All-Star For All Who Talk About Sr's Needing To Be 14 And Under..

[WakaFlaka]

There is a Youth Soccer tournament being held at Disney, Please note the age groups!!! So cheer is not the only sport that allows young kids to play with older kids.

For some who may not follow, U means Under.

ELIGIBILITY
This is an FYSA Sanctioned Tournament, which is open to all USSF/FIFA affiliated organizations for boys and girls in age groups: U9-U10 (6v6), U11-U12 (8v8), and U13-U18/19 (11v11).

 

[Seeker30]

No we think Seniors need to be 14 and older, not under!

 

[Just-a-Mom]

I'm confused. So its "under 13 to under 18"? What does that even mean? Wouldn't that just be under 18?

 

[FierceinTeal]

My sister plays Travel softball (which is actually alot like all star cheer in alot of ways lol) and they have similar age brakets - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U

Although acording to the brakets it would be "legal" for a 8 year olds to play with the 18 year olds, I dont see where it would help your team in sports like softball or soccer. Where in cheer it would be an advantage to have smaller flyers.

 

[kristenthegreat]

My sister plays Travel softball (which is actually alot like all star cheer in alot of ways lol) and they have similar age brakets - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U

Although acording to the brakets it would be "legal" for a 8 year olds to play with the 18 year olds, I dont see where it would help your team in sports like softball or soccer. Where in cheer it would be an advantage to have smaller flyers.

We had brackets when I did allstar/AAU volleyball, except ours down a year (U18, U17, U16)..still an option to be moved around, but it's NOT advantageous at ALL, and therefore wasn't done. I played U18 at 16, but all of the girls on my team were of similar age (16-18)/skill level. Also, most girls in the northeast don't start playing vb until HS anyway..that net's kinda tricky

 

[alliebby33]

My hockey team was U19 last year and our youngest girl was in 7th grade (11 years old) and our oldest were seniors in high school. This year we're U16 and still have those younger girls and some younger than them. In hockey though, its more because of the lack of teams around here. There are only 3 girls hockey teams in Ohio.

 

[Angelica]

Cheerleading shouldnt be compared to soccer. Let's just keep the age for seniors where it's at.

 

[rachelkate94]

i have nothing against younger kids on senior teams, but they definetly need to have the skills to be on a senior team. and if theres a junior or youth team thats their level then they should be on that.

 

[MissCongeniality]

I think there are many sports where younger kids can compete with or against older kids. Certainly once you get to the National level in swimming there are meets where they are no age divisions. If you are fast enough to make the cut, you are fast enough to go against anyone else who makes the cut, regardless of their age!

The reality is that kids from about 11-18 really mature at a WIDE range of rates. I mean I remember my son on the blocks for a swim meet (he was 13---and was about 5 feet tall 100 lbs dripping wet) and there would be 13 year olds next to him who were bigger, taller and hairier than my husband. In freshman football there were boys who weighed over 240 lbs and were well over 6-feet tall. Meanwhile there were another group of boys who were 5'4"-6" and weighed 130s. Same age and a 100lbs weight difference!! If they were a cheer squad... would those smaller 14 year olds be accused of being too young?

 

[INeverStopCheering]

I think there are many sports where younger kids can compete with or against older kids. Certainly once you get to the National level in swimming there are meets where they are no age divisions. If you are fast enough to make the cut, you are fast enough to go against anyone else who makes the cut, regardless of their age!

The reality is that kids from about 11-18 really mature at a WIDE range of rates. I mean I remember my son on the blocks for a swim meet (he was 13---and was about 5 feet tall 100 lbs dripping wet) and there would be 13 year olds next to him who were bigger, taller and hairier than my husband. In freshman football there were boys who weighed over 240 lbs and were well over 6-feet tall. Meanwhile there were another group of boys who were 5'4"-6" and weighed 130s. Same age and a 100lbs weight difference!! If they were a cheer squad... would those smaller 14 year olds be accused of being too young?

They are allowed to but, they don't because it would be a setback. Cheerleading is the only sport I can think of where putting younger (and sometimes therefore smaller) kids with older ones is actually an advantage. They aren't being accused of being too young because of their size. It's because of their maturity level. 18 year olds talk about very different (and more inappropriate "guess what me and joe did last night") than the 12 year olds that are currently allowed on senior teams.

 

[MyDaughterCheers]

I am a proponent of raising the bottom age on ALL senior teams; however, I can honestly say that I have seen a few (very few) younger girls that are on older teams that truly belong there. My biggest pet peeve in cheering is to watch a flyer who is small but has no body control being tossed around by bigger bases. I don't care if a girl is 12 or 18 and is only 4'10", if she has no body control she should not be in the air. But I have seen several teams put those little girls in the air because they are amazing tumblers and once they are on the team, there is no place else for them because they are too small to base. Which effectively makes the 5' tall flyer with much better control be a base.

 

[arilt95]

i say if they have the skills to be on the team, then why not! for instense ashley hobbs; she was 12 this year on a senior elite. Yes she was bigger (as in taller) than most 12 year olds but she had beast tumbling and could aslo base. There are some short 12 year olds but if they have all the skill requirements then why not?

 

[MissCongeniality]

They are allowed to but, they don't because it would be a setback. Cheerleading is the only sport I can think of where putting younger (and sometimes therefore smaller) kids with older ones is actually an advantage. They aren't being accused of being too young because of their size. It's because of their maturity level. 18 year olds talk about very different (and more inappropriate "guess what me and joe did last night") than the 12 year olds that are currently allowed on senior teams.

They are allowed to but, they don't because it would be a setback I don't think this is necessarily the case. If you have the skills to compete at the higher level and can hold your own with the best of the best, then why not? Again, I use swimming as an example. My son has friends who, at age 13-14, are right up there on the National Level giving the older kids a run for the money. Sure, they are more the exception than the rule, but they are still there and have earned the right to be there due to their skills. Also, practices in swimming are almost always done by skill set, not age. They just keep the kids moving constantly so there is no time to chat about topics that would be inappropriate for the younger kids LOL!

Cheerleading is the only sport I can think of where putting younger (and sometimes therefore smaller) kids with older ones is actually an advantage. They aren't being accused of being too young because of their size. It's because of their maturity level. I think many people are arguing that the reason the 12-year olds don't belong on the senior teams is due to their size. I have seen posts where people state that it is unfair because the 12 year olds are easier to fly because they are so much smaller. I totally agree with you that, in some cases, what a 12 year old is exposed to on a team filled with older kids is a bit sketchy... I also agree with those who think it looks better to have full size flyers in the air vs. 8 year olds being thrown into the air by 18 year olds. But I disagree that 14 is so much of a better age than 12. I have found the 12 year olds on the Senior 5 Team with my daughter to be mature and focused. They didn't get tothat skill set by goofing around all day. Sure they aren't talking about sex and drinking and boys the way some of the older kids are, but honestly, should that even be a discussion during a pratice?

 

[MissCongeniality]

I also wanted to add that I strongly believe that if a gym has an age and skill appropriate team for a younger athlete... that is where that athlete should be placed. However I do know that many gyms aren't the mega gyms that have multiple youth, junior and senior level teams at a bunch of different levels. Some gyms ONLY have Senior level teams (due to enrollment) so the younger kids have no choice of placement on a youth or junior team.

 

[cheermommaRN]

Actually you can't have an 8 year old on a team with an 18 year old (in soccer). Those are just the tournament brackets, all of the teams that are U6 (6 and under) will play other U6 teams. You can only "play up" in academy level play (U4-U10) after that you MUST play in your age group....
It would be nice if senior teams were 14 and older but I doubt small gyms would be able to stay in business. Last season I saw a large senior 2 team that had one senior, a handful of junior kids, a bunch of youth age, and a couple mini kids on it. They held their own pretty well against the older senior teams but I can't imagine what practice is like....