MPHS CHEERLEADERS
OFF-SEASON TIPS The competition season may be over for this year, but the next one starts NOW, not next August. What you do and don’t do in the off-season, dramatically affects your success during the following season. Strength, flexibility and skills don’t just appear – they take hard work and time to obtain, so you need to take advantage of the time you have in the off-season to prepare for the next season. Here is a list of things you can work on to improve your skills: Strength & Flexibility 1. Condition and stretch every day. 2. Do lots of push-ups, sit-ups and squats. 3. Use hand held weights to increase arm and shoulder strength. 4. Walk up and down steps repeatedly to work on leg strength and stamina. 5. Walk, jog or run whenever you can. Bases & Backs 1. Strength is a key word for you – the stronger you are, the easier you’ll be able to get the stunts up, keep them up and make them stable. Arm and shoulder strength eliminates the need to step out to get leverage under the flyer in order to get her up. 2. The more stable and less wobbly you can make the stunt, the easier it is for the flyer to hit her skills. Plus, she’ll feel more confident in your ability to hold her up there. 3. It is crucial that the back be able to lift up as much as possible, so arm strength is really important for you. Flyers 1. Flexibility is key for you – stretch every day. Work towards bringing your leg (both – not just dominate one) up to your upper body so your leg is next to your head. The more flexible you are the more skills you’ll be able to execute and they will look prettier. 2. Work on pulling scales, scorpions, heel stretches, bow and arrows and arabesques on the ground. Then advance to standing on a brick (widest part flat on ground so it doesn’t roll) to execute the skills. Goals 1. Set achievable goals for yourself, such as 50 push-ups or putting your chest on the ground in a straddle stretch by a certain date. Once you achieve them, set new goals. 2. Keep a notebook with a list of your goals and progress so you can see for yourself that you truly are making progress. Other Tips 1. Stretch while studying and watching tv. 2. Workout with a partner. Check on each other’s progress towards meeting goals and hold each other accountable. 3. If you have to take a PE class, take the strength training class. 4. Take tumbling classes whenever possible. 5. Attend open gyms in the spring and summer as much as possible. 6. Practice those jumps! Work on pointing the toes and keeping legs straight. 7. Do basic motion drills. Check your wrists and placement in a mirror or your reflection in a sliding glass door. 8. Video tape yourself doing cheers and jumps and critique yourself. If you want to be respected as an athlete, you need to act like an athlete. Eat, sleep and breathe cheerleading. You can be the team you want to be – it just takes commitment and hard work from every single team member. A few can put the effort into it, but they can’t do it by themselves – it takes the entire team. The team is only as good as it’s weakest link – don’t be the weakest link. |
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