All-Star Flyers

[Cheer0825]

Well all I know is that I as a base would take a heavier more mature or older flyer over a younger lighter flyer any day. To me the benefits of basing someone who is older with more experience out weighs the benefits of having someone who is lighter. It might mean that I can't just throw the stunts up anyway I want and still have it hit but to me its worth it.

 

[Keep_Believing]

@lifeoftheparty My oldest CP switched from a flyer to a base at about 12 years old. At first she was sad, but now she is a beast base. Her first year transitioning to a base she had a great Coach teach her how to base on a level 4 team. This is a good article : [BLOG] From Flyer to Base...A Letter to my younger self... - Star Athletics

My youngest CP has been flying since she was about 4 years old on show team. She is 13. To me (Yes, I am Mom so I can be biased) she is young, but also very mature, experienced, hard worker, and an extremely consistent flyer who shines under pressure. If I said she was the only young flyer with these qualities I would be lying.

*Have to add CP has always been blessed with amazing bases.

 

[MakeYourMark]

CP is 11yo and approximately 66 lbs. She has been a flyer all her career so far. I would suspect she will fly for a few more years. I know there will be a time where she will have to transition to a base. With the difficulty of stunts I am aware that they are easier to hit with smaller flyers. I'm definitely ok with the that but when you transition a flyer to a base on LVL 5 how successful has that been and how do you go about it. I worry that when she is told she needs to transition it will be incredibly difficult to base lvl 5 and never even basing lvl 1. Just curious how other gyms make that work.

I went from flying level 5 to basing level 5. At first the transition was hard- its a big switch. But I think having the flying experience has made me an even better base. I can understand what the flyer doing and what they need me to do more so than someone who has only based.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Lets remember that some of these girls flying on senior teams that look like babies might actually be 14/15. Not everyone is the same, not everyone develops and grows at the same rate.

Yep yep!

I was that kid! Only 5'0 now, at 31.

I was 4'9 in HS and constantly mistaken for a 5th grader.

 

[cheernerd5678]

Well all I know is that I as a base would take a heavier more mature or older flyer over a younger lighter flyer any day. To me the benefits of basing someone who is older with more experience out weighs the benefits of having someone who is lighter. It might mean that I can't just throw the stunts up anyway I want and still have it hit but to me its worth it.

But that's not the point of the discussion. A more experienced flyer who is bigger is better than an inexperienced flyer who is tiny, but WITH THE SAME FLYING SKILLS the lighter flyer is easier to base. Period. I don't understand why this is so confusing to people. Nobody is saying that people who can't hold their weight should replace bigger flyers who can just because they're small. If EVERYTHING else is equal then size comes into play and the smaller flyer is going to be preferable.


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[cheer25mom]

So it obviously affects you and the rhetorical question was not directed towards you then...

And I was the base who consistently was given the heaviest flyers season after season even if there were better options for the team. For years my flyers were taller than me. Darn my stocky build and strong legs. So, I stand on the same side you (and your daughter) do.

You said "If you are not a coach or a flyer, why do you care so much?" I was just explaining why someone not a coach or a flyer would have a vested interest in this.

 

[cheer25mom]

Well all I know is that I as a base would take a heavier more mature or older flyer over a younger lighter flyer any day. To me the benefits of basing someone who is older with more experience out weighs the benefits of having someone who is lighter. It might mean that I can't just throw the stunts up anyway I want and still have it hit but to me its worth it.

Why does the younger flyer necessarily have to be less skilled? I have seen it work the opposite way many times.

But that's not the point of the discussion. A more experienced flyer who is bigger is better than an inexperienced flyer who is tiny, but WITH THE SAME FLYING SKILLS the lighter flyer is easier to base. Period. I don't understand why this is so confusing to people. Nobody is saying that people who can't hold their weight should replace bigger flyers who can just because they're small. If EVERYTHING else is equal then size comes into play and the smaller flyer is going to be preferable.


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This, and the fact that a lighter flyer has an easier time achieving the skill and body control needed to be a good flyer. She is working against less weight and doesn't have to work as hard so she can achieve the same skill level with less work.

 

[BlueCat]

Less emotion-triggering, but still true facts: Physical strength is a big plus for bases & back spots. Height/reach is a big plus for back spots. Flexibility, vertical leap, and leg strength are helpful assets for jumpers.

One of the best things about cheer is that there is a spot for nearly any body type. As you get taller, bigger, & stronger, you become more naturally gifted for other positions in a stunt group. We love the athletes at pretty much every spot on the body-type spectrum.

 

[acecheermom]

Yep yep!

I was that kid! Only 5'0 now, at 31.

I was 4'9 in HS and constantly mistaken for a 5th grader.

This! This is my daughter. She is 14 years old. She's only 4ft 10in and about 75lbs. And we're pretty sure she's about tapped out on growth. SHe's flown level 5 for 3 seasons now. She is tiny and a very good flyer but not a young one. My older daughter, who doesn't cheer, is only 5 foot even. Sometimes girls are just small.

 

[cheer25mom]

This! This is my daughter. She is 14 years old. She's only 4ft 10in and about 75lbs. And we're pretty sure she's about tapped out on growth. SHe's flown level 5 for 3 seasons now. She is tiny and a very good flyer but not a young one. My older daughter, who doesn't cheer, is only 5 foot even. Sometimes girls are just small.

Right there with you. I have a 5'1" 130 lb 12 year old. According to her pediatrician, she is topped out on growth. Even at her height, people think she is older, because she has a more mature body type. She bases on a senior team right now, but is the next shortest after our flyers. There are older flyers even shorter than her who look way younger, so I can definitely see this.

 

[StephlCurry]

Right there with you. I have a 5'1" 130 lb 12 year old. According to her pediatrician, she is topped out on growth. She bases on a senior team right now, but is the next shortest after our flyers. There are older flyers even shorter than her who look way younger.

My daughter is 18 and is 5'2" and might hit 110 after a big meal. They are always amazed that she is a base. She is just freakishly strong and has ended up with flyers that are a lot bigger than her.

 

[cheerisloving]

Me and one of my best friends get mistaken as middle schoolers all the time. We are the oldest in our friend group. And I'm a base lol.

I think our sport is so worried about coming off as politically correct and not based in looks so the outside world respects us. There is the stereotype that all cheerleaders are tiny and thin, have to look a certain way. And the idea that the smaller you are, correlates to your spot buys into that. However like mentioned before, most team sports assign positions based on size. It's why my friends who were 6'2 freshman were forwards in basketball. It's why my bigger friends are centers in football. Cheer is no different and it makes sense, it's okay. It's why people ask me if I'm a flyer even though I base. Logically, the smaller person would be the one thrown in the air.

 

[gibsonbabyicon]

I'm really hating this "fetus flyer" term. My older CP was 10 last season on her Senior 2 team, she also based on Junior 3. Sometimes younger flyers are put on Senior teams because a gym lacks older flyers. That was the case with our gym. Also my cp was getting too short to continue basing(her basing counterpart on J3 was about 6 inches taller, but they were the only stunt group with out a drop all season). Her flying on S2 helped her learn to control her body positions but she worked dang hard for her spot. The only thing I really don't like about having younger girls on Senior teams is the maturity. Our younger girls got picked on a lot (our oldest flyer was 13) and it caused major issues on the team. High school girls rarely have anything in common with elementary school girls and that shows.

However, I would like to see the age limit raise for senior teams. Maybe have it at 12 or 13 across the board, not for skill reasons because there are plenty of younger flyers that can best some of these 18 year old flyers out there but because of maturity reasons.

 

[Cheer0825]

But that's not the point of the discussion. A more experienced flyer who is bigger is better than an inexperienced flyer who is tiny, but WITH THE SAME FLYING SKILLS the lighter flyer is easier to base. Period. I don't understand why this is so confusing to people. Nobody is saying that people who can't hold their weight should replace bigger flyers who can just because they're small. If EVERYTHING else is equal then size comes into play and the smaller flyer is going to be preferable.


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Not sure why your yelling
Secondly that's not what I was saying in my post... I was stating my personal opinion on the type of flyer I find to be better to base I wasnt trying to add to the debate of whether heaviness is a disadvantage. I'm sorry if my comment offended I was just trying to add a different perspective.
ETA: Also my post was more about age than size idk if that's still what's being discussed this thread is moving pretty fast. I might be off topic

 

[Cheer0825]

Why does the younger flyer necessarily have to be less skilled? I have seen it work the opposite way.

I didn't state that younger flyers were less skilled I stated that older flyers have more experience simply because older flyers have often been doing it longer. That doesn't mean that younger flyers can't be just as talented and I'm sorry if my post made it look like thats what I was trying to say.