06/20/2026
Good morning! Happy Saturday!!! The 2026-2027 season is now approaching! Behind the scenes a ton of work is being done sorting through age groups, skill sets, and registration paperwork. We have a record breaking 203 athletes registered at this time! Can you imagine???? Two HUNDRED and THREE!
I wanted to give a crash course on team roster building. You all know we are NOT Top Gun, we don’t have an office staff of 150 coaches so it’s a HUGE task taking this on…… we are soooo close!
So, what’s next??? Teams are being built with so much thought! In fact, sometimes TOO much thought. We are projecting teams at all age levels:
Tiny Novice/Exhibition
Tiny Elite level 1
Mini Elite level 1
10u/Peewee level 1
Youth level 1
Youth level 2
Possibly Junior 2 and or 2.1
Possibly Senior 2 and or 2.1
Senior 3.2
Senior 3
Senior 4/5! (We currently have the most level 5 tumble in TCA history)
And introducing for the first time thanks to Cheer and Dance Extreme: Non-Tumble!
We take the age and tumble skills into consideration before we do anything else. We then build imaginary stunt groups all of which must be Within the needs of the age group but most importantly the tumble rubric numbers. For example: if a team has 7 Elite tumblers (not working on this tumble pass, they HAVE the skills with excellent technique) that now allows for atleast 3 stunt groups possibly 4. Each group = 1 backspot 1 flyer 1 main base and 1 side base Total = 4 athletes. 4x3 =12
We take the number 12 and subtract the 7 tumblers allowing us 5 open roster spots. Of those 5, which ones need to be bases vs Back spots vs Flyer…. Some teams with 7 tumblers that can do both standing and running (no need to take up 8 counts to recycle passes) so we would then have room on the rubric to build a 4rth stunt group. 16 athletes within the Building section are needed - 7 tumblers = 9 roster spots open The rubric then tells us how many stunt groups are needed to max out on the score sheet. Again? All things are built around the number of athletes executing the ELITE tumble skills: 7 tumblers drops you into the 12-17 category for roster spots and the building number would coincide with 16-19 roster spots mandating atleast 3 stunts to max out.
So long story short: Example
Roster: CrazyKittens 10u level 1
They have according to their AGE (YEAR OF BIRTH)
They have 6 elite tumblers: all can do BWO series switch legs Fwo through to cartwheel etc….
Roster spots 1-6 are filled.
The rubric allows for 11 athletes total when 6 are tumbling. 11-6=5
5 open roster spots.
2 are backspots 2 are bases and 1 is for a flyer.
We head on over to our 10 and under age group pile and choose who would fit those athletic descriptions best and wham….. the CrazyKittens are born!
Now when it comes to the higher levels. This means a certain level of experience is needed! Not only are we looking at your tumble skills, your performance abilities and building experience ….we are now paying attention to your historical commitment. Did they miss a lot of practice? Were they late? How were they on competition days? On time? Had to be tracked down? Do they buckle under the pressure and bail on skills in the routine? Or did they STEP UP for their team last year. Did they fill in for a team simply because she MIGHT be able to perform with them once, only never actually taking the mat with said team BUT knew every count and was ready to jump in at any moment? It’s a much more than skills. Did the parents and guardians get along? Do you owe our gym MONEY? Cheer is not free!!!! Life is not free. This sport is a privilege therefore it can be taken away. My coaching staff expects a higher level of commitment from our advanced athletes inside of the gym and outside of the gym!!!!
Lastly, we appreciate everyone’s patience during this incredibly difficult yet insanely exciting process! As you can see it’s arduous and time consuming. We will be setting a reveal date and prepping you all for team announcements this weekend. In the meantime, get your kids in front of our instructors! Stretch class, tumble classes, private tumble lessons etc…. You never know when myself, or any of the coaches will be popping in to check on your progress hoping to possibly pull you to a higher level. We take pride in giving the best opportunities to those who work for it!!!
So much love, Coach Jodi, Coach Joyce, and Thea xoxoxo
Edited to add: CrazyKittens would nevaaaaaa be a TCA team name 😩😂
