All-Star Stunt Positions?

[darlingsmomx4]

Yes I am a new cheer mom and after I have read many, many posts it appears that people are in love and have a strong desire for their cp to be a flyer. I am the mother of a young CP and honestly I watch all the teams practice and I would be really scared if my cp was a flyer, after all I panic when we are on a playground jungle gym and she approaches one of those openings. But watching her team practice it just makes me question what qualities they look for in a cp position, base, back spot, front spot, etc. on this particular team there are 3 new 5 year olds, all three the smallest in size on the team, and not one of them is a flyer they are using them as back spots and one as a front spot, is this typical?

 

[FierceIsTheName]

Usually the tallest kids are the backspots, the medium sized kids are the bases, and the shorter and smaller kids are the flyers. And it depends, how old are most of the kids on the team?

 

[darlingsmomx4]

Usually the tallest kids are the backspots, the medium sized kids are the bases, and the shorter and smaller kids are the flyers. And it depends, how old are most of the kids on the team?

16 total girls, most 6-8 years.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Yes I am a new cheer mom and after I have read many, many posts it appears that people are in love and have a strong desire for their cp to be a flyer. I am the mother of a young CP and honestly I watch all the teams practice and I would be really scared if my cp was a flyer, after all I panic when we are on a playground jungle gym and she approaches one of those openings. But watching her team practice it just makes me question what qualities they look for in a cp position, base, back spot, front spot, etc. on this particular team there are 3 new 5 year olds, all three the smallest in size on the team, and not one of them is a flyer they are using them as back spots and one as a front spot, is this typical?

This happens a lot with the little ones, especially when you're talking 3-5 year olds. Size is important, but ability to follow instructions and body control are much more important with young kids. I bet my bottom dollar the 3 year olds are the smallest... but also the spaciest and probably don't know where their limbs are. This leaves your youngest, most inexperienced athletes doing smaller roles (back and front spotting) while the bulk of the stunt is done by the older kids. I'm not saying front and back spots aren't important, but in level 1 stunts they have much less crucial roles (in most cases).

Case in point, I had one 6 year old on minis that was a total space cadet, so she front spotted our elite stunt and backed our quantity stunt. She was tiny and could have flown, but I couldn't guarantee she'd stay in the air or even make it to the stunt on time.

ETA I just realized you said they were 5 years old. Same concept applies anyways.

 

[darlingsmomx4]

This happens a lot with the little ones, especially when you're talking 3-5 year olds. Size is important, but ability to follow instructions and body control are much more important with young kids. I bet my bottom dollar the 3 year olds are the smallest... but also the spaciest and probably don't know where their limbs are. This leaves your youngest, most inexperienced athletes doing smaller roles (back and front spotting) while the bulk of the stunt is done by the older kids. I'm not saying front and back spots aren't important, but in level 1 stunts they have much less crucial roles (in most cases).

Case in point, I had one 6 year old on minis that was a total space cadet, so she front spotted our elite stunt and backed our quantity stunt. She was tiny and could have flown, but I couldn't guarantee she'd stay in the air or even make it to the stunt on time.

ETA I just realized you said they were 5 years old. Same concept applies anyways.

Thank you so much, your explanation really makes a lot of sense and solved my curiosity!