Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Emily's Story

     17 year old senior Emily L has been cheering since she could remember.  After spending her elementary and middle school years on the town competition team, she had a tough choice to make.  She could cheer at a team that had all of her friends but didn’t have a level 5 team, the level she belonged on.   She knew that in order to give herself the best opportunities, she would have to cheer at Star Athletics, where she knew no one.
     Three years on a level 5 team did wonders for Emily.  Her confidence soared as she did, learning new skills almost every day.  She was the coach’s favorite, always the example, a role model.  However, Emily soon faced a problem that hundreds of flyers face every year: she was too old. 
     On her fourth and final year at Star, Emily’s experience drastically changed.  Because she was a senior and it was her last year, she began to be overlooked.  Instead of being placed with the experienced bases, she was flying over inexperienced girls in order to teach them.  10 year olds were replacing her in stunts simply because they had seven more years in the program.  It wasn’t about talent, it was about grooming. 
Age wasn’t the only problem.  At 5’2 and 105 pounds, Emily was “too big”.  They wanted 80 pound flyers, and Emily couldn’t make the cut. 
     After a meeting with her parents, Emily was told not to come to practice the next day.  She spent over 13 hours a week at the gym, it was her life.  Suddenly, it was all gone. 
      I think that this is simply ridiculous.  Athletes should be commended for their success.  The pressure Emily was under along with unfair circumstances cost her.  She lost the rest of her season, friends, and most importantly, confidence.  This isn’t just a problem at Star.  It’s happening all over.  The cheer world needs to open their eyes and put into place stricter age requirements to prevent things like this from happening to girls like Emily.

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