Friday, June 13, 2008

Youth Cheerleading Fundamentals

When coaching youth cheerleading it is important to start with the basics first. Before teaching any cheers, chants, or stunts the girls should learn the fundamentals. I have a simple drill to use and I use it every practice. I set the girls up in 2 straight lines.

front (shortest to tallest)

x_______x
x_______x
x_______x
x_______x
x_______x
x_______x

O.K. now I simply call out high V. All girls go in a high V they should all be even and big donuts showing(when you make a fist your index finger and thumb make a big donut and your pinkie makes a little donut- makes it easy for the girls to remember). Everyone stays in position until everyone has it right. Then I let them shake it out, in the beginning it takes awhile for everyone to be together and in the right position so their arms do get tired but strong. While the girls are in position I will go down the middle and push on their arm to see if they are strong and stiff not loose. Once every girl has the high V down I move on to low V, T, Right L, Left L, Touch Down, and so on. As they get better I mix it up and move faster and faster. For more discussion on coaching youth cheerleading or any questions come join our Coaching Youth Sports Forum

We Coach Youth Sports

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a great idea I will use on my 10- 13 year old cheer dance team next year. They were a bit lazy with their motions this year. I hope your suggestions work and the season will be better next year. Our competition is judged by the opposing cheer coaches for hospitality,conduct,complexity,togetherness of motions, and of course -spirit! We are also an all inclusive team with no tryouts. this brings different levels of experience in coaches and cheerleaders but is always fun.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the idea I'm new to this and kind of got put in the coaching position because no one else wanted it I have never been a cheerleader I was a gymnast and this is all new to me I'm trying to learn anny thing I can I have spent a lot of time watching vidos on line to help but this is great to help me out. Thank you

Willis Yehl said...

This sounds like a great idea to keep the kids in line and focused because you can keep their attention. I was a cheerleading coach for a local gym in Austin, TX and I noticed the difficulty in keeping the kids motivated and focused, but I could definitely see this working!

I am currently working on a cheerleading product of my own to help get girls excited about cheerleading and also help with the safety of stunts. I would appreciate any feedback on it!

You can see a video of it at http://www.cheerleadingstuntstand.com

Thanks again and keep up with the great ideas!

Amanda Lambert said...

I play Simon Says with the motions. I have coached 6 yr olds and Varsity and all levels love it! There is always a prize too :) Sometimes a sucker, sometimes a cheer bear. They never know what I have brought :) I use a lot of the extra gifts from previous years. It's a great way to get rid of the extra stuff and to have a fun way to review motions. :)

Anonymous said...

This is a great idea - but the donuts are the incorrect way to do it. It should be a tight "cinnamon roll" no open holes.