High School Cheer Practice

[CheerGinger]

Hi! I have a question for other high school's that compete!

What do you pracitces consist of and how often do you practice?

I feel like we are just going over the same skills over and over again and making very little progress.

What conditioning skills do you do?

What has been successful in gaining new/better skills? Stunts, tumbling, jumps.....


Thanks

 

[CoachKar]

Hi! I have a question for other high school's that compete!

What do you pracitces consist of and how often do you practice?

I feel like we are just going over the same skills over and over again and making very little progress.

What conditioning skills do you do?

What has been successful in gaining new/better skills? Stunts, tumbling, jumps.....


Thanks

My competition teams practice four days out of the five school days. Once the competition get closer we start throwing in weekend practices as well. If your team isn't making progress maybe try different ways of making the stunts hit? Like my team couldn't get a full up until we added a bounce, bounce before they pushed up to the top. Progress is sometimes slow so patience is key, but it's worth it when they hit a skill they've been trying to master.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Well... I know NLMS practices 2-3 hrs a day, 6 days a week, from early June until Nationals (IDK whether they attend more comps after that). Lots of arm and leg conditioning (I've hear it's brutal, but I don't know the specifics).

Here's some gymnastics conditioning you can use: Gymnastics Conditioning: What Is It Like? | Fierce Board - The Voice Of Cheer (the push-up circuit is great!)

Hope I helped.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

Hi! I have a question for other high school's that compete!

What do you pracitces consist of and how often do you practice?

I feel like we are just going over the same skills over and over again and making very little progress.

What conditioning skills do you do?

What has been successful in gaining new/better skills? Stunts, tumbling, jumps.....


Thanks

We practiced 5 mornings during the summer to prepare for regionals, and the week of regionals as had two a days. Once school started we practiced four days a week because we had football games on Friday. Two weeks before state we started practicing from 3:30-5:30 and 6:30-9:00 but there were multiple times we didn't get out of practice until 10 o'clock.

We usually warmed everything up, cleaned things, ran it full out, worked problem areas, then ran it full out until our coach was satisfied. Which was never.

We didn't really condition, but we warmed up with a couple miles. The only time we ever conditioned was when we really screwed up, someone was late, or we had the wrong practice wear on.

My high school stressed cleanliness and that's what really made us stand out from other teams. We (almost) always had the cleanest routines with stunts/tumbling that hit 10/10 times. It's better to go into a competition feeling confident in the most difficult skills you can throw and know you'll hit every time. My high school has won state five out of the last six years, and the one year they didn't win was because they chose not to go so they could focus on UCA nationals instead.

If you're getting frustrated because you're not seeing progress, it's probably just because it's not as noticeable to you because you're on the floor, not watching the routine. Your coaches can see the progress you guys are making, even if it is small!

 

[Official OWECheer]

We practiced 5 mornings during the summer to prepare for regionals, and the week of regionals as had two a days. Once school started we practiced four days a week because we had football games on Friday. Two weeks before state we started practicing from 3:30-5:30 and 6:30-9:00 but there were multiple times we didn't get out of practice until 10 o'clock.

We usually warmed everything up, cleaned things, ran it full out, worked problem areas, then ran it full out until our coach was satisfied. Which was never.

We didn't really condition, but we warmed up with a couple miles. Te only time we ever conditioned was when we really screwed up, someone was late, or we had the wrong practice wear on.

My high school stressed cleanliness and that's what really made us stand out from other teams. We (almost) always had the cleanest routines with stunts/tumbling that hit 10/10 times. It's better to go into a competition feeling confident in the most difficult skills you can throw and know you'll hit every time. My high school has own state five out of the last six years, and the one year they didn't win was because they chose not to go so they could focus on UCA nationals instead.

If you're getting frustrated because you're not seeing progress, it's probably just because it's not as noticeable to you because you're on the floor, not watching the routine. Your coaches can see the progress you guys are making, even if it is small!

YES. It's like when your parents tell you something over and over again, and it doesn't really make sense until you see it (I always compare coaching to parenting). Videotape your kids and play the videos back to them. Your goal should be to get them to a point at which they can watch their own videos and give themselves corrections without you even having to open your mouth, and understand how important good technique is.

Also, REALLY break down the counts. Say, for example, you want them to all stand clean, and then hit a high V on 1. Tell them, "I'm going to say '5-6-7-8 and on 8, you should start raising your arms into a high V, and on 1 your arms should hit the motion". Break it down until it's absolutely impossible for any of the girls to be confused. Leave no room for vagueness.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

YES. It's like when your parents tell you something over and over again, and it doesn't really make sense until you see it (I always compare coaching to parenting). Videotape your kids and play the videos back to them. Your goal should be to get them to a point at which they can watch their own videos and give themselves corrections without you even having to open your mouth, and understand how important good technique is.

Also, REALLY break down the counts. Say, for example, you want them to all stand clean, and then hit a high V on 1. Tell them, "I'm going to say '5-6-7-8 and on 8, you should start raising your arms into a high V, and on 1 your arms should hit the motion". Break it down until it's absolutely impossible for any of the girls to be confused. Leave no room foe vagueness.

Yes yes yes to recording. We watched "film" just like the football and basketball players did. Our coaches recorded all of our routines and we watched them in slow motion at the end of practice so we could see everything broken down and it helped so much. It's the little things that make up the big picture that matter!

 

[Official OWECheer]

Yes yes yes to recording. We watched "film" just like the football and basketball players did. Our coaches recorded all of our routines and we watched them in slow motion at the end of practice so we could see everything broken down and it helped so much. It's the little things that make up the big picture that matter!

It's crazy that so many cheer coaches don't utilize this, cheer is a performance sport for goodness sakes!

 

[CheerGinger]

Thank you. I actually am the coach and now I'm a little embarrassed that I came off as a student. Anyway, I have found out quickly that just because I was good at something doesn't mean I'm good at teaching it. So, I value an help or input.

Our squad has a secret Facebook group that we put videos of practice on so everyone can watch them. It has been helpful with those that utilize it.

 

[AScheer]

Hi! I have a question for other high school's that compete!

What do you pracitces consist of and how often do you practice?

I feel like we are just going over the same skills over and over again and making very little progress.

What conditioning skills do you do?

What has been successful in gaining new/better skills? Stunts, tumbling, jumps.....


Thanks

We practice 4 - 5 days a week for 3 hours a day from April through February. Practices vary every day based on what we need to work on and what time of year it is. We have a game this week so today we put together a cheer for the game and then spent the rest of practice on competition stuff. Once football is over we focus solely on competition.

It can get frustrating and you can hit plateaus. Having mini-compeitions between groups, contests and games help motivate and push them. Goal setting is great too. If its a lack of effort, taking someone out is a good motivator to work harder. Sometimes watering it down and telling them when they can hit the easy version __ times they can start increasing difficulty. Dress up days help with ruts sometimes, because there is fun energy in the room. You can also mix up the way you run practice for the day, or where you're practicing.

We condiditon a lot, and pretty much do anything and everything! My favorite is the leg workout that @Rudags posted a long time ago. We also do a lot of running. Stunt conditioning. Ab workouts and arms.

Repetition is the best way to get things. Drills and conditioning specific muscles to prepare for the skill. We used to have a chart that they could check off skills as they got them. One year there were bows for new tumbling skills. Now the thrill of getting to put a video up on the team Instagram is a big motivator... and taking the video down for lost skills is too!

 

[Official OWECheer]

Thank you. I actually am the coach and now I'm a little embarrassed that I came off as a student. Anyway, I have found out quickly that just because I was good at something doesn't mean I'm good at teaching it. So, I value an help or input.

Our squad has a secret Facebook group that we put videos of practice on so everyone can watch them. It has been helpful with those that utilize it.

Oh no, you definitely came off as a coach! Try not to be so hard on yourself. It took you time to become good at cheer, you won't master coaching overnight. It's a learning process for everyone.

 

[cheernerd5678]

We practiced 5 mornings during the summer to prepare for regionals, and the week of regionals as had two a days. Once school started we practiced four days a week because we had football games on Friday. Two weeks before state we started practicing from 3:30-5:30 and 6:30-9:00 but there were multiple times we didn't get out of practice until 10 o'clock.

We usually warmed everything up, cleaned things, ran it full out, worked problem areas, then ran it full out until our coach was satisfied. Which was never.

We didn't really condition, but we warmed up with a couple miles. The only time we ever conditioned was when we really screwed up, someone was late, or we had the wrong practice wear on.

My high school stressed cleanliness and that's what really made us stand out from other teams. We (almost) always had the cleanest routines with stunts/tumbling that hit 10/10 times. It's better to go into a competition feeling confident in the most difficult skills you can throw and know you'll hit every time. My high school has won state five out of the last six years, and the one year they didn't win was because they chose not to go so they could focus on UCA nationals instead.

If you're getting frustrated because you're not seeing progress, it's probably just because it's not as noticeable to you because you're on the floor, not watching the routine. Your coaches can see the progress you guys are making, even if it is small!

Off topic but are they competing this year? I don't know where you cheered, but my coaches were talking about one team that wasn't competing this year bc they were going to UCA, so now reading this I'm wondering if it was the same school you went to

 

[omgitssydthekid]

Off topic but are they competing this year? I don't know where you cheered, but my coaches were talking about one team that wasn't competing this year bc they were going to UCA, so now reading this I'm wondering if it was the same school you went to

I went to Liberty High School! I know they competed at regionals so I assume they're going to state but I'm not sure! My best guess is that they're also doing UCA regionals/Nationals as well, but I'm not positive. They've done both the last couple of years.

 

[cheernerd5678]

I went to Liberty High School! I know they competed at regionals so I assume they're going to state but I'm not sure! My best guess is that they're also doing UCA regionals/Nationals as well, but I'm not positive. They've done both the last couple of years.

Oh no they were talking about one of the Blue Springs teams I think. We compete against Liberty this year...

 

[omgitssydthekid]

Oh no they were talking about one of the Blue Springs teams I think. We compete against Liberty this year...

The coed Blue Springs team usually goes to nationals! Liberty and BS usually have their nationals preview together! Are y'all 5A large?? It's about time large got some teams back! It had been dying out a bit

 

[cheernerd5678]

The coed Blue Springs team usually goes to nationals! Liberty and BS usually have their nationals preview together! Are y'all 5A large?? It's about time large got some teams back! It had been dying out a bit

yes! We've been jumping around divisions every year since I got to HS - 5a small, super large, and now 5a Large. It'll certainly be interesting to see how we do... It's a tough division this year! I think there are 10 teams and it's packed with talent. We were the only 5 large team at our regional, as usual, so we really didn't get to see where we stand.