Raising The Bottom Age For Worlds

[cheermom5678]

I understand to a point...but at Worlds..if you have the skills and you dont weigh too much...no matter how tall..if you are good...they fly you...trust me...the young ones are usually the last option....I cant say I have EVER seen them replace a great flyer with a 12 yr old....

no but a pretty good flyer with potential may be replaced with a Ok 12 year old.

 

[lakerfantlc]

no but a pretty good flyer with potential may be replaced with a Ok 12 year old.

i was mistaken I guess ..I thought you said a jr or sr....in that case potential is very limited by time left in division....but again....I have found that unless the 12 yr old is pretty darn good....they usually never replace a decent jr or sr with a 12 yr old....try to look at it from the 12 yr olds perspective....she has worked hard...has a double AND a standing full...we have one on my cp's team...she is finally old enough this year..she is amazing...to me..her rights are just as strong as a jr or sr...IMO

 

[Mclovin]

I guess I understand the smaller gym thing, but here you are, a junior or senior in high school, planning on going to a big name cheer college, you are a small girl, a college size flyer, and you lose your flying spot on your all star team to a 12 year old, mostly because of size? How is that fair? How is that getting you ready to tryout in college? If everyone had to fly their high school girls rather than their pre-puberty girls~ teams would adapt. Stunts and pyramids would progress.

We've had many fliers end up basing their last couple of years on all stars and move on to fly in college with no problem.

Our gym is one that tries to keep their senior team at 14+. I think there might be one or two younger than that that sneak in by worlds, only due to injuries or people quitting, etc. I have watched them struggle to keep stunts in the air now that high to highs and 1 1/2 ups are the norm. Those bigger senior aged kids sure look pretty up there when they STAY up there, but when they come down, they come down HARD and knock their bases to the floor. So, IMO, unless we want the rules to scale back what it takes to "max out" the scoresheet, as much as some might WANT to see the bottom age raised to 14, I bet there's not a top 10 worlds team out there that would vote for that. I would love to know what @Ceacoach or @BlueCat feel about the size of fliers vs. the difficulty level in our stunts today.

This year on our senior team we have 7 fliers -- 1 is 13, 1 is 14, 4 are 16 and 1 is 17. The 13 and 14 year olds are the ONLY 2 hitting the whole stunt sequence consistently. Ok, the 14 year old is Brittni Love so that's expected, lol, but the 13 year old is my CP and she is most definitely the loosest flyer on the team. But they keep her up there. The others have great body control and great flexibility, but it's just harder for them to hit the whole thing. Ask them to hit a full up or tick tock and it's simple. But with the increased difficulty it's taking to max out the scoresheet it takes way more than that to win now. Now, don't get me wrong...our team is doing GREAT for it being so early in the season, but it's just so much harder to "get there" than if all of our fliers were 14 and under. Just my perspective...

 

[ufomom]

. Those bigger senior aged kids sure look pretty up there when they STAY up there, but when they come down, they come down HARD and knock their bases to the floor. ..

Ahh! As the mother of a base, you have verbalized my concern. If you have an equally talented small and bigger flyer (not even age related), I prefer mine base the smaller flyer. That and I think about her spine collapsing when I see her putting a flyer in the air closer to her size.

 

[cheermom5678]

Ahh! As the mother of a base, you have verbalized my concern. If you have an equally talented small and bigger flyer (not even age related), I prefer mine base the smaller flyer. That and I think about her spine collapsing when I see her putting a flyer in the air closer to her size.

I'm not talking big flyers, My junior in high school old daughter is 100 pounds. She does fly, but also bases a basket for a small girl. I don't mind that she is basing, she is even enjoying it, but she will not be big enough to base in college.

Also, will these girls who are basing 12 year old girls be ready to try out for college teams after only basing babies? Won't they also be at a disadvantage?

 

[SheCheers]

I really don't think it's your all star gyms job to prepare you for college cheer. It's not the same style at all. I would think if one is worried about cheering in college, they should probably be cheering for their high school, as well.

 

[glitterdiva]

I really don't think it's your all star gyms job to prepare you for college cheer. It's not the same style at all. I would think if one is worried about cheering in college, they should probably be cheering for their high school, as well.

If allstars isnt to prepare you for college than what is the point of paying all that money?

 

[Mclovin]

I'm not talking big flyers, My junior in high school old daughter is 100 pounds. She does fly, but also bases a basket for a small girl. I don't mind that she is basing, she is even enjoying it, but she will not be big enough to base in college.

Also, will these girls who are basing 12 year old girls be ready to try out for college teams after only basing babies? Won't they also be at a disadvantage?

My 13 year old is almost 100 pounds so to me your 16 year old is the same size. How little is this "little" girl because my CP being almost 100 pounds is the littlest one on our team...

You have a point about female bases being ready to base in college when they're used to lifting tiny girls. I don't have an answer for that. I would assume any girl flying in college wouldn't be much bigger than 100-115 pounds. Again, my 13 year old is the height and weight of an average 11 year old and she's almost 100 pounds so I just can't imagine there being too many girls smaller than her that are on senior worlds teams...

 

[cheermom5678]

My 13 year old is almost 100 pounds so to me your 16 year old is the same size. How little is this "little" girl because my CP being almost 100 pounds is the littlest one on our team...

You have a point about female bases being ready to base in college when they're used to lifting tiny girls. I don't have an answer for that. I would assume any girl flying in college wouldn't be much bigger than 100-115 pounds. Again, my 13 year old is the height and weight of an average 11 year old and she's almost 100 pounds so I just can't imagine there being too many girls smaller than her that are on senior worlds teams...

Oh, yes, many 65-80 pound girls on worlds teams. Not so much on our team, a couple itty bitties, but mostly average size
girls of 100- 115.

Also, my older daughter is 5 ft. 7 and flies on Louisville and GT Black, so the college bases may have to fly bigger girls.

 

[SheCheers]

If allstars isnt to prepare you for college than what is the point of paying all that money?

I didn't say it didn't prepare you at all for college, but it's not up to your gym or the USASF to make sure tiny flyers are not in the air so larger ones get the experience for college. Or bases learn to base bigger girls for college. It's not THEIR JOB. The gym is going to do what's best for the gym as a whole and the USASF is going to do what's best for the industry (well, I'm sure there is doubt about that, but it's not the point). Individuals need to do what's best for them and if that's to gain the best experience for college, so what I was saying is that they might want to do high school cheer instead.

But to answer your question: There are plenty of reasons for "paying all that money" that have nothing to do with college. I pay all that money for my cp and she's 8. It's another decade before she goes to college, it has nothing to do with college for us right now. we do it because she loves it, it keeps her busy, and we are able to.

 

[Mclovin]

International 5 teams are 14+. Maybe that would be the best "all star" route to preparing for college?? Or even better, International 6 teams are 17+. Just a thought for those that would have that option...

 

[Tori Vandepas]

i dont agree with thiss.

 

[yojaehs]

I just want to see the age stay the same, I don't care what it is honestly 12,13,14 really after a year it won't matter because either your gym will make the adjustment or won't, either way skills will continue to be pushed. But to ask a gym, regardless the size to continue moving kids up/down divisions isn't fair to the athlete or the gym. There are talented kids of all ages. I'd like to add that I think there should be a bottom age for EVERY division.