Why the venom being spewed at Y5?
We ARE talking about young children here. As the parent of a veteran on a Y5 team (and I can't believe I can say that) I cherish every moment Droplet has left in this division.
Have you ever been the parent of an 8 year old with a full? Maybe you have. Or maybe your child took a more average track. Lots of years in cheer have given me the wisdom to know that ALL paths are ok and wonderful in their own ways and an 8 year old with a full doesn't always a 12 year old on a worlds team make. Conversely, just because your child isn't an 8 year old with a full doesn't mean they can't be a 12 year old on a worlds team if that is what they want. There's something to be said about being with your people and my 11 year olds people are not the worlds kids who throw the same tumbling she does. She is a little girl!
Tumbling came easy for Droplet from the beginning. She worked ferociously to surpass the expectations they had for her at her Russian gymnastics gym that had a small cheer program. She had to perform 835 different versions of perfect back handspring before anyone ever said tuck. She threw her first full there a few years later with those same coaches.
I could go on and on. There's probably no bigger proponent of the Y5 division currently around running their mouth than myself. My now 11 year old is not a flyer. She baaaaaaarely squeaked in to be the shortest J5r base on our team after we lost a few. She just doesn't fit. But she has every restricted specialty to full, standing tumbling to full, etc etc. and has had them for some time.
Because of her size, Y5 is HER home. Youth Elite was the first ever team that ever gave her a true purpose. It's the first team she's ever been just the right size. I cannot express what this team and this division have done for her. It can suck to compete against yourself and it's not the same to take home the jacket when you don't beat anyone to get it. We still treasure every single one though. They are a reminder of how she got here. A reminder of why she stays. A symbol of the sacrifices that come with being an incredibly self driven child who in 6 years of cheer has never looked at me and said "mom, I don't want to go today." She's different than most and that's ok. But in my opinion it's these kids like Droplet that the division was made for and even though we will leave it behind after this year, it would break my heart to see it die.
She's surrounded by 7-11 year olds who tumble at her level. It's incredible. My child didnt have the maturity for this team back then but there are very young children on youth elite with incredibly old souls. It is a magical, once in a lifetime team for these kids and it makes me wish that when those new age grids had come out that they'd given her just one more year as a butterfly.
Not all of us compete under level stunts and tumbling with janky technique and many of these kids grow up to be the very best in the world. Let's not make such statements. If you're ever around when butterflies compete, mine would love to meet you.. skeptic or fan. Id be willing to bet it won't take
long to win you over.