Nor Cal all star wrote:

---

The fact is that when you become sucessful people will automatically find a reason to critisize you. Its just human nature.

Amen.

---

This is a good quote, but a little one sided. I find people criticize you no matter if your successful or not.

i think wrote:

---

I think he means that the more successful you become, more critism will be thrown at you

---

I think in a general sense that it depends on how you acheive your success. If you are gracious to your competitors, use ethical business practices to build your program, etc, you will likely run into a lot less criticism. There are plenty of teams that are successful that have good reputations (CheerForce, Power, and Cheergyms all come to mind, and no, I'm not affiliated with any of them). And then there are plenty that are relatively successful that have reputations that I know *I* wouldn't be proud of. Being successful while "playing fair" will only win you respect in the long run.

Even though I've been guilty of saying that Kiara made the team at Cheerforce, even she can't get them 3rd place by herself at Worlds. That was definitely a team effort. I've been watching her for years and I remember being distinctly unimpresssed with the routines she used to be in, except for her tumbling passes.

But, no matter how good she is, I still think she and any other kid her age belongs on a junior team. Junior and Senior don't speak to skills, they speak to age only. I read in another post from the Cheerforce coach a while ago, that the majority of the kids on that team were junior age kids, so why not have them compete in the jr division. Cheer Athletic Jags won at Worlds, so you can't say there is a lack of talent or competition in the junior levels.

I know one argument that I've heard is that the little ones shouldn't have to wait if they have the skills today. Why shouldn't they wait? Why do we feel like we have to give everything to kids today, 2 minutes before they ask for it? If they truly have their hearts set on going to Worlds, is there any reason why they can't wait until they are 12 or 13?

Also, for the people that are in favor of allowing younger kids on senior teams, do any of them have any bottom age limit? Is there a point where even you would say, "wow, that kid is way too young for this team"? For example, would it be acceptable to have a 4 or 5 year old on the team if they had the skill? I know my son had a full in kindergarten (gymnast, not cheerleader) and I don't know exactly how old Kiara is, but she's been throwing fulls for several years now, so she probably had one back in kindergarten or 1st grade herself. Is there such thing as too young?

Well I believe in allowing the coaches to do what they need to inorder to build a successful team. Cheerleading especially All Star cheer is expensive and I certainly would not want to pay for child to be on a Jr. team if she has all of the skills needed to be on the Sr. team, especially since there may not be enough jr. aged kids to put together for an advanced jr. team. As a parent one must realize they will be exposed to different conversations and actions alike on the "older teams" and if you and yours can deal with that so be it. There are many talented hard working jr. aged kids who have worked so very hard for the skills they have and no one should take anything from them, Let them be on a team of seniors, what is the big deal???? I know if my child had to be placed on a low end jr. team and she had as much talent as some she would be bored out of her mind.

If you are referring specifically about Cheer Force, according to their website, they are having a large junior level 5 and a small coed level 5. That means there is an advanced team for both the younger and older kids. Like I said in my earlier post, junior and senior refer to age only, not skill level. You will basically see the same skills thrown in the junior level as you do the senior level nowadays. Just because it is a junior team, doesn't mean it has to be "low end" as someone else called it in another post.

And I don't believe, just because a couple kids are left behind, means the whole system should be rigged to accomodate them. If they want to cheer, they will find a way to make it work either within that gym or at another. I mean, really using that logic, with a limit of 35 kids on the mat, what happens to those other kids when you have maybe 38 or so who fit the bill skill wise. Should USASF or whatever company, change the #'s across, the boards so those last couple of kids can compete to? What if you have 10 extra kids? Not enough to make a decent team, should you be allowed to have 45 on the floor to accomodate those last few? Again, is their a limit?

In any case, these are just my opinions. I have no decision making power in this process, so it doesn't really matter what I think. I'm just stating my opinion just like everyone else here.

Sometimes kids get left behind, be it a hs cheerleading tryout, a club soccer team or a college basketball team. That's the nature of competitive sports. Those kids that truly want to participate will make it happen, one way or another.

When Kiara and the younger girls from Diamonds dominate the junior division a whole new set of people will be complaining that they are too good and should'nt be in the junior division. These girls have the skills and work very hard just like the 18 yr old kids on the team- Why not just enjoy what they can do at their age instead of complaining that they are too young to be in the Sr. division- Nobody knows what the future holds for these young girls and you should never take things for granted like Worlds is a easy thing to get to. Enjoy the ride while it lasts-Good Luck-