All-Star Can A Flyer Outgrow Their Flyer Position ?

[TealShades]

It is nice to see honest and informative responses. So, many times people ask similar questions and people reply as long your tight size/height doesn't matter at all. That is not realistic. Many times a very strong and tall girl is extremely valuable as a back spot. It is a team sport you go where you are needed. My oldest CP use to be a flyer. She had a growth spurt, now she is a main base. I feel her previous experience as a flyer has helped her become a good base.

I think because OP came with a positive attitude and not like other posters/threads where its my cp use to be a flyer but now she's "has to be" a back spot or base. Or my cp is better than current flyers etc. But I noticed it too.

 

[cheer25mom]

I think it comes down to the coaches and parents setting the right attitude. My CP loves to base and has based many a new flyer because she earns their trust quickly. She has a reputation that her flyer will not hit the mat unless she is under her. My other CP is the same way as well. Their coaches give them their props in front of their other girls and MOST importantly we have had parents come to them and me and thank them for basing their daughter. These parents get their child is not levitating and the reasons their child can smile and shine up high is they are confident in the people below them. My girls will say to each other F-O-L-O (flyers only live once) meaning it is their job to protect their flyers and they take that seriously and saying that to each other has become their little thing to remind themselves how important they are.

My CP takes pride in never letting her flyers hit the mat as well, and the coaches know she will fight to save a stunt or a flyer. I think that is part of why she gets stuck with the side bases she has. They know she will take up their slack. Last practice, her other base wasn't making a whole lot of effort to keep a stunt up at belly level, so rather than have to condition for dropping, CP just reached over and grabbed the other side too. Her coach asked what she was doing and she said"keeping the stunt in the air". That's pretty typical for her. She has taken cradles by herself when the other base backed out, caught a rebound to prone by herself when the other base didn't get there fast enough, and usually main based with one hand and had the other under the flyer's butt to keep her up. Her groups didn't come down in a comp all season, but she took a beating sometimes to keep things up.


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[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

She has taken cradles by herself when the other base backed out, caught a rebound to prone by herself when the other base didn't get there fast enough, and usually main based with one hand and had the other under the flyer's butt to keep her up. Her groups didn't come down in a comp all season, but she took a beating sometimes to keep things up.

This is not okay.

I try not to yell but one of the things that DOES cause me to raise my voice is when I can clearly see that one person took the brunt of a cradle or other dismount. That's an accident waiting to happen.

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

My CP11 is teetering right on the edge. She was one of the smallest on her team last season, but I firmly believe that 12 weeks off for her arm fracture is what allowed her body to kick-start itself into puberty. I believe she is the oldest or second oldest on her youth team. I've seen her fly on it, I've seen her base on it. Who knows. She certainly has a lot more experience and her execution looks much nicer in the air than the 8 year olds, however I don't know if the bases will be able to base her for the remainder of the season, especially in the elite. She actually rather enjoys basing, but is picking up some really great new skills flying on the 4.2, so who knows. She has always said she would rather be known as a tumbler anyway. She doesn't like the pressure of flying.

 

[mollymags]

So much of it has to do with the build of the team. This is my third season coaching and each year I've consistently had to have at least one kid that is a great flyer base or back instead. As much as they are strong flyers, some years you need a kid's strength on the ground instead of in the air. We try very hard to teach the kids that all stunt spots are equally important and that being versatile is going to help them so much later on.


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[SparkleSpankies]

Its really good to be versatile. I see many girls outgrow their spot, but as long as they are willing and open to change, then it will work out great!!

 

[cheer25mom]

This is not okay.

I try not to yell but one of the things that DOES cause me to raise my voice is when I can clearly see that one person took the brunt of a cradle or other dismount. That's an accident waiting to happen.

The bad dismounts were definitely talked about at practice and were not something her coaches were just ok with letting happen. She had an inexperienced side base who was being told at home she was " too weak" to base and should be flying. She was scared of getting hit, and her mom was constantly on the coaches about her being "too weak" to base. Those incidents happened early in the season and the coaches definitely told her it was not ok to bail. She didn't leave CP completely hanging much after that, but never really did 100% of what she should either. It was a fine line to walk with a kid who had a crying fit whenever anyone as much as bumped her and a difficult parent. CP just did whatever it took to keep a stunt up a lot of the time rather than deal with it. It definitely wasn't an ideal situation.


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[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

It's funny because those girls think "If I show her how awful I am at basing, I'll get back in the air."

False.

Repeatedly dropping flyers, stepping back, complaining about your flyer, telling coaches you're too weak, etc. isn't going to get you a flyer spot.

It's going to punch your ticket to Nuggetville.

 

[cheerisherlife]

We have a situation on my daughter's team this year with a girl that is really tall and has apparently always flown according to her mother (she is a new girl, came from a different gym). She's probably the tallest girl on the team, which doesn't always mean you won't fly but more often than not you won't. But at the first practice she was placed as a back spot and she pretty much threw her hands up like she was just told to pick up poop barehanded and said "sorry, I'm not doing this, I can't do this, I've always been a flyer". Well our coach just went with what she said and is letting her fly but it hasn't been pretty. It's actually been a hot mess and very frustrating for all involved, especially her bases. And sadly she's just not that good for someone who has "always flown". Not sure what coach is thinking other than proving to her that she really would be better off in a different position this year but guess we will see, it's still early in the season, but it has most of us scratching our heads (except her mother, lol!)

 

[queenie]

It's going to punch your ticket to Nuggetville.

That's the funniest thing I've read on here, lol.

My dd is too tall to fly this year so she's learning how to base. It will be good for her to learn that. She's crossing over to the next age group so she can still fly this year but for her main team, she's learning how to base. She grumbles about it but it's been good for her so far.

 

[Keep_Believing]

I wish double teaming was more common in Texas. The idea of learning different positions, such as flying on one team and basing on another team is cool.

 

[cheerisloving]

Well our coach just went with what she said and is letting her fly but it hasn't been pretty. It's actually been a hot mess and very frustrating for all involved, especially her bases. And sadly she's just not that good for someone who has "always flown". Not sure what coach is thinking other than proving to her that she really would be better off in a different position this year but guess we will see, it's still early in the season, but it has most of us scratching our heads (except her mother, lol!)

I've seen this happened and it is very tragic. We had a girl break out in hysterics because she couldn't fly and was always showing off how flexible she was, and totally missed that she was the tallest girl on the team, in fact she may even be taller than a girl we have now who's a very tall flyer (would be a basketspot on a team with little girls). Our coach said alright, you can try it, and let's say she couldn't even get a thigh stand... She in turn half did all of her stunting and didn't come back after that year.

 

[311cheermom]

CP12 is about 5'4" this year. She was barely 5' at the beginning of last season, and she backspotted on Youth and flew on 4.2. I prepared her for the fact that she probably wouldn't be flying this year, even on 4.2. So far she's backspotting on jr. and still flying on 4.2. There are 8 or 9 flyers right now, so possibly someone won't be flying, but she is holding her own, so we will see.

 

[Momager]

At our gym, the attitude is that bases are very important, and that if you want to be on the top teams you have to be able to do everything. My cp was well rewarded for heeding this advice, and she is very valued as a base in a position that would not normally go to someone of her size and stature. The media message is flying is glamorous, but if you really want to have a solid position on a top team, you've got to be the one they want at every position! And did I mention great attitude?

 

[Rebecca Dahlquist]

A flyer on my team is 5'8 and she's around the same height (or taller) as her bases. She has flown her whole cheer life and has great technique, which probably is the reason she stays in the air. And she's so pretty in the air with her like 10 feet legs