You Look Like a Fool with Your Stunts on the Ground
Jan 26th
I’ve had the opportunity over the last 25 years to see a lot of cheerleading. One trend that stands out perhaps more than any other is the continued demonstration of poor technique in stunts, pyramids and gymnastics in order to try to hit skills that are more difficult.
As I watch safety videos and attend competitions, I am seeing more and more teams performing skills they have no business performing in the hopes that if they hit they’ll score higher.
Let’s put aside the obvious safety concerns for a moment because, well, they should be obvious.
To borrow a recent line made famous on American Idol, you look like a fool with your stunts on the ground.
Shaky stunts and frightened faces have no place in what cheerleading should be projecting. After all, cheerleading teams were originally created to promote athletic excellence and confidence! It stands to reason that in order to promote such characteristics, the cheerleading team should embody them.
So what is causing this trend? After all, cheerleading rules over the years have severely limited the height of skills that can be performed, where they can be performed and even how advanced those skills are. Theoretically, there should be a limit to what can even be attempted, right?
Of course, we know that while there are limits on pyramid height, gymnastics skills, dismounts and even equipment, there are also cheerleaders, coaches and choreographers out there every day creating new and innovative ways to get into, between and out of stunts and pyramids.
Even with the creativity and transition innovation, I contend that the problem is not with people “pushing the envelope”; it is with the coaches, judges and competition providers that do not penalize poor execution.
I believe it starts with competition and it starts with the coach. The drive to be better than the other team should be changed to a drive to be the best “your team” that your team can be. Instead of hoping that the third stunt group hits their heel stretch double full this one time, change the choreography so that this group is in the center, goes 2 or 4 counts earlier and singles cleanly while the other two groups double. Don’t allow your cheerleaders to perform tumbling that just “gets over” with their elbows bent and their legs apart or they will never strive to perfect their skills. Work on perfect synchronization and perfect body positioning instead of driving the team to do a skill one level harder.
The result will be a more solid routine that shows better execution. While you may miss out on two or three difficulty points, you can more than make that up in other areas. There will be fewer bobbles that affect your overall presentation. There will be better synch which will increase your scores in other categories. There will be less of a chance of having a deduction for a fall or bobble. In essence, you are trading a good chance at a 4th place for the high risk/reward of either placing first or second if the stars align or dropping down to 12th if you fall.
The other result will be that going forward, you’ll get better faster. Why? Fewer falls and better execution means more repetitions and fewer injuries – and that means faster progression to the skills you want to be performing.
Competition organizers have done a much better job recently of separating out difficulty and execution on score sheets. Some have even weighed execution higher than difficulty. Still, more can be done to make it clear that sloppy routines are not welcome.
Of course, the awarding of difficulty and execution points ultimately comes down to the judges and here is where the rubber meets the road. Judges must commit to the score sheet that they have been given and remove their own “feelings” about a routine. Yes, that all-girl team just hit five truly single-based Stretch Doubles, but in doing so, three of the doubles ended up landing on their stomachs or their sides in a “one and three quarter”. So, do you give them very high difficulty points and take off just a little on execution since they completed 7/8 of the skill? Or do you not count those dismounts at all since they weren’t completed? I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle, but I do suggest that their score should be lower than if they had completed well-executed single fulls.
And now back to safety. I believe with all my heart that the majority of cheerleading injuries occur when cheerleaders are attempting skills they aren’t prepared to attempt. This is different than most other sports. In football, injuries occur by the very nature of the activity – two human beings going at full force with the goal of running over the other. In soccer or basketball, injury results from “unintended” contact with another player or team member that ends up putting someone in a precarious fall. It can also result from the incredible forces placed on joints when making direction changes at high speeds. Improper technique can certainly play a factor, but most sports injuries are from playing the game itself; they aren’t the result of trying a play that was too difficult.
The good news is this: with proper training and emphasis on progression, we should be able to reduce the injury rate in cheerleading.
For the most part, every skill attempted should build incrementally on a previous skill that has been mastered. We often like to use the term “perfection before progression” but of course nothing is actually “perfect”. Consider the Olympian that has trained nearly all of her life and specifically on this one routine for the last several years and still ends up with less than a “10″. When we use terms like “mastery” or “perfection” what we mean is that this skill can be done over and over with very little chance of a fall or error. We mean that the skill can be repeated with confidence and with excellent execution. We don’t mean that it’s been performed once or twice or that they manage to hit it “most of the time”.
This doesn’t mean there won’t be falls and missteps as the new skills are learned, but with the fundamental skill having been mastered, the performer is given a better opportunity to correct flaws before they result in uncontrolled falls. With the repetition of lead-up skills, bases can developed the fine-motor skills of balancing and reacting to their top person, with less chance of overcorrecting.
Every fall that is avoided is one less opportunity for a catastrophic, live-changing result or even the inconvenience of a minor injury. When the tide shifts towards skills being performed dangerously, rules committees have no choice but to outright ban certain skills for schools or move them to a higher skill level for all-stars.
The drive to be the best, or better than you are, or just better than the team on the other side of town is strong. It is one of the things that have made cheerleading the exciting and entertaining activity, sport or show that it is today. It is what attracts unbelievable athletes to want to participate and want to continue cheering. But it must be tempered with an understanding of the difference between “what we are working on” and “what we are going to demonstrate in public”.
Practice skills in the proper progression and demand that they are properly executed before allowing progression to the next skill. Then practice that new skill until it has been mastered before putting it in a routine, or a halftime performance or a time-out cheer that ends up bobbling or falling. That would be foolish.
Cheerleading Safety Leaders Merge
Jan 12th
(available directly from PRNewswire)
The AACCA and NCSSE have merged, forming a partnership dedicated to safety awareness and coaches’ education for every level of cheerleading
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ — The leading organizations for cheerleading safety education and training have merged. The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) and the National Council for Spirit Safety Education (NCSSE) are pleased to announce the merger effective Jan. 12.
There are more than 70,000 cheerleading coaches across the United States working with youth, junior high, high school, all star and college cheerleaders. The shared mission of these two nonprofits is to provide educational resources and training opportunities to these coaches, as well as school administrators, coaches and the cheerleaders themselves.
AACCA, founded in 1988, has had successful safety partnerships with the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations and is widely recognized as a safety education and rule making body. AACCA has developed safety rules for all levels of cheerleading, developed the AACCA Safety Certification Course and has recently made the course available online.
“We’ve made great strides in addressing safety issues, and this merger puts us in a better position to continue addressing those concerns,” says Jim Lord, Executive Director of AACCA. “It’s very exciting to think of the effect we can have on safety by combining our expertise and resources. Together, we will be able to continue development of safety initiatives and educational programs that will directly benefit cheerleaders and their parents, coaches and administrators at every level, from youth to college, school to all star.”
The NCSSE has successfully developed a comprehensive coaches’ educational series incorporating teaching principles, strategies and techniques. Internationally, the NCSSE has established a strong foothold in the United Kingdom and has developed partnerships with established organizations in nine other countries.
Debbie Bracewell, Executive Director of NCSSE, is enthusiastic about the potential impact of the merger, both domestically and abroad. “This move strengthens and enhances our mission of providing comprehensive safety training and certification programs for the continued development of cheer and dance team coaches. We can better serve the cheerleading community here in the United States as well as globally, where cheerleading is growing steadily.”
About AACCA
The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators represents more than 20,000 cheerleading coaches and is recognized as the leading advocate of cheerleading safety in the U.S. AACCA is the most recognized source for cheerleading safety education. The AACCA manual, composed by a team of doctors, lawyers, cheerleading industry professionals and Gerald S. George, PhD, has been endorsed by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the University Risk Management and Insurance Association, the Women’s Sports Foundation and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, as well as the NCAA and NFHS. For more information about AACCA, contact Sheila Noone at 901-251-5959.
About NCSSE
The National Council for Spirit Safety and Education is an association of companies serving the cheerleading community who share a primary mission: to provide comprehensive safety training and certification programs for the educational development of spirit coaches and advisors through an international council of unified industry leaders. For more information about NCSSE, contact Debbie Bracewell at 866-456-2773.
SOURCE The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators
College Basketball Season Safety
Dec 10th
Now that basketball season is in full swing it is time for a reminder about the specific restrictions for basketball court surfaces. These additional restrictions are intended to reduce the risk of a catastrophic injury to a cheerleader. Coaches must be familiar with and follow the current cheerleading safety rules at www.aacca.org.
The combination of the specific surface and the fact that cheering for basketball often involves performing on the actual field of play requires that additional skill restrictions are followed.
The exact wording of the basketball court rules for college teams are as follows:
Specific Basketball/Indoor Court Rules
- On a basketball court surface, the following skills are prohibited except during halftime or postgame performances where the area is free of obstructions and non-cheer personnel, and all skills are performed on a matted surface. Pregame and timeouts are not exceptions to this rule and are subject to the listed restrictions.
- Basket tosses, elevator/sponge tosses and other similar multi-based tosses.
- Partner stunts in which the base uses only one arm to support the top person. Exception: Cupies/awesomes are allowed with an additional spotter.
- Flips or released twists into or from partner stunts. Exception: Front and back flips to a stunt or cradle are allowed if the top person is braced on both sides by hand/arm to hand/arm contact.
- Two and one half person high pyramids.
- Inversions in partner stunts and pyramids. Exception: Inversions that begin on the ground and go to an upright position where the top person is in constant contact with a base or spotter are allowed.
- Twisting tumbling skills.
(Note: High School Basketball Court Rules can be found here)
If you question whether one of your intended skills is included in these restrictions, do not hesitate to contact the AACCA office for a ruling.
What if I see a violation?
As part of the College Cheerleading Safety Initiative (CCSI), there is a process for the AACCA to address rules violations. This process is in place to help with rule compliance, but could eventually result in the removal of safety certification of the coach. In effect, this could remove the catastrophic insurance coverage for the team. The process is laid out in detail on the CCSI site (http://www.aacca.org/ccsi).
Again, the intent is compliance, not punishment. We want teams to be following the rules. However, in order to help enforce the restrictions that are in place, we have to rely on coaches self-policing each other. If you witness a team violating the AACCA rules, please let us know via our “Violation Report Form” found on our CCSI page at (http://www.aacca.org/ccsi/decertification.asp). No information regarding who turned a team in is released, and reports can be turned in anonymously*.
But I don’t want to get someone in trouble
The most important issue is the safety of those participating in cheerleading. The rules are written to minimize the chance of having a life-changing injury to a cheerleader. That alone should be the reason for contacting AACCA in a matter like this. The “decertification” policy includes incremental steps that begin with making sure there is an actual violation vs. a misinterpretation of the rule. In the event of an actual violation, the supervising coach would get their first of three possible strikes before losing their certification. Correspondence regarding a strike is kept between the AACCA, the coach and the institution.
Can anyone submit a violation report?
Absolutely. For example, if a cheerleader knows that the skill they are doing is prohibited, they can send a report in anonymously*. As coaches and cheerleaders, it is imperative for the safety of the cheerleaders in our care that everyone is following the rules.
* While every report is investigated, keep in mind that the more evidence (photos, video, or witnesses) available, the better the opportunity to get the issue resolved. If we need additional information, it will be impossible to follow up on an anonymous report. An anonymous report stating that “State College was doing something illegal at a game” doesn’t allow us the opportunity to be effective in keeping State College in compliance.
AACCA adds Tegan Reeves to Staff
Nov 12th
The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators announces the addition of Tegan Reeves to their staff. Ms. Reeves will serve in the position of Assistant Executive Director.
“We are very excited to have Tegan on board here at AACCA” says Jim Lord, Executive Director. “Her experience at all levels of cheerleading and coaching, and especially with the US All Star Federation will be a great benefit to us as an association and to the entire cheerleading community.”
Tegan has focused on education and athletic growth from college through her career. Her extensive instructional and coaching experience is complimented by her degree from Iowa State University on Health and Human performance. She has been a speaker at numerous coaches conferences and worked with continued education for leadership for over 10 years, and is previously served as Director of Education at the USASF.
Tegan’s primary responsibilities will be to help develop and expand AACCA’s coaches’ education projects and ongoing safety initiatives.
There’s Nothing "Routine" About Safety
Oct 23rd
It’s that time of the year when some teams are preparing their routines for homecoming or competition, or even just filming skills videos for college competition. Here are a few tips and reminders about “routine” safety:
- It goes without saying to follow the rules. If you question a skill your team is working on, contact the organization running the event to make sure the skill is legal. If they have a question about the interpretation, they will contact us, the NFHS or the USASF depending on the rules being used.
- Only include routine elements that are solid. Not only is it a safety issue, but you will gain more points (with the crowd or judges) by having solid stunts that don’t fall vs. harder stunts that are shaky or that fall. Having solid stunts in the routine also allows your team members to show confidence, which is always a plus!
- One of the great things about routines is that you can choreograph to your individual team skills. If the entire team doesn’t have a particular tumbling skill, showcase those that do while having the others perform complimentary skills or have them prepared to immediately follow the tumbling with some solid stunts in the back of the routine.
- Put the routine together in blocks or sections. Learn each part and practice it on its own before combining them into the full routine. You should also have a “run through” version of the routine that doesn’t include actually building some of the more difficult elements of the routine. This will allow your team to work on formations and the flow of the routine with more repetitions.
- As much as possible, utilize the skills you are already using for games or that you’ve perfected for past routines. Build on these skills to add variations or different mounts, dismounts or transitions with them.
- Give yourself time to perfect the routine. You shouldn’t be adding or working on skills the week before you are to perform the routine. Skills should be capped with enough time to work on the details of spacing and synchronization. Attention to these details will be more valuable to your team than adding a difficult skill.
- Find a place for everyone and give them the opportunity to succeed and enjoy being a part of the team.
- Keep in mind the opportunity for teachable moments and how routines and healthy competition fit in with the mission of your organization. Focus on your team and doing the best you can do, and NOT on beating someone else. After all, the only thing you have control over is your performance, not the final outcome.
Putting together a routine can be a rewarding experience. Make sure it’s also a safe one!
Prone landings from airborne positions prohibited for high school and college teams
Oct 20th
The Executive Committee of the AACCA has updated the 2009 – 2010 high school and college cheerleading safety rules to prohibit prone landings from airborne positions. The specific wording of the rules (high school rule D-10 and college rule G-5) is as follows:
Airborne drops to a prone position on the performing surface are illegal. (Examples: A back flip or a jump landing in a push-up position is illegal. A handspring to a push-up position is legal as it is not airborne prior to the prone landing.)
The rule is in effect until it is taken up by the full rules committees for the 2010-2011 school year. Please pass this information on to any high school or college cheerleading coach. Note that this rule does not affect all-star teams.
Midnight Madness Safety
Oct 15th
Over the next day or two, most college basketball programs (and even some high schools) will be hosting their annual “Midnight Madness” event that ushers in the excitement of college basketball. In most of these events, the university wants to have a “game” atmosphere by having the cheerleaders and even a pep band in attendance.
What a great night to practice traditions or even establish new ones! Take the opportunity to start re-training your crowd on how you use sign cheers in the basketball venue. Teach one new interactive cheer or use a three-point shoot around to show the crowd how to yell “THREE!” when your team hits a three-pointer. However, remember that the crowd isn’t there to learn new cheers. They are there to be a part of a fun event and check out the new basketball teams so keep any “learning” of new material to a minimum – and make it fun.
Most importantly however, remember that you are moving into a new venue for performing. As the cheerleading coach, keep these safety tips in mind:
- Refresh your knowledge of the different rules for basketball court surfaces. Unless on a mat, the following skills are prohibited:
- Basket tosses, elevator/sponge tosses and other similar multi-based tosses.
- Partner stunts in which the base uses only one arm to support the top person. Exception: Cupies/awesomes are allowed with an additional spotter.
- Flips or released twists into or from partner stunts. Exception: Front and back flips to a stunt or cradle are allowed if the top person is braced on both sides by hand/arm to hand/arm contact.
- Two and one half person high pyramids.
- Inversions in partner stunts and pyramids. Exception: Inversions that begin on the ground and go to an upright position where the top person is in constant contact with a base or spotter are allowed.
- Even though this is technically a “practice” for the basketball team, be sure to only perform skills your team can hit every time just as if you were at a game.
- Be aware of your environment and the available space for skills. Midnight Madness events may have different traffic patterns and performance areas than normal games. Establish your boundaries before the event with the venue manager and be sure to communicate these boundaries and skill limitations with your team.
- If you are to perform a routine at the event, remember that the Midnight Madness is about the basketball teams and raising support for them. Keep it short and be sure to include crowd-leading cheers and signs in your routine.
Note:The actual rules clarify that these skills can only be performed during half-time or post-game on a mat. This is specifically a reference to game situations and is intended to help ensure an environment free of obstacles or foot traffic. Midnight Madness is a unique situation, and since it doesn’t have a “half-time” or “post-game” it is understood that these skills can be done at any time during this event so long as there is a “controlled environment” according to the definition in the AACCA rules.
Remember that safety is the priority at every practice, game and special event such as this one. Make it a fun night that your cheerleaders and crowd will enjoy and remember!
AACCA Publishes Its First Sports Injury Study
Oct 14th
AACCA has published its first ever Sports Injury Study.
The purpose of this study is to ascertain the risk of participation in cheerleading and address previous data misinterpretations and sensationalism in recent media reports. A number of recent articles falsely claim that cheerleading is the most dangerous athletic activity, more dangerous than football and hockey. These articles misrepresent information from two primary sources: The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries at the University of North Carolina (NCCSI) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Emergency Room visit study (NEISS).
The study uses the available data to show the actual risk of cheerleading compared with other sports and athletics along with recommendations to continue and improve cheerleading safety.
The complete study is available at http://www.aacca.org/safetystudy
But I Saw It on the Internets!
Oct 8th
I get rules questions and notices of violations on a daily basis here in the AACCA office and I’m starting to notice a new pattern – YouTube.
You see, the internet is to modern cheerleading what nationally-televised competition was to cheerleading in the early 80’s. For the entire history of cheerleading up to this point, the highest level of cheerleading most teams could conceive of was what they saw at their own local camps, games or competitions.
Then came ESPN.
This one got it better, but missed the mark
Sep 17th
I was recently interviewed extensively for a Wall Street Journal article. While the reporter did include some of the data I provided and did paint a fair picture of the actual risk of cheerleading compared to things like football and soccer, the article failed to even mention the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators though we’ve been at the forefront of cheerleading safety since 1987.
Therefore, I’ll address some of the points that didn’t make it into the article.