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kingston - you've got me thoroughly intrigued with all of your safety postings. I didn't know if you are doing research before taking some type of action but I was curious to know what your "next steps" if any are. this is brought on by a) previously mentioned safety posts and b) my mom coaches as well (high school only) and she casually told me today that the principals of their high school league met up one day and decided that it was suddenly ok for the cheerleaders to stunt. I told her heck no don't allow it as she is not trained in it and the liability is huge at this point. just curious what your thoughts were as far as an action plan...
Most of my posts just come from my thinking. I have one of those brains that just DOES not stop (hence why I only sleep like 5 hours a night). This particular year with Amber I just noticed how we always seem to have a large increase in injuries during this part of the year. I also notice how, while there is a general love of cheerleading in the gym, there is always halfway said jokes from everyone (even coaches from other gyms that are on our open team) how everyone just wants to 'get through' the high school season. Then I really started observing. In our area there are plenty of teams that have an assortment of leveled athletes. Level 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are all on the same team. But what levels do I see the most injured during this time? Level 5s and Level 4s. Level 3s and 2s on high school teams have a much lower incidence of injury. But thinking about it.. it shouldn't be that way. Level 4s and 5s are better trained, more coordinated... they should be better physically prepared for high school teams. And it isn't just at high school practice where these athletes are getting injured. It is also at Rays during this time period that the incidence of injury increases. So, it stands to reason there are a few causes:
- Level 4 and Level 5 athletes have the ability to perform higher level tumbling skills. When asked to perform them on a hard floor their technique changes and alternating between surfaces increases the likelihood that incorrect timing and technique will be used on the wrong surface
-Level 4 and Level 5 athletes on a high school team (even if its just 4 of them) increase the ability of the team to try more difficult building skills. the coaches know at least one person on the team has the ability to compete a skill even if the 3 or 4 others involved have no clue what they are doing (high school coaches tend to not be the best judge of what is possible) so they feel the level 5 abilities will rub off on the level 2 and 3 athletes and they have a shot at using it to make routines more difficult
-Coaches will have the level 5 athlete compete their level 5 skill an abnormal amount of times during a routine to make up for a lack of other level 5 athletes
-The wear and tear of high level skills on hard floor. For all your runners out there... consider running the difference between running on cement and asphalt (if you run you can feel the difference).
-High schools seem to have a practice schedule that is insane. 5 days a week... pounding away attempting things they have no good reason trying.
In short, limiting teams to level 3 on hard floor and in high school would prevent a lot of injuries for multiple reasons AND create more business opportunities for all-star gyms.
Now these types of correlations are hard to see by the naked eye, but I have spent a good deal of my life looking for them (and I have a knack for it). Usually something like this would only be found with good tracking and regression analysis.
But there is no tracking. There is no good system to see all of this stuff. And, no, I don't have a plan. I wish I did. I don't have the power, resources, or influence to start something to do this. What I do have is a platform to spur discussion and raise the awareness of everyone. Maybe, just maybe, someone else will have a spark and something.
