Flying...

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Jul 10, 2013
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So basically here's my story...

When I first started cheer I was really young and the smallest on the team. So naturally i was stuck being a flyer. I learned to fly pretty quick and then started learning harder stunts as we went along. I started stretching at a young age to get my scorpion, which I did. Then a few years passed and suddenly I was the oldest and tallest on the team. I had to main base and back spot. I was okay with it because I knew there was no way the little girls could hold me up. So when I went into 7th grade school cheer I was so excited to fly. Unfortunately our coach that year was not too experienced, and the hardest stunt I ever did was an extension scorpion. Keep in mind I was still tall, but I had a really muscular group. And in 7th grade I was fairly light (about 90-95 lbs) This year I'm an 8th grader. We have a new coach who let's us do much better stunts. At the beginning of the year she said I would get to fly... Basically because she knew I was a flyer and that I was the most flexible on the team. But now that we are almost done with the season... I don't fly in any stunts at all. One day I even talked to my coach about it, just asking if there was any more stunts I could possibly fly in or any opportunities to fly left. She basically told me that the only reason (let's say) Suzy and Barbara get to fly is because they are the smallest on th team. And I have to say I was crushed. I'm 5'4 and about 100-105 pounds. I've stretched every day, I've worked on my stunting stands every day. I want this so bad. But I feel like no matter what I'm not going to get to fly anymore. Simply because I'm tall or heavy. I feel like everybody says flyers should be under 100 pounds and that worries me because I'm gaining muscle. And muscle is heavy! We have a really muscular stunt group this year but they get to lift the tiniest girl on the team. I'm stuck basing (let's say) Jane who has never flown in her life. I don't mean at all to sound rude or conceited but my frustration towards this had gone on for so long. I really want to hear what other people think about my problem. My coach keeps saying I'll get to fly in high school, and I sure hope so. This is completely my opinion, but I think flyers should be based on tightness, stability, and flexibility. Not height and weight. It makes me feel insecure. It's not like I can just shrink. I'm gonna keep growing. :(
 
I know you're disappointed, but remember that flyers need strong girls under them to keep them safe in the air! In an ideal world, yes, tightness and flexibility would decide who was in the air and who was the foundation that put them in the air. Remember that cheer is all about the team dynamic. The abilities of everyone on the team has to be taken into account when figuring out stunt groups. Can a 70 pound girl put a 90 pound girl safely in the air? Maybe but probably not.
Keep working your flexibility because it will help with all areas of your cheer, especially jumps. You never know what your high school teams will look like. You may get to fly after all! Whatever happens, know that you are NOT heavy! Stay healthy, keep eating well, and stick with it. Everyone is crucial on a cheer squad.
 
My daughter flew M1 and M2 and then started growing and is now the tallest on her junior 5 team.

She hasn't flown in the last 6 years. She became a base and now a backspot. Flying was good for her in the beginning because she understood both sides of the stunt and used that when she learned to base.

Fast forward 6 years and she's a key player on her teams NOT because she flies but because she's the best base/backspot in the business. The negative thing is she always gets the toughest flyer (which has resulted in way more injuries to her than the fliers she's saved) but the positive thing....

...she makes fliers amazing.

It's not all about being in the air. Find your strength and where you can make a difference and go be the best at it!
 
Thank you for your input! I wanted to make sure everyone also knows I don't want to fly because it's the quote "best or most noticeable" spot in the group. Everyone is equal and does the same amount of work. But I know some people say that basing gives them a very proud feeling. Or that back spotting makes them so happy that they can protect their flyer. But I frankly don't feel that at all. I honestly hate basing. But when I'm flying I just feel fabulous. I love it. I love cradling and hearing my bases say "wow you're so tight" or "that was easy to base you because of how blah blah blah etc" and things like that. I sound sort of selfish saying that but I like hearing that and thinking, wow I'm really helping out my stunt group and actually making it easier for them. I guess it's pretty hard to describe, but I'm basically trying to say that that proud, accomplished feeling a lot of bases and back spots get, I only get when I'm flying. I'd love to say that it's my passion but that'd sound cheesy haha
 
Mine isn't a flyer. She's a base/backspot. But her coach she went to France with said the coed lib picture is obligatory in front of the Eiffel Tower. So he put her up.

I think it's a great picture.
It is a great picture! Just pointing out a statistic. I see pics on twitter/Instagram all the time of bases pulling body positions with the caption "I love tumbling!" Really, cuz that's not tumbling.
And, how did she get to go to France? I want to be at your gym if France is on the docket!
 
It is a great picture! Just pointing out a statistic. I see pics on twitter/Instagram all the time of bases pulling body positions with the caption "I love tumbling!" Really, cuz that's not tumbling.
And, how did she get to go to France? I want to be at your gym if France is on the docket!
One of her tumbling coaches has family there and goes annually. He brought the coach in this picture and asked my daughter to come since they're always doing her privates in French, so his cousin could work on her English (they're the same age) and vice versa. They did a good bit with Cheer Excess in Paris while they were there. They just made that trip again and added Sweden and Denmark but my daughter didn't go this time. We paid her way but he took her with him for 10 days. It was a great experience for her and I can't wait to meet all her French friends at Worlds this year :)
 
As a coach it was more what benefited the team than giving everyone a chance to fly. It sounds like you have a good chance in high school. It's difficult when everyone is growing & changing in middle school. Hang in there!


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One of her tumbling coaches has family there and goes annually. He brought the coach in this picture and asked my daughter to come since they're always doing her privates in French, so his cousin could work on her English (they're the same age) and vice versa. They did a good bit with Cheer Excess in Paris while they were there. They just made that trip again and added Sweden and Denmark but my daughter didn't go this time. We paid her way but he took her with him for 10 days. It was a great experience for her and I can't wait to meet all her French friends at Worlds this year :)
Wow! I hope you remember to list that on her resume. Not something most kids will ever get the chance to do. :chestbump:
 
I have the same problem I'm nothing but muscle and people think I'm fat it simple anatomy muscle weights more than fat


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I think a lot of flyers have that issues as they get a little older, especially when they are still eligible for younger teams. I know one of the flyers on cp's Jr3 team who is phenomenal imho is having a hard time right now because she is not as easy to base for the smaller bases because she is quite muscular. It is affecting her mentally because she is being made to question if she is too heavy to fly.
 
I have the same problem I'm nothing but muscle and people think I'm fat it simple anatomy muscle weights more than fat


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That's a benefit to coed flying later though. You won't see the frail skinny flyers doing that since coed girls have to get themselves in the air and work as hard as the guys to stay there.

Muscle is good. Keep working!
 
My cp is one of the smallest on her Sr 2 team but doesn't fly. She will run and hide under the tumble track if the topic is even breached. She hates the pressure, the stretching, and the possibility of being dropped on her head. This year she started basing and is amazing at it. Some of the senior age kids have started feeling inferior because here is this little 12 year old main basing a kid her same size. I had a feeling she would be good because it was her strength that got her noticed in gymnastics.


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