- Jul 10, 2012
- 103
- 72
What I love about cheerleading is how inclusive of every individual it is. There is always a position for anyone wanting to work hard and learn. My question however is, when is a flyer too tall?
This has been tossed around alot in Australia in relation to the perfect height, the perfect weight for a flyer. I've seen my fair share of small flyers, who are only up there due to there size. Most of the time the bases struggle as that particular flyer isn't strong and therefore doesn't hold herself up in the air. There is a current situation which I thought I'd ask this group. The girl is an ex ballet dancer, so small in frame and build. She has the typical ballet body, very thin in the arms, legs, but also really flexible and has great body control/awareness. She has flown to Level 3 (trained level 4) without any issues, but upon moving up to level 4 competition she was told she was too tall and would have to move to a different position.
All those years of hard work were out the door. She was the lead flyer in Level 3 (every base wanted to fly her) and suddenly out of no where she found herself back spotting flyers who were complete beginners but small. Not complaining she went on about it, learning as much as she could. She was then told she would never back spot the higher levels because she wasn't 'strong' enough or tall enough.
She found herself in a situation where she had no place in the team. She was the main flyer and got told she was too tall, was then a back spot and got told she wasn't strong enough.
She is 5'8, and weighs in at 50kg (which is tiny here). Safe to say she left the gym and is now wondering what to do with her cheer career. It's pretty sad to hear, as I believe you can achieve anything you set your mind too.
Any comments would be amazing, as she is at a loss.
This has been tossed around alot in Australia in relation to the perfect height, the perfect weight for a flyer. I've seen my fair share of small flyers, who are only up there due to there size. Most of the time the bases struggle as that particular flyer isn't strong and therefore doesn't hold herself up in the air. There is a current situation which I thought I'd ask this group. The girl is an ex ballet dancer, so small in frame and build. She has the typical ballet body, very thin in the arms, legs, but also really flexible and has great body control/awareness. She has flown to Level 3 (trained level 4) without any issues, but upon moving up to level 4 competition she was told she was too tall and would have to move to a different position.
All those years of hard work were out the door. She was the lead flyer in Level 3 (every base wanted to fly her) and suddenly out of no where she found herself back spotting flyers who were complete beginners but small. Not complaining she went on about it, learning as much as she could. She was then told she would never back spot the higher levels because she wasn't 'strong' enough or tall enough.
She found herself in a situation where she had no place in the team. She was the main flyer and got told she was too tall, was then a back spot and got told she wasn't strong enough.
She is 5'8, and weighs in at 50kg (which is tiny here). Safe to say she left the gym and is now wondering what to do with her cheer career. It's pretty sad to hear, as I believe you can achieve anything you set your mind too.
Any comments would be amazing, as she is at a loss.