All-Star Attitude Of Bases

[12stepCheermom]

I think all flyers and flyer's mom,need a good base friend,to knock some sense into them. I know when my cp was in her third year of cheer,I remember complaining to a friend,with a child who based,about how bruised,cp was or how hurt she was and just general whining,I heard from cp and passed on to her. God love her,she laid it out for me,that if my flyer cp was hurt and bruised,how did I think her bases looked? I'd never looked at it from the view of a base or base mom,but once she laid it all out for me,I then told cp and we both,took a step back and thought about how much force and effort her bases put in to keeping her safe in the air. Ever since then,we both make an extra effort, to thank her bases for keeping her safe in the air and letting them know how much we love and appreciate them. Bases have a hard job;and even just a simple thank you or a "are you okay? I'm so sorry I knocked you out with my butt.",go far with bases and their loved ones.

This past week my cp14 was backing her god sister (flat amazing flyer she never gets to base her...and it didn't last but she totally enjoyed it while it did) and her flyer had some brain fart or another (it happens). Cp14 would never let one loop of blue mat fabric touch her and didn't. So when then got up off the mat we were chuckling because her flyer ran over and squeezed the stuffing out of her and said "thank you for saving my life! I'm sorry I elbowed you in the cheek!"

They laughed, hugged and got right back at it. I love that girl! She's got one more year until she's eligible (late birthday) and cp16 has already decreed she WILL be his flyer next year (which will be his senior year). Sa



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[Helen uk uni cheer]

Speaking as a former base/flyer. I know that I sometimes blame or try to correct my bases and as a base my flyers try to correct me and sometimes it just puts you in a bad mood. However with that being said as a base I would never intentionally drop my flyer. Other times athletes just have a bad attitude whatever their stunt position may be.

I get on with my stunt group very well and the girl who didnt stay tight was shocked and really sorry about it and the rest of the day was so tight we also told her nicley how important it is and she nderstoood. If a stunt isnt working we all agree on a way forward sometimes its i need to grab the wrists more or a base need to get their grip quicker but if you are a team it work well

 

[Fiercecheermom]

My CP is mainly a back spot, but mains on two mans. She takes it as a sense of pride that her stunts don't come down. Last season, she had 1 stunt that fell. That being said, she gets pretty beat up. Her mantra is "if the flyer is gonna hit the floor, she will land on top of me". Unfortunately, there are fliers out there who don't take suggestions from their bases/coaches regarding "staying tight" or "jumping out of a stunt" and cause great injury to their bases. Mostly it just takes time/practice to work out timing and how each of them work individually so that as a group it becomes easier and seamless. While I have not had to do it, if my CP was getting "beat up" by a flier who just couldn't progress, I would absolutely speak with the coaches/owners for the safety of my child.

 

[cheernerd5678]

As a base I wonder never purposely drop a flyer. No way. It bugs me when people "joke" about dropping each other.
Ex). Suzie: If you don't give me that cookie, I'm going to drop you at practice tonight.




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Right? I would never say that. My flyer last year would always be like "I really have to pee" when we were backstage and I was like "if you pee on me..... I won't drop you but I'll probably smack you when the routine is over"
even though it's joking it freaks me out when people say that.


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[cheermomforever]

I knew of one that dropped her flyer on purpose because she didn't like her....at worlds. No. Lie. She bragged about it.


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That base belongs with one of our flyers who gave up and didn't care at Worlds this year, it sucks when one person breaks the heart of many others!


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[cheerdadof4]

I knew of one that dropped her flyer on purpose because she didn't like her....at worlds. No. Lie. She bragged about it.


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This makes me incredibly angry! My niece has this happen to her at practice (I can't imagine this happening at worlds, oh my! That's awful.) a a few years ago. The main base stepped out, and her side casually pushed her out of the stunt. She wasn't hurt too badly mostly shaken up, but refused to stunt with those girls again. On the bright side, she really stepped up her own spotting game after that and has said that since then when spotting her brain automatically goes to fight instead of flight. She's maybe 5'1, but I've seen her take some big people in the face, saving flyers or stunts. No one I'd rather have spot/side my kids in the air!

So shimmies to all the wonderful bases, sides and spots whom will always chose to hit the floor before their flyers do!

 

[SL&AM]

My first year that I ever coached, I coached a team that had two girls on it that happened to be sisters. The older sister was the younger one's base. Once they came to practice after they had gotten into a fight, and the sister that based just let go of her sister's foot. Poor flyer almost knocked out three of her teeth. The base was asked to leave the program.

That is super scary!

 

[NCCheerMama]

My two CP have been on a team together for the past 3 years, and coaches know not to have the older CP, base the younger one-it does not go well, sisters will be sisters. My older CP gave younger one good advice when little one aged up to Worlds team this year (older CP aged out)-she said "Don't piss off your stunt group. If you hit them coming down-apologize right away, stay tight, be flexible when coach asks you to try different things, don't cry, and your stunt group will be so much better" Wise advice.

 

[armycheermom]

This past week my cp14 was backing her god sister (flat amazing flyer she never gets to base her...and it didn't last but she totally enjoyed it while it did) and her flyer had some brain fart or another (it happens). Cp14 would never let one loop of blue mat fabric touch her and didn't. So when then got up off the mat we were chuckling because her flyer ran over and squeezed the stuffing out of her and said "thank you for saving my life! I'm sorry I elbowed you in the cheek!"

They laughed, hugged and got right back at it. I love that girl! She's got one more year until she's eligible (late birthday) and cp16 has already decreed she WILL be his flyer next year (which will be his senior year). Sa



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Random,but I so love that all of your babies cheer! You're really working on me getting an Instagram!

 

[njallday]

there would be no flyers at all without bases. i'd even argue that they are the most important piece of the puzzle.

speaking as a flyer who was purposely dropped (more like catapulted) out of a stunt in front of a large audience of peers... not only did i really get hurt, it was the most embarrassing thing ever. (it was a HS team at the pep rally for the entire student body. i was made fun of for weeks for falling) i happened to be related to the coach... and i promise i worked my butt off to make the team and there was no preferential treatment. (actually, i'm pretty sure she was harder on me with higher expectations.) so my base was a grade older than me and was FURIOUS that she only made JV. she very visibly and vocally HATED our coach. she was my main base and our coach gave her some feedback to fix her grip in the stunt. i was in a lib and she literally just took her hands off my foot and took a giant step back as i came crashing down onto the TRACK. no mats. after the other group members got me up she had to gonads to say, "how was that?" to the coach. needless to say, she was removed from the team promptly. not only did i get hurt, but the other base got hurt trying her hardest to save me. it's a no joking matter. if you really don't like your flyer, ask for a new stunt group or deal with your issues OUTSIDE of the gym.

 

[mommadonna]

Battered bases anonymous (BBA) club mom rant on the way....


I've got two base/backspots that take their job very seriously. And both have had far more concussions, blood loss, teeth loss, bruises and mat burn than any of their flyers have ever had. For as much as they'd like to drop one every now and then...they have too much "professional pride" to ever have their stunt be the one coming down...so they're all in. And their stunts stay up.

What I really wish (and have mentioned this in previous threads) is that it went both ways. I'm generally completely over the "those bases better not drop me/my Susie because she could get hurt" attitude when the flyer doesn't get/realize/care that they have an equal responsibility to keep their bases safe from THEM when they don't lock out, don't get tight, throw their head in a double down, don't keep their feet together etc....

It's always a one sided argument and no one ever seems to care when a bases teeth are on the mat that perfect Susie is the one who caused it because she won't take correction from a coach. Keeping a stunt group safe means everyone has a job to do. I'd at least appreciate if a death spiral flyer would recognize and/or apologize to the base they just creamed who put themselves between Susie and the mat because Susie didn't do her job...rather than getting up and looking at the base like it was their fault.

I've seen that far more than I care to discuss in my 8 years watching this (and getting my kids treated for injuries).

/endrant


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You get a slow clap.

 

[mommadonna]

I knew of one that dropped her flyer on purpose because she didn't like her....at worlds. No. Lie. She bragged about it.


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[mommadonna]

Here's the deal... If a base ever drops her flyer on purpose...and it is KNOWN that she dropped her flyer on purpose, that should be a one way ticket off the team, or at least, to Nuggetville. This sport is no joke. It's not worth risking a kid spending the rest of their life in a wheelchair. Period. Deal with your personal issues somewhere OFF the mat.

 

[tbabycheer609]

My first year that I ever coached, I coached a team that had two girls on it that happened to be sisters. The older sister was the younger one's base. Once they came to practice after they had gotten into a fight, and the sister that based just let go of her sister's foot. Poor flyer almost knocked out three of her teeth. The base was asked to leave the program.

We had sisters on my team for 3 years and they were NOT allowed to stunt together for this specific reason. Although the older sister is very protective of her younger sister so I doubt it would have happened but our coaches weren't willing to take the risk.


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[tbabycheer609]

Sorry for the double post but our coach did this amazing thing and had us all try different positions. Most girls on my team could successfully main, side, backspot, or fly. The idea came from a flyer's frustration with a base trying to correct her even though that base had never even attempted an elevator let alone a one leg extension while pulling a body position. It gave everyone a whole new appreciation for how much work everyone really puts into making a stunt stay in the air. It also really helped with everyone being able to kind of feel where things needed to be fixed. Everyone in my group, including the flyer, learned how to adjust according to where mine and the other bases hands were sitting. For example I remember one competition in which my main base's pinky broke half way through our routine my backspot and I both noticed our flyer started to put more weight in her toes because she felt something off and my backspot lifted like crazy allowing me to switch my grip from a power hold (wrapping both hand around the arch of the flyers foot) to having one hand under her heel so that the main base's pinky would not get caught and further injured. Something I would not have known to do if my coach hadn't made me learn to base on the opposite side as well.

Sorry about that novel. I just had so much to say


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