Too young???

[cheermom5678]

Which brings me to the question... should we create minimum ages for each division? I would propose:

Tiny- 3-6
Mini- 6-9
Youth- 8-11
Junior- 10-14
Senior- 14-19

Then leave an open senior divison on all levels that drops the minimum age requirement, and keep the international divisions but make them 16+

Seems like a lot of crossing between divisions now that I see it, but it made sense in my head lol

I like your age split. I love the age split for senior. You would have to be 14 to be on a senior team. That would mean you would have to be in High School. This is so appropriate. It keeps the older kids together and allows everyone the freedom to say and act naturally without worrying about what the younger kids might hear or see, from both fellow athletes and coaches. Also practice can run a little late before competitions without complaints about kids needing to go home to sleep, etc.

I also think this would help the jr. teams, keeping the strong younger girls on the junior team rather than rushing them up to be on a senior team.

 

[newcheerdad]

I'm pretty new to the cheer world - as you can tell by my handle :) - but I've been involved in youth soccer as a coach and official for many years. I've been reading a lot about this topic on this board and wanted to share my insight, since playing on teams above one's age level ("playing up") has always been a topic of much debate in programs I've been involved in.

Now I've seen kids thrive when asked to play on a team with older kids. Generally these are kids have a few key traits:

1. They're able to excel at the higher level, rather than just be a contributor. Kids tend to develop faster when they're leaders on a team rather than just role players. Our rule of thumb was that if the player was just "good enough to make the team", then they were better off staying at their age level.

2. Physically mature. Practices and games are longer, and tend to be more physical. Just because some has the skill set to compete with older kids, it doesn't mean their bodies are ready to take that kind of pounding.

3. Emotional and social maturity. There are many reasons why even a talented, athletic kid might not be ready to play up. As you move up the ladder, games and practices become more intense. Coaches expect more from their players, especially on competitive traveling teams. Younger kids might not be ready to handle that. As well, kids who play up tend to struggle to fit in socially with older teammates.

There are always going to be prodigies that need to be on elite teams at a young age because their skills demand it. You don't want to keep someone on a team far below their skill level to the point that they're bored. But of all the kids that I've seen play up over the years, I'd say that about 70-80 percent of them had no business doing so, and in many cases it hindered their development and in some cases ushered them out of the sport. That didn't mean that they weren't talented players with a lot of potential, it just meant that they weren't ready to be on the team they were on.

And keep in mind, we're often talking about having kids play up maybe one or two age levels - for example, a 9-year-old playing U12 instead of U10. I wonder how these 12-year-olds that end up on these senior level 5 teams fare, when they're a preteen facing the pressure of big competitions on teams with girls four, five or six years older than them. I'd be curious to hear stories from cheerleaders or coaches that went through that, how it worked out, and what lessons were learned.

 

[onetrupairing]

I think it depends on the skill level of the kid. If they can punch front through to layout, but the only level 4 team at the gym is senior, then they deserve to be on a team that competes at the skill level that the child is.

 

[XoxLibertyallstarsxox]

At my gym we have like three eleven year olds on the senior team bc they can tumble well so I think they should be allowed to if they have the skills otherwise no

 

[cheermommaRN]

@newcheerdad...I didn't want to quote the whole post but your right on track! My youngest (7) had the opportunity to play up this fall with an academy team and it almost destroyed her love of soccer. Technically she should have been on a '04 but was training with a '02 team (not playing tourneys). Not only was it harder for her physically but socially she was having problems making friends. She begged to go back to rec. She'll probably dominate the kids in her age group but if we didn't take her back she would have quit all together. Cheer is the same thing, you can put these pocket size 8 year olds on a senior team but they're missing one of the biggest advantages of playing a team sport...making friends!
This weekend at ACA there was senior team with these 2 little ones (looked like they were 5) I don't think they even did the jump sequence, but the senior girls were able to launch them into the rafters of the convention center! I was so afraid they would miss one and that would have been the same as falling 2 stories to the ground!

 

[Cheerboy2015]

It just depends on the person and the mindset of the kid

 

[CharlieCheers]

the leagl age is 12. If you are not 12, you shouldnt be on a senior team in my opinon. i think its not fair to the teams with actual aged senior flyers, obviously there gonna be bigger. My stunts would always hit to if my flyer was 9.

 

[TheVipersMom]

I don't see nothing wrong with it if the kid has the skills to be on the team in all aspects not just flying!

I also understand the need to be on an age appropriate team; so friends can be made. I feel though your friends can only do so much before you are bored with something you have progressed much more on!

That's why I don't see a problem with crossovers, though this doesn't relate to a senior team this is my example of my CP. My daughter having just turned 6 is a level 2 athlete so she is on our mini team which is age appropriate but its only a level 1; that way she can bond and make memories. She is also crossover to youth 2 so although she is youngest (they do treat her like team pet) I know she got something that pushes and betters her. I seen so much improvement in her just in 3 practices on youth since the season just started & I know it's because she is surrounded skill wise with girls who are just like her!

As much as I want to see her make friends; this is also a sport she wants to do to get better at! If she doesn't want to do it for anything but friends she can do rec cheer!

Now if my child was a level 4 athlete and we had a youth 4 then great their is no need for her on sr 4. If they are just bumping athletes to fly to make sr 4 hit then absolutely not when their is a better age appropriate and skill appropriate team

So there are times when it would be a problem, but it depends on the athlete and the teams your gym has available!

 

[giveitup]

9th grade. There is so much of a defference between what the girls talk about. The maturity level isn't there for the younger girls younger. Middle school and High school are two different worlds and need to stay seperate.

 

[INeverStopCheering]

This is not the first time I've said this (and I'm sure it won't be the last) but young kids DO NOT belong on senior teams. I think twelve is too young, I would say thirteen at least. Most seniors have no censor on what they talk about. When 11 or 12 (or 9 or 10) year olds are in stunt groups with 17 and 18 year olds they hear everything from bad words to boyfriends to parties, just stuff they should not be exposed to. In turn, they start to try to act more mature (make up to school, straightening hair, more mature clothes) to be like the older girls. This isn't always a bad thing, but kids should be kids. Case and point, we have an 11 year old flier in my stunt group on 4.2. One night at practice one of the bases was talking about something very inappropriate she had done with her boyfriend. It was obvious my flier felt very left out and uncomfortable because she didn't understand what they were talking about. 12 is just too young. The age should be raised for ALL senior teams to 13 or 14.