flyer just went to see her new doc last month. It is winter so she had on a sweatshirt and jeans. The nurse weighed her in and then when the doc walked in looking at her notes, and the first thing he wanted to go over was her BMI. I just smiled and asked my daughter to show him her stomach. His eyes nearly bugged when he saw that she is pretty muscular with very little fat. I just laughed and said that she cheers. He then nodded and noted in the paperwork that the BMI is useless b/c she is an athlete.

The biggest problem I am seeing right now with her body type is that she has short legs and a long torso. She has the balance when she gets into the stunt, but sometimes has an issue of stepping into a stunt.

 

[cheer25mom]

My CP bases,and is pretty much solid muscle. Her pediatrician says that BMI is pointless for her as well because she carries so much muscle mass.

 

[xpressjag]

I think the main reason for smaller flyers is consistency. Yes there are many girls who can fly who are taller/bigger, but when your doing that 50th run through a smaller flyer is easier to keep up. I've seen many larger flyers who look beautiful in the air but thats just the reality.

 

[AllstarErin]

As a coach I line up the team from shortest to tallest at the beginning of the season and (most of the time) the 5 smallest are the fliers that year regardless of experience. This means that you may be a base one year (Junior 5) and a flyer the next (S5). No one should expect to be a certain position year in and year out. At the end of the day it is just a position on a TEAM and the team as a whole is what matters. Athletes need to learn that the coach is going to make the decision that benefits the whole not the individual and it is rarely personal. The best athletes to coach or those that put the team first and their own need to be the next Maddie Gardner second.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

As a coach I line up the team from shortest to tallest at the beginning of the season and (most of the time) the 5 smallest are the fliers that year regardless of experience. This means that you may be a base one year (Junior 5) and a flyer the next (S5). No one should expect to be a certain position year in and year out. At the end of the day it is just a position on a TEAM and the team as a whole is what matters. Athletes need to learn that the coach is going to make the decision that benefits the whole not the individual and it is rarely personal. The best athletes to coach or those that put the team first and their own need to be the next Maddie Gardner second.

Obviously this method works for you, or you wouldn't keep doing it. I can't imagine bypassing a skilled flyer to give a shorter person the spot. Do you typically have to retrain athletes for these new spots or do you find that your 5 smallest girls have already flown? Do bigger girls with experience get a shot or are they ruled out because they're tall?

Not criticizing, just curious.

 

[AllstarErin]

Obviously this method works for you, or you wouldn't keep doing it. I can't imagine bypassing a skilled flyer to give a shorter person the spot. Do you typically have to retrain athletes for these new spots or do you find that your 5 smallest girls have already flown? Do bigger girls with experience get a shot or are they ruled out because they're tall?

Not criticizing, just curious.

Like i said, I use this method, to an an extent. If there is a very experienced flyer on the team that is at the taller end and I feel they should still fly they will. I find, however, if the 'experienced' flyer is always guaranteed their spot there is no motivation to keep trying. It also gets to a point where it is ridiculous for that person to fly. With the way senior teams work today an averaged sized 17 year old who may have flown before, is simply too big to fly where there are 12 and 13 year olds on the team. This does not mean she is fat, unfit, a bad flyer or inflexible, the simple fact is that a smaller flyer is easier and safer. I have seen it happen so many times when a bigger (older) flyer is given the priority over younger, smaller girls because she is more experienced. This becomes a problem when this bigger (older) flyer then requires the biggest (best) bases, creating one tank group and sucking the experience out of your other groups. Yes that group may be able to hit whatever elite stunt you throw at them but what about the others. This sport is about majority and the TEAM doing the skill.

The goal is always to do what is best for the team. If what is best for the team that season is to keep a taller, older experienced flyer in the air over a new, younger flyer then, of course, I will do it. In my experience, however, this is rarely beneficial. Senior teams are not what they were in the past. We have girls who are 11, 12 and even 10 years old on a team with 17 and 18 year olds. The younger girls are going to be smaller and easier to lift, simple as that, and when they grow up and get taller (as most do) they will learn to base and make room for the younger girls to fly.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Like i said, I use this method, to an an extent. If there is a very experienced flyer on the team that is at the taller end and I feel they should still fly they will. I find, however, if the 'experienced' flyer is always guaranteed their spot there is no motivation to keep trying. It also gets to a point where it is ridiculous for that person to fly. With the way senior teams work today an averaged sized 17 year old who may have flown before, is simply too big to fly where there are 12 and 13 year olds on the team. This does not mean she is fat, unfit, a bad flyer or inflexible, the simple fact is that a smaller flyer is easier and safer. I have seen it happen so many times when a bigger (older) flyer is given the priority over younger, smaller girls because she is more experienced. This becomes a problem when this bigger (older) flyer then requires the biggest (best) bases, creating one tank group and sucking the experience out of your other groups. Yes that group may be able to hit whatever elite stunt you throw at them but what about the others. This sport is about majority and the TEAM doing the skill.

The goal is always to do what is best for the team. If what is best for the team that season is to keep a taller, older experienced flyer in the air over a new, younger flyer then, of course, I will do it. In my experience, however, this is rarely beneficial. Senior teams are not what they were in the past. We have girls who are 11, 12 and even 10 years old on a team with 17 and 18 year olds. The younger girls are going to be smaller and easier to lift, simple as that, and when they grow up and get taller (as most do) they will learn to base and make room for the younger girls to fly.

Thanks for giving me such a great answer! I suppose I'm iffy because I've seen so many little girls who struggle to fly. We have itty bitties who just don't get it. I guess in that case they just wouldn't be moved up.

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

Cheer - One Answer To: "how Much Do You Have To Weigh To Be A Flyer?" | Fierce Board - We Talk Cheerleading

 

[stuntjumptumble]

As a coach I line up the team from shortest to tallest at the beginning of the season and (most of the time) the 5 smallest are the fliers that year regardless of experience. This means that you may be a base one year (Junior 5) and a flyer the next (S5). No one should expect to be a certain position year in and year out. At the end of the day it is just a position on a TEAM and the team as a whole is what matters. Athletes need to learn that the coach is going to make the decision that benefits the whole not the individual and it is rarely personal. The best athletes to coach or those that put the team first and their own need to be the next Maddie Gardner second.

Agreed 100%! I've been a flyer for my whole cheer career and this year I base (except for pyramid where I still fly) because the team needed a base, not because of my height or weight. I still keep up my flexibility because ill be flying in college. So it definitely changes from year to year and I think it's important to be versatile in stunting!

 

[Calibabyy]

I'm kind of curious about this sort of thing because I have flown in the past and probably still have at least level 4 skills, but for most of my cheer leading life (sorry if that's weird to say haha) I have been a base/back spot. Idk if I should tryout to be a flyer for coed or all girl at any college with a decent cheer team because I'm so heavy/tall... Even though I have the skills idk if they could lift me for all of them. I don't want to feel silly for suggesting that I could be a flyer... I'm 5'6" and 140

 

[AllstarErin]

Thanks for giving me such a great answer! I suppose I'm iffy because I've seen so many little girls who struggle to fly. We have itty bitties who just don't get it. I guess in that case they just wouldn't be moved up.

The right choice for flyers definitely changes from team to team. I have also coached teams where the smaller flyers struggled after being moved up quickly due to their tumble skill. I personally don't like to have them skip levels like this as I believe the pressure to hit stunts 2 or 3 levels above their skill can be very detrimental to their self esteem. This is hard to achieve, however, unless you have an established program with most levels offerred for most age groups etc.

 

[Cheeranswers]

i always find that the itty bitty flyers (could be because of age/experience) are normally quite sloppy, and have not learned to control their bodies yet. at least thats the case in most ive seen!

 

[BuegeSmalls]

I'm kind of curious about this sort of thing because I have flown in the past and probably still have at least level 4 skills, but for most of my cheer leading life (sorry if that's weird to say haha) I have been a base/back spot. Idk if I should tryout to be a flyer for coed or all girl at any college with a decent cheer team because I'm so heavy/tall... Even though I have the skills idk if they could lift me for all of them. I don't want to feel silly for suggesting that I could be a flyer... I'm 5'6" and 140

I'm 5'5 not sure how much I weight but I've been a base for the last 7 years. Anyway, I fly now in college. We always need "bigger" (not sure how to word it) & stronger girls for the middle layer of pyramids and stuff. So it works out because a few of us based all throughout high school. We have girls that used to be backspots that fly too.You should still give it a shot!