My Daughter Wants To Fly. Suggestions?

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I agree but with my teams dynamics I am the youngest, smallest (weight and height wise) and am the most flexible! Everybody else has their spots.

Good for you!

Sidenote: Be aware that coaches reserve the right to make changes at any time. Especially with the next year's group. Most flexible and smallest NOW doesn't always = smallest and most flexible next season.

 

[nicolee]

I agree but with my teams dynamics I am the youngest, smallest(weight and height wise) and am the most flexible! Everybody else has their spots.

Just remember that flying isn't all about size. It's about holding your weight, being tight, being strong. Being small and flexible is all well and good, but you can't rely on that; you have to work on the other things as well.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Thanks! I appreciate your caring. She is more than okay with this decision. Alarmingly so! I think I'm more upset because I wanted to see her on the mat one last time - even though she hasn't been emotionally on it all year. It was hers to make and she has many other activities that top her list. I worry about the girls who put all their being into one thing. Some of her friends had that happen when the 'restructuring' took place at team calls. I still talk with them and encourage them to find something to put their energy into. At least we had a few years to mentally move out of the cheer world. I can't imagine having your position pulled from underneath you (literally).

But seriously, I'm going to suggest my old school use your quarter analogy for their theme next year. All kids K-6 can grasp it and our creative teachers can come up with visuals to accompany it. Thanks for that! I'll make sure you get credit for the idea.

My coach once told our flyers to pretend that there was a dollar bill inside their each of their butts, and that they should squeeze so hard that quarters pop out.

 

[NatalieB97]

Just remember that flying isn't all about size. It's about holding your weight, being tight, being strong. Being small and flexible is all well and good, but you can't rely on that; you have to work on the other things as well.

so true! i was the largest flyer on my high school team but did the hardest stunts b/c i was able to hold my own weight. i think a lot of people (in general) think that if they're tiny they don't have to squeeze as much. i actually prefer basing girls who are slightly bigger if they hold their own weight! :)

 

[nicolee]

so true! i was the largest flyer on my high school team but did the hardest stunts b/c i was able to hold my own weight. i think a lot of people (in general) think that if they're tiny they don't have to squeeze as much. i actually prefer basing girls who are slightly bigger if they hold their own weight! :)

I was always a very tiny kid then I grew... Had a large and quite late growth spurt at the age of 17 but stayed a flyer because I was always taught to squeeze and hold my weight. It's so important!

 

[Keep_Believing]

So, my oldest CP (age 13) was a flyer for a long time. She hit a big growth spurt and was changed to a base. My youngest CP (will be 12 in Jan.) is still a flyer. They are both very flexible (both have needles/spikes) , very tight, know how to squeeze, and hold their weight, They are a year and a half a part. They are together on a Senior 4 team. My oldest CP is 4' 11 and over 100 pounds. My youngest CP is 4'6 and 65 pounds. Here is the issue (even though my oldest CP is very tight, can squeeze, and can hold her weight in the air) , there is no way my youngest CP can base her. At this point my youngest CP would not make a good base for the makeup of this team. Senior all star teams can vary from 10-18 year olds. In some situations, size is a factor and size does matter. I have talked with and prepared my youngest CP that if she hits a big growth spurt she could be changed to a base. I am not familiar with College teams. I could be wrong, but would think in College size might not be as important. Most College age girls have already gone through their growth spurts. So, the differences in size are not usually as significant.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

^^^^^Here's the thing with college cheer, by and large, MOST of the girls trying out for the top squads as flyers ARE TEENY TINY.

I was always the smallest girl on my school and all star teams at about 4'11 and 80.

I thought I was just the teeniest, tiniest, tightest most awesome flyer known to cheerkind.

THEN I STARTED GOING TO CLINICS AND TRYOUTS.

At 4'11, I legitimately would walk into clinics and feel like SHAQ compared to all the other girls. Seriously.

 

[Keep_Believing]

^^^^^Here's the thing with college cheer, by and large, MOST of the girls trying out for the top squads as flyers ARE TEENY TINY.

I was always the smallest girl on my school and all star teams at about 4'11 and 80.

I thought I was just the teeniest, tiniest, tightest most awesome flyer known to cheerkind.

THEN I STARTED GOING TO CLINICS AND TRYOUTS.

At 4'11, I legitimately would walk into clinics and feel like SHAQ compared to all the other girls. Seriously.

Curious, from your experiences, what was the average height you saw for college cheer flyers?

 

[Sparkle Mom]

My (barely) 8 year old is a flyer on a youth level 2 squad... She has 3 years of tumbling and this is her second year of competitive cheering. Last year, she was either a front spot or tumbled during stunts. She is fearless and because of that she has learned quickly. Age-wise, she should actually be on minis, but her skill level has her on a youth squad; so Because she would sleep at the gym if she could, my little gym rat volunteers to base for the mini squad after her own practice quite often. She is a powerhouse from years of tumbling... I've seen her lift older girls who are bigger than her with ease and grace and she is as proud of that ability as she is of flying. Maybe it's partly because she gets the oohs and ahhs, but I think its purely the love of it that she would be happy either way. I would be just as proud of her if she were a mini-base as I am that she is ready to move up to a level 3 youth less than a month after her 8th birthday. She mirrors my pride and takes pride In Herself.... From your post it sounds that you are disappointed that your daughter is not a flyer, so maybe your daughter feels that emotion and is mirroring it as well? Show her that you are proud of her no matter what, and encourage her to reach her highest potential and to be her very best regardless of what part she plays.


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I have noticed that it seems so many parents wish their child was a flyer. My daughter was small and one of the youngest when started so it seemed like the only option. She has never been comfortable learning new stunts and it has been a challenge since the first year to help her gain confidence as a flyer. She loves to tumble so whenever she has the choice that is certainly her first option. I find that it is really difficult to learn the stunts as she moves up (now level 3/4). I secretly hope one day she can base but she would not like to hear me say that! The stress of watching her fly makes me nervous lol!

 

[cheer25mom]

From my CP's point of view the answer to " I want to be a flyer, what do I do?" Is "learn to love basing". Seriously though, only 1/4 of the girls on any given team can fly. 3/4 are bases, period. If you are not flying now, the reality of the situation is that you probably need to accept the fact that you aren't a flyer and be the best back, side, or main you can be. Wannabe Flyer Syndrome is the single largest source of drama we have encountered in our 4 years of all star. It causes more tears, arguments, and safety issues when a child doesn't put 100% into balding because she wants to be in the air. If you aren't tiny, tight, and flexible odds are you aren't going to take a spot from and established flyer, so you need to play the hand you are dealt.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Curious, from your experiences, what was the average height you saw for college cheer flyers?

Totally depends. Large coed girls are teeny tiny. Small coed and all girl flyers can be taller and larger. I flew on a UCA small coed team at 5'5" and 110. I would have been big for the top small coed teams (basically Hofstra), but I probably could have flown on any of the teams in our division.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

Totally depends. Large coed girls are teeny tiny. Small coed and all girl flyers can be taller and larger. I flew on a UCA small coed team at 5'5" and 110. I would have been big for the top small coed teams (basically Hofstra), but I probably could have flown on any of the teams in our division.

Does flyer size differ between UCA and NCA? I feel like UCA flyers seem to be super tiny, but maybe it's because the guys are so big haha.


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[retiredl5cheer]

Does flyer size differ between UCA and NCA? I feel like UCA flyers seem to be super tiny, but maybe it's because the guys are so big haha.


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Not positive because I don't have experience with NCA, but I have strong theories. UCA large coed flyers are itty bitty across the board. For example, Ryan Martin (Dunbar) looked like a giant on the floor with Alabama and I bet you she isn't taller than 5'2". I think that UCA squads tend to favor really small flyers because the bar for stunting in large coed DIa is so high and the scoresheet is very focused on stunts and pyramids. If you want to compete with UK, Alabama, etc. you need to be able to execute the most difficult stunts, and it's just easier to stunt with itty bitty flyers.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

^^^^^Here's the thing with college cheer, by and large, MOST of the girls trying out for the top squads as flyers ARE TEENY TINY.

I was always the smallest girl on my school and all star teams at about 4'11 and 80.

I thought I was just the teeniest, tiniest, tightest most awesome flyer known to cheerkind.

THEN I STARTED GOING TO CLINICS AND TRYOUTS.

At 4'11, I legitimately would walk into clinics and feel like SHAQ compared to all the other girls. Seriously.

Wow. If this is true, my almost 12 year old, prepubescent CP can already kiss her college flying career goodbye ;). My CP is almost that "big" already and she still needs to fill out and finish growing.

I'm curious, did you still get to fly in college? Like did you end up on a squad that was able to base you in spite of your being 4'11"? Lol - I can't believe that a height under 5' would ever be considered tall for a grown woman, even in cheerleader/gymnast terms. Wow.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

^^^^^Yes. I cheered with an all girl program that ended up going small coed. I flew mostly but based on occasion.

I recently told another mom this, but generally speaking, when you're dealing with a large coed D1 program, ALL of the girls will be flying almost exclusively, so that plays into the size of girls they're taking.

However, in small coed or all girl programs, you're going to generally be doing more than just flying (even if you're just basing occasionally) so there is a little more height and size variety.

I also cannot stress enough the importance of going into college tryouts being well-rounded.

So you're a good flyer. Depending on where you try out, so is everyone else. You need to be beasting in tumbling or be someone who can base AND fly because honestly, the college pool is full of good flyers.