Falling Into Good Hands

Stunting safety and building good foundations.

In all athletics, there is a risk for injury.  Cheerleading is incredibly athletic by nature and has many opportunities for injury.  With over 3 million cheerleaders in the US alone and continuing to grow across the world, injury prevention should be forefront in all programs.  As athletes, coaches, parents and administrators we need to focus our energy on preventing injuries. With this you lower the risk of injury and increase the chance that when there is an injury it can be attributed to an unpreventable accident instead of something that never had to occur.  Preventing a fall is the first step in preventing an injury.

Many states and programs are recognizing the need for safety standards and are requiring coaches to be certified through the Safety Initiatives.  California and Oregon follow the rules of the AACCA or the American Association of Cheer Coaches and Administrators. The state of Nevada uses the NFHS or National Federation of State High School Associations for Spirit for their rules and requires coaches to have their AACCA certification.  Until recently there were very big differences in the rules for each.  In 2012, the AACCA and the NFHS worked together to streamline their rules so that everyone was on the same page for safety and injury prevention.  Before this coaches had to be careful when selecting camps and material depending on what certification their state followed.  In 2008 AACCA created a policy that any AACCA Certified coach in violation of the rules would lose their certification.  In Nevada, that would mean that you would not be allowed to coach the following year. 

In 2005, Administrators at the college level started seeing huge injury trends.  Until then, the NCAA reported that 20% of its insurance claims were for cheerleading injuries.  In 2006, they started requiring that all teams follow the AACCA rules, limiting teams to no basket tosses or 2 ½ high pyramids on the basketball court.  Since then, the NCAA has reported zero catastrophic injuries.

As a cheer coach, it is our responsibility to know they rules of our state.  We must also know the differences between the rules at the high school, all-star and college level.  When watching film and Youtube for skills and stunts we need to know if the skill is legal for our level and if not, how can we make it safe.  Coaches need proper training in all levels of stunting in order to teach the skills safely to their athletes. 

You may have heard the term “Protection before Progression.”  While “perfection” is unattainable, we want everyone to focus on the skills and drills at each level before moving on.  This will ensure that the athletes master basic skills before attempting skills that are out of their ability.  Each level of profession builds upon itself and is designed in a way that once mastered will become muscle memory and easier for the next skill to be learned.  

With my staff and my cheerleaders, we learn the progressions in the following order:

Spotting Skills (Hands On and Active)

     Hands on spotting is when an extra person in the stunt places their hands on the stunt to help with stability.  This is done in the first phases of learning stunts.
     Active spotting is when the extra person or people in a stunt are watching the flyer and have their body in a position where they can control a fall. This is usually done after a stunt has been mastered as a extra level of safety.
 
Catching Skills (Bear Hug and Cradles)
     Bear Hugs are when the spotter assists in a dismount by placing their outside arm and shoulder in front of the flyer and the other arm and shoulder behind the flyer so that they can slowly lower the flyer to the ground.
Cradles have two to three catchers, one at the head and shoulders and one or two on each side of the flyer.  They pop the flyer into the air and the top girl falls into their arms.
 
Climbing Skills
     The flyer starts with a foot on the ground and hands on the shoulders of the base.  They push off the shoulders of the bases and ground to the top of the stunt.  Step-up Drills & Step-up Liberties are examples of climbing skills.
 
Climbing with Weight Transfer
     For weight transfer stunts there is a transfer of the top persons weight from their feet to their hands or vice-versa.  They require the bases to have locked arms and a solid stance and the flyer to be able to hold their own body weight.  They flyer also needs to have a good understanding of body awareness and control.
 
Timing Skills
Timing skills require cooperation between the bases, back spot and flyer.  Bases must have a solid weight-baring stance. Tops must be able to pull the momentum of the stunt upward and distribute their weight.  Some examples of timing skills are elevators and extensions, basket tosses and transitional stunts.
 
Taking the time to master these skills will build strong sturdy foundations for your cheerleaders.  They will have a better understanding of how stunting works and how to keep each other safe.  When every one takes and active roll in safety we see decreases in all injuries.  While there will always be some injuries that can not be prevented, we can make sure that our athletes are prepared and conditioned to perform the skills being asked of them.

Here are some links of importance: 

AACCA   http://www.aacca.org

Cheer Rules   http://www.cheerrules.com

NFHS   http://www.nfhs.org

Cheer Safe   http://www.cheersafe.org


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Safety

There is nothing more important in cheerleading as the issue of safety.  With the advent of Google and Youtube, any and everyone can go online and see new tricks and skills to perform.  Unfortunately, they are not always being attempted by teams that have the skills or the knowledge to perform them safely.

As a spirit coach, our responsibility is to become familiar with the rules in our state.  In the state of Nevada, the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS), Spirit Rules, governs cheerleaders.  We also have rules developed by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) and the Nevada Spirit Coaches Association (NSCA).  A Spirit Director over-sees our programs and enforces these rules.  If a violation occurs, fines and restrictions are assessed.   It was not designed to limit our activity, it was meant for the safety of our athletes.  This being said, I know that each state is different in its requirements.  The state of California, for example, follows the rules developed by the American Association of Cheer Coaches and Administrators (AACCA).  The rules used to be quite different, but in the 2012 rule changes, they have become more streamlined in their requirements.

The coaches are the front line in the safety of the athletes.  We have a few guidelines that we MUST follow to ensure the safety of our athletes and our program.

Constant Supervision

According to a study by Live Science, cheerleading was the cause for 65% of all catastrophic injuries in girls over the past 25 years. It falls on the coach to make sure that the athletes know the rules and are following them.  Protecting them from unnecessary injuries will protect both the coach and the athlete.

Set Parameters

Make sure that the team understands that there is to be NO stunting or tumbling without a qualified coach present.  While cheerleaders may understand the stunt and how to perform it, they may not understand how to teach all parts of it.  The easy way to set guidelines is to establish a qualifying system. An example would be:  Before a squad can perform stunts or skills without spotters they would need to perform it 5 times without error.  Similarly, before they can learn skill 2, they must be cleared to perform skill 1.

Stay Current

Coaches need to be aware of the current trends in cheerleading stunts and tumbling.  Because of the differences in states, what you see being performed online, or at Nationals could be illegal where your team is.  Always check with your Athletic Director about your requirements.  Some states offer rules and stunt clinics to their coaches.  Find out who is in charge of these and get in contact with them.  If there isn’t any info, do the research yourself and know both the AACCA and NFHS rules.  Keep copies of the rules with you at all practices, events and games.

Develop an Emergency Plan

Like a fire drill, an emergency plan is best when learned, practice and never used.  Just in case you do have an emergency, it is best if all members of the team know what to do.  Know who will be in charge of calling 9-1-1 and make sure that everyone knows what the address of your location is and where the emergency forms for the team are located.  It would also be a good idea to know what to do in case it is the coach that is injured.  The last important part of any emergency plan is to practice.  Have someone pretend to be injured and have the team practice what to do.  You may never have to use it, but if you do not have it in place, chaos can ensue.

Administrative Assessment

Your athletic director or athletic administrator should be asking these questions already, but if they are not you can make sure that you are prepared when they do.

1. The main purpose of our spirit program should be spirit and leadership.  Do we have a mission and purpose for our spirit squad in place and does it focus on leadership through spirit?
2. Do the squad members project an image consistent with the expiations of our school and athletic department?
3. Do the squad practices balance spirit and athleticism?  There should be equal if not more focus on developing spirit in the student body than competitions.
4. Are we allowing the squad adequate time to work on academics? Are we monitoring the academic progress and GPS’s of the spirit team? 
5. Does our program follow mandatory safety guidelines?  Are the coaches familiar with these guidelines?

Assessing Squad Ability

First, develop the stunt progressions that your team will follow.  Once they understand the progressions you need to assess their ability to perform the skills.  Listed is a checklist for coaches when allowing athletes to perform tasks.

1. Strength- Is the athlete strong enough to perform the skill safely?
2. Power- Does the athlete have enough power to perform the skill safely?
3. Flexibility- Does the athlete have the flexibility to perform the skill safely?
4. Freshness- Is the athlete tired?  Does the athlete have enough energy to perform the skill safely?
5. Understand- Does the athlete understand the skill and how to perform the skill?
6. Environment Conducive- Is the environment and the surroundings safe for performing the skill?  Examples: not raining if outside, high ceilings for extended stunts, performing on mats, etc.
7. Spotting- Does the athlete know and understand how to protect the participants if a skill fails?

 When reading this list, some coaches will feel overwhelmed at the duties placed upon them.  I promise, the safety part of coaching gets easier.  Once the safety items are in place and you practice them, they become second nature.  Stick to it and make sure your team understands the expectations and punishments if the rules are not followed.  It is better to perform lower level skills perfectly at a game than to have limited skills because team members are sitting out with injuries!

CHEERS!

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EDUCATION - Coaches Education through Conferences and Clinics

As we start our journey as coaches, we crave knowledge.  We want to meet other coaches and either beg for help or get reassurance that what we are doing is correct.  The though of spending three days with other coaches in our sport is super exciting and we look forward to each class.  As you continue down the path of coaching and get a few years under your belt the idea of a coaches clinic just seems boring.  You have done many of the things that are offered in the class selection and do not feel that you can learn anymore.

I didn’t get to go to many conferences and clinics early on in my career.  I learned most of what I know now from trial and error and talking to the other coaches at games and association meetings.  About 10 years in I was able to save up enough money and start taking some of the courses offered by the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) and the America Association of Cheer Coaches and Advisors (AACCA).  Then I was lucky enough to attend a large coaches conference in California.  It was an amazing three day event that offered required classes, fun classes, how-to classes and round table discussion time.  It was super exciting and I came away from the weekend energized and ready for the season. 

I think that attending the conference did two things for me.  First it allowed me to listen to coaches from other states and know that we are not alone, we are dealing with the same issues. It was great to be able to offer some input and advise to them from a different line of thinking.  It was also amazing to sit in company with those new coaches that were SO excited about having their first teams and all the ideas they wanted to implement.  Every single class I took I learned SOMETHING.  Whether it was from the speaker or from the other coaches in the room.  I was able to take some great knowledge away from it.  I was able to go with an assistant coach and we each took different classes and were able to compare notes so that we got twice the information. 

I don't attend the conference in California anymore simply because it is too expensive, but our state association started offering a coaches retreat that is small, but growing.  The classes I took last year were all classes that I had taken before, but were taught by different people from different backgrounds.  I actually walked out of a stunt class (which I have taught to other coaches) with three pages full of notes!  It was different ideas on how to teach a stunt or a little bit different technique for struggling groups.

Even as a veteran coach you can get information from a clinic or a class.  If anything you will be able to offer advise to the newer coaches and become refreshed and excited about your own team.  So Go!  Sign up for that fundraising class, or chorography class.  Sit, listen, and take something home that can turn your thoughts around.

CHEERS!

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