All-Star Lower Levels Vs Higher Levels: Easier To Stick?

[retiredl5cheer]

This topic was being discussed at length in the Summit thread and I thought it was an interesting jumping off point. Is it easier to stick a routine at the lower levels vs the higher levels? Hypothetically, if there was a team of all level 2 athletes competing a level 2 routine, is it easier for them to hit a perfect routine than a team of all level 4 athletes competing a level 4 routine?

I've only coached level 1, but have had two full seasons of deduction free routines. Is it the level or the athletes? That's always been a question in my mind, general and specific.

Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[dawgshow]

My feeling is that if you have true leveled athletes, the difficulty is the same regardless of level. For example, a straight ride basket is just as hard for a L2 athlete as a kick full is for a L4 athlete. Why? Because that's what they are physically and mentally capable of doing.
I will concede that there may be a greater margin of error as skills increase because, generally, there are more pieces to put together, especially in stunting.


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[stuntjumptumble]

No. If the athlete is true to their level it is going to be just as difficult for them to hit their routine. Ex, a true level 3 athlete would have the same amount of difficulty hitting their routine as a true level 5 athlete. This doesn't apply to crossovers or teams that are stacked obviously. But I'll defend this always. My philosophy is that cheer is hard no matter what and the level system is there to accommodate skills, it is all relative the the specific cheerleader. In the end were all participating in the same exact thing


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[yesucan]

I think in theory it would be the same difficulty level IF the teams are 100% true to the level athletes. However... When was the last time anyone has seen a 100% true 1,2,3, or 4 team? One kid from a higher level could potentially sway this dramatically. If flyer Susie in the corner is having a hard time hitting her level 3 lib and super Barbie who could single base Ken from level 5 comes in to back spot and save the day, the chance of that group falling becomes minimal and "makes it easier" for the team to hit a prefect routine.

 

[kristenthegreat]

I mean, hypothetically yes, if they were 'true' level then you would think that things would be equal. But, I don't know if that's still necessarily true. The higher the levels, the further you're physically moving someone above the ground and with greater complexity. Let's take basic stunting. A prep-level stunt is easier to quick correct due to the physics- hands/arms in the bases are relatively close to center of gravity (core), so a bit of wiggling might not have as much effect. Versus an extended stunt, where arms an hands are extended away from the center of gravity, allowing for more mishap/easier to mess up if not timed properly. Now, add in the many variations of extended stunt required/allowed in upper level routines, and suddenly things get really tricky. More movement, more physical timing required, etc.

 

[FamousxMindset]

I disagree the margin of error for aerial skills is much larger versus that in a back handspring.

 

[BlueCat]

Politically correct answer: Every level is exactly the same, has the exact same amount of risk, and every athlete on the planet works the exact same amount and deserves equal praise.

Honest answer: Generally, as you go higher in level, the skills and routines become much more risky and difficult to perform - even after factoring in the difference in the typical athleticism of the participants.

 

[Pebbles49]

Hey, I know I am going to receive some extreme finger wagging and side eyeing for posting this, but I am going to take the gloves off and speak my mind and not beat around the bush on this matter... Yes, I think it is the level that an athlete is competing on that determines whether the routine hits... I do not often see a level 1 athlete mess up on tumbling (bust or touch down) when doing fwo or bwo or even level 2 athletes messing up on tumbling and/or stunting, but I have seen plenty of level 4 &5 athletes not completing maneuvers, stunts and/or pyramids that are not connected properly and janky tumbling that occurs mostly in higher levels... Hence, the reason why we have different levels -- and why we should be so against Gyms that sandbag and put level 5 athletes on level 1 teams...

I think it is only natural for the higher level (4 or5) athletes routines have an higher percent chance of mistakes because these athletes are taking more risk and must execute extremely difficult skills that require the athletes to synchronize their movements more, particularly, when I watch them doing the elaborate pyramids with the twists and the tossing of athletes over each other and the movement of the stunts groups, wow! (Ex.:TGLC)Additionally, the lower level athletes, typically are doing slower pace routines and the level of synchronize tumbling, etc are not the same...

 

[luv2cheer92]

While I don't really know about the difficulty of the skills for the athletes, it should be equal, it's kind of hard to argue with physics and kinematics of the body. The skills done at level 5 are much harder to save than lower levels. If timing is a 1/4 second off, there would be a significantly higher risk for a double up to extended single leg stunt to fall then a straight up prep level lib just because of the physics of the movements. So speaking purely from a "sticking it" point of view, I definitely think it is harder to stick a routine the higher the level, just because the chance for error is so much greater, no matter the ability of the athlete.

 

[vannahlexis]

It's much easier to hit a straight up lib than it is to hit a double up. There's so much more room for error in the double up rather than going straight into a stunt.
Same for straight cradles and double downs.

As much as I would like to say they're equally hard to hit, it doesn't make sense.

Although it is a night and day difference for a level five stunt group to hit a straight lib than it would be for a level 3 team to double up.

I honestly don't know the answer because there's so many different factors involved. I guess it's just a matter of opinion



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[SL&AM]

Too many factors to compare, imo.