All-Star Senior Age And World’s Age Eligible Age

[DonnaM]

I'd break down

Tiny-3-6 (preschool/K)
Mini 5-9 (K-4)
Youth 7-12 (3-6)
Junior 10-15 (5-9)
Senior 13-19 (currently enrolled in high school) (8-12)
Open-16+ (High school graduate)

That means most athletes have two age groups they are qualified for (except for preschoolers) and gives some flexibility, and also accommodates different grade structures, since some areas have junior high vs middle vs intermediate. I'm splitting senior/open based on grade level more than age because of scheduling and maturity-a 17 yr old college student has a very different life than a 19 yr old high school student.

 

[Notintheknow]

Such as??

I don't want to spread rumors, so I will just watch and see what happens. But, last summer, a business owner who is very connected in the cheer world told a group of us parents at an event - to "buckle up," that the next couple of years were going to be a very bumpy tug-of-war between governing bodies and industry big players in terms of where the sport is going. Not necessarily the age grid - but things in general. Who knows?

 

[catlady]

Smaller flyer + older/larger bases = working smart.

You are taking the path of least resistance for sure but that matters a lot when you're trying to max out a scoresheet.

(This is coming from someone with a HS background. HS kids are close in age so you really do not get the size variability that you get in all star, save for those kids who are just tiny. The drawback to the lack of height variability is that there was point in time in which I would have KILLED to have some taller backspots.)

I have found the age debate depends on what people are wanting out of cheer. Retired kid's teams were generally made up of kids within their own age group (HS, MS, etc) between the years of 2010-2014 and they were able to stay competitive. However, as the competitive bar kept rising, they couldn't keep up with skills or stamina with the narrow age window. Keeping Sr. aged teams within HS age narrows the size selection pool and makes building workable stunt groups harder with the current competitive bar level. For that reason, I believe many coaches will opt for Open and Jr. teams as the Sr. age gap continues to narrow. I get frustrated with the debate about size and age of primarily flyers on Sr. teams, the concern should be if the age grid is conducive to building stunt groups that can flip, swing, catch and throw these kids safely.

 

[CLynn]

I get frustrated with the debate about size and age of primarily flyers on Sr. teams, the concern should be if the age grid is conducive to building stunt groups that can flip, swing, catch and throw these kids safely.

High school cheer has been doing this forever, I am sure if forced upon them all-star can figure it out.

I don't want to spread rumors, so I will just watch and see what happens. But, last summer, a business owner who is very connected in the cheer world told a group of us parents at an event - to "buckle up," that the next couple of years were going to be a very bumpy tug-of-war between governing bodies and industry big players in terms of where the sport is going. Not necessarily the age grid - but things in general.

Well I think Allstars United published the changes they would like to see and what they are lobbying for...just will be interesting to see where Varsity bends and if AU has a plan B if change doesn't happen...

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

High school cheer has been doing this forever, I am sure if forced upon them all-star can figure it out.

.

Except all stars is all about taking the easy way out. What you end up with is a group of kids with no fundamental skills whatsoever.

So the kid who’s based her whole life because she’s an average size or sightly smaller girl on a team full of 6th graders goes to tryout for college cheer. Now they want her to top because all the bases are average size and above. She’s left without a home.

It no fault of her own. It’s because she’s the victim of lazy coaching.

 

[Keep_Believing]

I get what you are saying but have seen many girls successfully transition from basing to flying in College.

 

[molls]

Except all stars is all about taking the easy way out. What you end up with is a group of kids with no fundamental skills whatsoever.

So the kid who’s based her whole life because she’s an average size or sightly smaller girl on a team full of 6th graders goes to tryout for college cheer. Now they want her to top because all the bases are average size and above. She’s left without a home.

It no fault of her own. It’s because she’s the victim of lazy coaching.

This was over a decade ago, but college cheer was a very rude awakening for me. I went from being the"tall girl" at 5'4" on a senior team, back spotting small 10-12 year olds, to having to learn to main base 18-22 year olds that weren't much smaller than me. Huge adjustment for me and I really struggled.

 

[AshleyErin]

I get what you are saying but have seen many girls successfully transition from basing to flying in College.

I agree! Not quite college, but when I was a senior 4 athlete we had one flyer suffer a season-ending injury and we put a base in the air that had been ground-bound her whole life. She turned out to be our best flyer that year.

Except all stars is all about taking the easy way out. What you end up with is a group of kids with no fundamental skills whatsoever.

So the kid who’s based her whole life because she’s an average size or sightly smaller girl on a team full of 6th graders goes to tryout for college cheer. Now they want her to top because all the bases are average size and above. She’s left without a home.

It no fault of her own. It’s because she’s the victim of lazy coaching.

Not all allstar coaches are lazy, not all short girls will be made to be flyers once they hit college. There's a TON of negative generalizations in that post. I personally coach at a gym that keeps strict age ranges in line with school ages; youngest flyer on any junior team is 11, youngest flyer on our senior team is 13 (maybe she's already 14? I know her birthday is soon)

 

[123jump4!]

I can see both sides of the flyer debate. Bases "should" be able to base bigger flyers. But it's harder.

I think they should raise the youth age to 12 and junior to 15. Then we can have slightly bigger bases so the flyers don't have to be fetuses to make it work. And keep the senior minimum at 11 or raise just to 12, not 13!

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I get what you are saying but have seen many girls successfully transition from basing to flying in College.

It can be done for sure. It takes a little bit of working on their own time (i.e. privates and clinics especially if switching from all girl to coed and coming in with no coed experience) but it's doable.

 

[Notintheknow]

My athlete will be cheer age 12 next year - she is a level 6 tumbler/flyer. Last year she was on a J6. Due to a massive aging out and a concerning lack of depth coming up in junior, she was placed on S5 this year, which has been fine. When senior age goes to 13 next year, her only option would be J4, which has been a very entry level team. The closest J5 or 6 is two states away which is not an option. She won't do cheer next year which is truly a shame given her bright future. I know our situation is a tiny minority- just making the point that nothing is perfect and there are many different perspectives in this discussion. Especially for gyms around town that have 40 kids total spanning levels 1-6.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

I agree! Not quite college, but when I was a senior 4 athlete we had one flyer suffer a season-ending injury and we put a base in the air that had been ground-bound her whole life. She turned out to be our best flyer that year.



Not all allstar coaches are lazy, not all short girls will be made to be flyers once they hit college. There's a TON of negative generalizations in that post. I personally coach at a gym that keeps strict age ranges in line with school ages; youngest flyer on any junior team is 11, youngest flyer on our senior team is 13 (maybe she's already 14? I know her birthday is soon)

Do you do real full ups or the all star variety? You know the one where the rules say “as long as the flyers hips spin 360 degrees, we don’t care how many laps her bases have to run to get her there.” That’s the kind of stuff that’s killing these young athletes. Why would a top need to know how to stay in a cylinder and be core tight when she can just stand there while her bases run circles around her? Why would a base need to know how to “chicken-wing” her elbow to initiate the turn and drive to get the flyer spinning when she can just lift and run?” The answer to “why” is “because they’re clueless about such things when they get to high school and college.”

 

[luv2cheer92]

Do you do real full ups or the all star variety? You know the one where the rules say “as long as the flyers hips spin 360 degrees, we don’t care how many laps her bases have to run to get her there.” That’s the kind of stuff that’s killing these young athletes. Why would a top need to know how to stay in a cylinder and be core tight when she can just stand there while her bases run circles around her? Why would a base need to know how to “chicken-wing” her elbow to initiate the turn and drive to get the flyer spinning when she can just lift and run?” The answer to “why” is “because they’re clueless about such things when they get to high school and college.”

The condescension is astonishing. Everything you post makes it sound like you don't watch a whole lot of all star and just make generalizations for the fun of it to make school cheer sound so much better. Even if you do actually watch it. Can't remember the last full up I saw in all star (and I watch a heck of a lot of videos) where the bases moved under the stunt. I've seen significantly more of that in high school cheer. Double ups, sure, the bases do move.

 

[cheermomforever]

Do you do real full ups or the all star variety? You know the one where the rules say “as long as the flyers hips spin 360 degrees, we don’t care how many laps her bases have to run to get her there.” That’s the kind of stuff that’s killing these young athletes. Why would a top need to know how to stay in a cylinder and be core tight when she can just stand there while her bases run circles around her? Why would a base need to know how to “chicken-wing” her elbow to initiate the turn and drive to get the flyer spinning when she can just lift and run?” The answer to “why” is “because they’re clueless about such things when they get to high school and college.”

Don’t think bases usually move in a full up in AS....

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Do you do real full ups or the all star variety? You know the one where the rules say “as long as the flyers hips spin 360 degrees, we don’t care how many laps her bases have to run to get her there.” That’s the kind of stuff that’s killing these young athletes. Why would a top need to know how to stay in a cylinder and be core tight when she can just stand there while her bases run circles around her? Why would a base need to know how to “chicken-wing” her elbow to initiate the turn and drive to get the flyer spinning when she can just lift and run?” The answer to “why” is “because they’re clueless about such things when they get to high school and college.”

I don't remember the last time I really saw a top all star team move in a full up. They're usually pretty stationary.

Double ups there tends to be more.