All-Star 3 Year Old Bhs Thread Raised A Question

[yojaehs]

Just for conversation a friend of mine (coach) has a 5 yr old son throwing doubles!!!


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[G_Carter]

I've seen 6 year olds throwing fulls. Like the coach from cheer perfection's younger daughter threw one.


Like, isn't it dangerous for their bodies? They're so young and their bones are so fragile!

This is the fastest tumbling I've ever seen. (excluding power tumbling)

 

[CheerBank]

I think that what people are forgetting is that 3 year old BHS mama wasn't asking if it was developmentally okay for ther 3 year old to be working on that skill. She was concerned because her 3 year old had a "mental block" regarding this skill being that she wouldn't throw it by herself and she wanted to know how she could get her to get over this block so she could show it off for her 4th b-day party. She expected posters to be wowed by what her kid was working on when in fact it resulted in the complete opposite response. And argued it all in pink font.
They are always going to be kids who are extremely advanced for their age and have ridiculous high level skills at a young age. More often thean not they are coaches kids or younger sibs of cheerleaders who have grown up in the gym so they start trying these skills at an early age, or they are kids who are blessed with freakish genetic talent and muscle strength and go on to become the next Gabby Douglas.

 

[njallday]

Gotta agree here. I think cheer basically scores you if you "land" it, and good technique is just gravy. Whereas gymnastics, landing is expected and the technique is where the score comes from.

I mean who else watched that vault in the Olympics 47 times to try and find the .3 in deductions????


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I so much prefer the gymnastics way of teaching tumbling. I know top gun is now an advocate of "Perfection before Progression" and I'm sure other gyms out there are too, which is wonderful to hear.

but in gym, the judge is very carefully concentrating on one person doing one skill at a time. not 36 running across the floor and knowing they can get away with poor form. I will say the under rotated worlds deduction this year was a step in the right direction and I hope there are more penalties for dangerous technique

 

[SassyRachael]

I was put straight into gymnastics as a fetus basically & I was handspringing around 3 or 4 & as far as I can tell there was no harm done. However I think it is the parents individual & sole responsibility to enure that their child is safe in anyway they see fit & I certainly understand the mothers concern.

 

[Mom2Cheergirls]

@CheerBank nailed it. The big thing was that this woman (and I am still convinced based on the posts that this may have been a bored teenager out to get us old people in a tizzy) was pushing a child who was not ready. But that said I think @RSBrittany really made a point about is it safe in the Tiny division to have certain tumble moves that may or may not be good and one would hope that these littlest athletes are not being pushed physically beyond their own comfort level developmentally.

I am one of those psychosocial people so I can address the mental stuff of a 3 yo being pushed to perform for Mama at her party but I look to the coaches on here for more of the development and physical and even told the crazy lady that she should listen to them. Some kids are outliers in any sport or academics and you don't want to hold them back if they are getting joy and being safe but "mental blocks' are a big red flag in my book and something that I think coaches and parents of little ones need to take seriously. It can be hard for a little one to say to a coach or parent I don't feel safe or I am not ready for this we as adults need to listen with our hearts and heads to what they are trying to tell us sometimes not with words.

I feel fortunate my kids go to a cheer gym where perfection before progression is STRONGLY encouraged and worked for our previous experience that was not the case and it is one of the main reasons why we are where we are. I think it helps prevent injuries and helps CPs to work to be the best they can be.