Expert: Chris - 3/11/2011

Question
ok so i have done 8th grade cheerleading this year and it was way fun and im a flyer.im going to tryout for 9th grade cheer in april and for some reason a ton of girls want to tryout. for 9th grade they only have 2 main flyers and and i i know like 3 really tiny girls who want to tryout. im not really worried about making the team, im just worried about who will make it and who will be the flyers. i know u cant tell me who will make it but im just worried about this one girl. im not sure if she will make the team but she is an amazing tumbler. we are about the same size but im nervous that the cheer coach will make her a flyer and not me. and u might say " well, there are two spots. maybe u will both be the flyers" but thats not the case. there is this one girl who will for sure make the team who is 4'8 and she is ggarrenteed the other spot. but im debating who the other flyer will be. her cuz she could be good at it, or me who has flown for a year and weighs less (cuz she has a lot of muscle weight from gymnastics for 8 years) and i dont mean to brag but i was pretty good at it but i dont want to get vain. so if u were the coach. what would u do?

Answer
If I was the coach my decision would be based on a few things. One, it depends on the bases/backs that make the team. If the other girl is smaller than you and the bases aren't very good, the coach may not have a choice but to put up the other girl. However, it's rare that a team has so few good bases. Also, both of you should be able to fly regardless of your size (assuming of course you're both relatively small which it sounds like you are). Therefore, flexibility may be a key factor. Have you ever pulled a scorpion, arabesque, scale, heel stretch, or bow and arrow? If you have these things it will give you a much better chance at flying. Also, it's possible that at a certain time there will be a third flier, or the coach could take 3 fliers and have the one girl tumble while you and another flier are in the air. Of course, I don't know how many girls make the team etc. so this is all guesswork. If you want to work on your flexibility and don't know how to pull those stunts let me know and I'll give you some tips on stretching.

I just went through this exact same thing last weekend at cheerleading. They wanted to change a stunt and it was between me and another girl who's much smaller than me. We could both do the stunt, but the bases said it was easier to put up the other girl (she's about 30 lbs lighter than me). And I've been flying for 11 years so I can definitely understand your concern and how you'll feel if you don't get to be a main flier. It's stressful, I know. If you do make the team and you have to become a base, then I suggest really trying your best. Because I'm 19 now and I weigh 115 lbs. I'm pretty small, I should still be able to fly, but this other girl is 17 and 90 lbs. If I had any basing experience I might be able to do something else besides front spot now. If you do make the team and so do two other fliers, then talk to the coach and tell her exactly what you told me. Tell her you want a chance to fly and explain that you've done it before etc.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.