All-Star Young Crossovers!

[Cheer4bella]

I was just wondering what everyones view was on this. When kids 13 or under crossover on a high level team. What are your thoughts on this?

Personally, I think it depends why their crossing over and for what place. I don't think someone this young should be double teaming to max out. I think it's okay if they are in for an injury. From experience, I think that if I was tumbling and stunting full out on both teams at every competition all season my body couldn't take it.

I know theirs probably another thread on this but I couldn't find it. Sorry!

 

[youbetterwork]

I agree! It really depends. Having too many crossovers is just weird.
I have one girl from a junior team competing with my youth's. One girl quit the team in the middle of the season, so we really wanted somebody to fill in. She doesn't have to (or she's not able) to come to all practises, so it's not so hard on her I think.

 

[coach.elle]

Completely necessary for small gyms to survive. Example... If we have 15 senior aged kids with level 3 tumbling and 15 junior aged kids with level 3 tumbling, it's important to have 5 junior kids crossover and vice versa. Otherwise we would end up with 2 teams that aren't competitive because of numbers. Or one senior 3 team that is too young to be competitive. If the 5 junior aged kids all have to be fliers... Then that's just how it goes.

 

[yougottabelieve]

i feel like its necessary for small gyms. my sister and i were asked to flip flop because someone on the junior team either quit before choreography or after choreography was made... either one i still find it a bad situation for the team. i remember one year with my first gym someone either got lost or injured before the competition, we already had our "flip floppers" on the team and we just ended up not doing certain things in the routine... miraculously we won the competition... it was NCA too..

 

[bxxtanyer]

i dont like when they have all the young crossovers fly, like we have 15-17year olds lifting a 11 year old. i just feel like its watering it down.

 

[Rissaroo]

I think if the girls deserve to be on the team for double teaming and have the skills then yes its ok if not then they need to make accomadations on that team

 

[eastcoastcheer]

i dont like when they have all the young crossovers fly, like we have 15-17year olds lifting a 11 year old. i just feel like its watering it down.

i see where you're coming from, however normally if there is a tiny 11 or 12 year old on a senior team they do not have the strongest group, they are one of the weaker ones so it's not like they're being used to the full advantage if that makes sense

 

[FamUsM0m]

@bxxtanyer my cp is an 11 yo flyer on a senior team. Almost all of the flyers on her senior 4.2 team are younger. But don't let them fool you, they're all beast and can hold their own against older flyers. they are worked and pushed to their max ability and get better and better. Just because they are younger, does not mean they are not capable of pulling a switch up heal stretch, scorp, arabesque 360, or double downs. (i hardly call that watered down on a level 4.2) They do it and sometimes better than older flyers. The bases hold the stunt in the air, but the flyer pulls the tricks. The flyers on her team have been flying for years, despite their age. ~

Yes there is the maturity difference, however, it has helped my cp grow up a little (not too much though) she's also on a youth team which helps balance it out. She was on a junior team last year. She is a young lady coming into her own age. She is close to being a teen and may know more than most 11 year olds. But she and I have a very open, frank, relationship as mother and daughter. She can ask me anything and i will answer honestly. I feel by her knowing some of the stuff she does, she will be more prepared. If the coaches and parents do their jobs well enough, the senior girls (older) will know how to act around the younger ones. If there is a problem with stuff that is being said in the gym (too mature for younger ones to be listening to) then something needs to be done at home about it. They should be focusing on practice not on who's boyfriend is cute or so and so kissed so and so (or sometimes worse) there are times and places for those discussions, the gym during practice is NOT one of them. (This of course is all just my opinion)

 

[wcdad]

I have made my point on this before so her it goes again

Here is the harm that can come from Double and Triple teaming. Most of these athletes are all under the age of 18. The body is not designed for continues reparative pounding twisting motion. The body needs cross training and very little to none is done in this sport. In addition the body needs down time, complete rest and there is not a team out there that takes a month off so the athletes can rest. The season goes till April, than every one ramps up for a new season tryouts in May and than start all over again.

EVERY MAJOR SPORT has an off season. For the simple fact that the athletes need the time to rest. In Little League and Base Ball they have pitch counts for the pitchers so the kids and athletes do not blow out the arm. The same thing is happing to these young kids in this sport, they are pounding there legs, knees, ankles and lower backs over and over again.

Look at all of the Braces that are on a floor during a comp. Yes the kids like to do 2 or 3 teams, but we as parents as well as coaches have to take a stand some times. It is a proven fact that it is not healthy for the body. I know I want my daughter to be able to walk down the isle when she gets married. I want to be able to dance with her on her wedding day. I have seen to many injuries that have left kids almost crippled where they are in pain to get out of bed in the morning and they are not even in college let alone out of college yet.

My daughter spent 12 to 16 hrs a week in the gym working on her skills, 2 stress fractures on her ankle later it was her Orthopedic that was shocked that there is no regulations on the sport for training and repetition and off season.

With all that being said, to fill in for an injury is a different story until the cheerleader can be replaced or return.

A competitive gymnast uses cross training. They do not work on the same skill over and over. They will be working on core and then will be allowed to do 2 maybe 3 passes of the skill and than move on to another set of core exercises and repeat the process for a different element.

I have yet to see a cheer team utilize core and cross training on a regular basis. It has only been the past several years that Cheerleading has developed to a year round sport. The human body no matter the age can not take the punishment. There needs to be time off for the body to recover no matter your age.

Yes other sports have longer practices but they are not year round sports. Football starts in August and ends in December. And the brunt of practice and training is in the beginning during the first month or two. Baseball as I have said before has pitch counts to protect the athlete young to old from the repetitive motion so the arm is not blown out. Every other sport utilizes cross training but cheerleading.

I still contend that a child's body should not be subjected to the riggers and stress that double teaming by design will bring. The health of the child athlete should be protected by parents and coaches alike, as well as the USASF and its Member Gyms.

Just because it is a money maker for a company should not be a reason to allow crossovers. They do not allow them at worlds so I hope it will not be long until the rest of the companies follow suit.

Again filling in here or there for a injury or missing team mate is not the same as year round cross overs.

JMO

 

[katstat1]

My cp who is 10 has done 2 teams for the last 3 years. At our gym they require you to do your age appropriate team which for her is youth 3. She has level 4 and 5 skills though so the only way for her to use those skills is to cross over to a higher age and level team. She is also on a Jr4 team, but has ALL the skills for that team so I see no reason for her not to be there. Our gym is fairly small so the only way to let the kids with the higher level skills use them is to let them cross to a higher level team. What wcdad says makes a lot of sense though. My daughter is typically in the gym for 4 hours of cheer practice and 1 hour of tumbling a week. I really don't think that is too much. Occasionally, they do have extra practices, but not more than a couple more hours. My other daughter swims and practices around 10 hours a week, so the 5 hours of cheer doesn't seem so bad to me. Maybe other gyms have more practice time, which might make double teaming a lot harder, but for us right now, it isn't too bad and she loves it.

I agree with fameusmom too, that these younger ones can be really good. My cp is an awesome flyer and tumbler. I think the younger ones sometimes work harder to prove that they should be there. We've been lucky that the age difference hasn't been a problem. Our Jr team is a mixture of youth and jr age kids, but we have some great jr age girls!

 

[Beach Girl]

my cp is 11. at the start of last season, she cheered a level 3 youth only. mid-way through the season, she was asked to also join the level 4 senior team. she had all the level 4 tumbling required (standing tuck, and her running pass was a r/o, bhs, whip, bhs, bhs, layout). she had never flown and did end up flying in a scale and again as center of the pyramid & thrown over the top of the pyramid. she fit in just fine even though the closest to her in age was 3 years older.
so, i honestly believe it depends on the kid & the skill level. it's up to the coaches and the parents as to whether a youth aged kid can handle a senior team.

 

[bxxtanyer]

@bxxtanyer my cp is an 11 yo flyer on a senior team. Almost all of the flyers on her senior 4.2 team are younger. But don't let them fool you, they're all beast and can hold their own against older flyers. they are worked and pushed to their max ability and get better and better. Just because they are younger, does not mean they are not capable of pulling a switch up heal stretch, scorp, arabesque 360, or double downs. (i hardly call that watered down on a level 4.2) They do it and sometimes better than older flyers. The bases hold the stunt in the air, but the flyer pulls the tricks. The flyers on her team have been flying for years, despite their age. ~

Yes there is the maturity difference, however, it has helped my cp grow up a little (not too much though) she's also on a youth team which helps balance it out. She was on a junior team last year. She is a young lady coming into her own age. She is close to being a teen and may know more than most 11 year olds. But she and I have a very open, frank, relationship as mother and daughter. She can ask me anything and i will answer honestly. I feel by her knowing some of the stuff she does, she will be more prepared. If the coaches and parents do their jobs well enough, the senior girls (older) will know how to act around the younger ones. If there is a problem with stuff that is being said in the gym (too mature for younger ones to be listening to) then something needs to be done at home about it. They should be focusing on practice not on who's boyfriend is cute or so and so kissed so and so (or sometimes worse) there are times and places for those discussions, the gym during practice is NOT one of them. (This of course is all just my opinion)

when i say watered down i mean it for the bases, not the flyers, if a team goes out and a stunt falls with a tiny flyer and dont even attempt to put her back up it just doesnt look good when u have teams with bigger flyers and as soon as they fall they put them right back.

 

[_haybaby]

I am a crossover myself. We cheerleaders love every minute of cheering so doing two teams just doubles the fun! My gym uses double teaming as a reward which I love! if an athlete starts showing immense improvement why not reward them with the recognition? I agree that it doubles the risk of injuries and am currently suffering a back strain because of it. The athlete just has to know their body and when enough is enough. And coaches as well as parents should pay attention to it as well. However I disagree with youth kids crossingover to senior teams just to fly, giving the senior team an advantage over their competitors. Crossingover is a great reward for athletes but if they have two teams they should be the same age group in the spirit of keeping competitions fair.

 

[ECEmylife<3]

At recent competitions i've been to, i always see crossovers too. There is this one particular gym i always watch and half of there level 5 teams are on level 2 ! I dont understand why they would do this. It is quite unfair to the teams that only have level 2 athletes on and not level 5 athletes. Perhaps they just do this to win? But i dont understamnd why.This gym is very talented all around you dont need that many crossovers! This one girl on that gym is on FOUR different teams. 3 consist of level 5 teams then on a level 2. And she is only 12 years old!

 

[KikiD22]

I have yet to see a cheer team utilize core and cross training on a regular basis. It has only been the past several years that Cheerleading has developed to a year round sport. The human body no matter the age can not take the punishment. There needs to be time off for the body to recover no matter your age.

Not really commenting on the original subject, but to comment on WCDad's post, one thing that Ultimate Athletics incorporated this season is mandatory CrossFit training for all teams, from Minis up to Seniors. It is part of the weekly practice schedule for the kids. I think this has been a wonderful addition to the program for exactly the reasons that you said in your post regarding the repetitive pounding and demand that this sport puts on our kids' bodies. They do a lot of core training and conditioning, and all around training to strenghten their bodies as a whole.