“That famous 1 week in May we all know as the off-season is just around the corner.”

What are your plans for the ‘time off’ from cheer? A short family vacation? Sleeping in on the weekends? Staying FAR AWAY from makeup and hair products? Oh, your daughter is going to the gym every night this week? She has to get that next skill so she can level up at tryouts. There is no rest for the weary in all-star cheer.

Pause, laugh, and then realize that yes, this is what you sound like. This is what we ALL sound like. Crazy isn’t it?

Look I’m not going to give you a “I’m better than that” because I’m not. I was that mom. I AM that mom. I may even start a 12 step program: Cheermoms Anonymous.

After a big disappointment at “team placements” last year (they are not tryouts – everyone makes a team), I was forced to dig deep and look at my own interaction with my daughter and cheer. After dealing with her disappointment I had to get over my own. And while the road is long, I do feel I am on my way and have learned a lot that I would like to share.

TIP 1:  MORE IS NOT BETTER

The gym offers open practices, tumble and stunt classes, tryout clinics and privates every day. This is to accommodate the number of kids at the gym and make it accessible, not because they expect your child to show up every day. In fact, just because your child does not miss a day at the gym does not mean that she has a better chance of moving up to a new team or level.

TIP 2:  HAVE A PLAN

Cheerleading today is not what it used to be! As a mom, it can be frustrating (to say the least) trying to come up with the right words and advice to help your child prepare for tryouts. Even if you used to cheer back in middle school or high school, cheerleading today is NOT  what it was 10 years ago . . . the skills, rules, and athleticism have changed!

So the key is to have a plan!

Know what to do, how to help, and have a weekly plan to help your child build confidence for tryouts. I advise you to schedule a parent coaching call to get some tips from cheer fitness expert, Danielle Donovan! On these calls, Danielle will help you understand what your cheerleader is going through on the mat create a customized action plan to get tryout ready. Click here to schedule a call. 

TIP 2:  TAKE BREAKS

Let kids be kids. The research in youth sports shows that variety of activity, breaks, unstructured play and good old time off are equally beneficial, if not more, than continual training. If you have a month with no mandatory cheer, let your child go 1-2 times a week and use the other days to try something new, hang out as a family or even go on a short trip.

TIP 3:  BE A PARENT, NOT A COACH

There is nothing that your child wants more than your love and praise. Give them praise, lots of it. Comfort them when it doesn’t go their way. Don’t meet your child in the gym parking lot with 15 minutes of videos from her class to critique. Let her tell you what was a win, and what she may want to work on more.

TIP 4:  PERFECTION, NOT PROGRESSION.

This is not the time of year to cram in as many new skills as you can before evaluations. That creates undue pressure and stress for your athlete as well as for you. Help your child set some goals so that she may walk into placements confident in the skills she has and feeling comfortable about showing off. 

You can check out the CHEERFIT workouts – a great way to build strength, confidence, and get tryout ready! 

Remember why our children participate in cheer – to be a part of a team, to gain physical skills, mental endurance and confidence, and to have fun. My daughter’s coach said, “It’s not tryouts, it’s team placements. Remember she is not trying out for a team she is being evaluated to be placed on any team in the gym.”

Set goals and work toward them but also realize that team placement does not measure her ability to succeed in this sport.

DR. BLAIR GREEN PT, DPT, OCS

is a physical therapist and owner of Catalyst Physical Therapy in Atlanta, GA.  She is also the mom of CHEERFIT Ambassador Leah, who cheers for the Stingray Allstars. When she’s not busy taking care of Leah and her older brother, she keeps herself fit through Pilates, running, and OrangeTheory Fitness. Secret: she has been caught a time or two sneaking in a CHEERFIT Challenge. 

We know your cheerleader has all the passion and heart in the world, and there is nothing worse than seeing your daughter/son give it 110%, but still not hitting that stunt. Instead of cringing at every competition, we’ve got the tips and tools to help you help them!

Now, a few reasons your cheerleaders are not hitting their stunts are:

1. Lack of core strength
2. Poor body control
3. Weak stunt group
4. Not strengthening the right muscles
5. Poor general awareness of the body during skills

BUT here is how to help!

1. LACK OF CORE STRENGTH

Your core is the most fundamental body part o to strengthen for all cheerleaders yet it is the easiest one to get wrong. Many people do not know this, but your core is not just your abs…your core is your entire trunk area: back, front, and sides. It’s the entire region between your shoulders and hips.

Crunches do not give you core strength, CORE exercises do!

2. POOR BODY CONTROL

In order for your cheerleader stick those stunts and have proper body control, she needs a strong core! Again your core is EVERYTHING! Here is an exercise fav’! It’s a bit of a challenge, but oh so worth it! Give it a try, start off 1-5 reps and then build up to 10 reps x 2 rounds! Get ready for TOTAL body control!

3. PART OF A WEAKER STUNT GROUP

I know, sometimes your cheerleader is rocking it, but her stunt group is not. Instead of getting frustrated, help her help her stunt group with CHEERFIT exercises that they can do together! Empower her group to do some of our favorite cheer workouts to help build upper body strength, endurance, and body control. By doing this together they will inspire each other, motivate each other, and HIT THOSE STUNTS! Here are our fav’ total body exercises.

4. NOT STRENGTHENING THE RIGHT MUSCLES

Cheerleading is very different than any other sport! Your child is not throwing a basketball, they are throwing a person, defying gravity, tumbling in the air, and pushing their bodies to the limits! Cheerleading today is NOT what it used to be and we need to condition our bodies to keep up at this level!

Instead of wasting time trying to figure out exercises, book a 1-on-1 COACHING CALL with fitness expert Danielle Donovan! Together on this call, you discuss your cheerleaders goals, challenges, questions and Danielle will provide you with customized advice and an actionable plan specific to YOUR cheerleader!

CHECK IT OUT

5. POOR GENERAL AWARENESS OF BODY DURING SKILLS

I promise fitness is your answer! Cheerleaders need fitness to build confidence, core strength and advance their skills. The stronger and more aware your cheerleader is of their body, the more controlled their stunts will be! Focus on core strengthening exercises and your cheerleader will be able to fix any shaky stunt, lock out in single leg stunts, and hit ZERO!

Let us know your favorite tip and how this goes!

As you can see, yo do not need to nor should you be stretching every day for hours at a time. Yes, I said it! What I want you guys to do is STRENGTHEN the muscles instead. So swap out 2 or your stretching days this week with this CHEERFIT workout and let me know how it goes! And if you want, even more, we’ve got tons of flexibility workouts and confidence boosting tips waiting for ya in the CHEERFIT Club !!

And there you have it, my top 3 exercises… to help your cheerleader advance FLEXIBILITY & CONFIDENCE in 3,2,1…GO! Let me know your favorite tip, and share your confidence boosting tips in the comments below!

DANIELLE DONOVAN

is the go-to fitness expert for the cheerleading industry and founder of CHEERFIT (www.cheerfittraining.com). Danielle holds national fitness certifications through the American Council on Exercise and specializes in sports conditioning, youth fitness, and group fitness as it pertains specifically to cheerleaders. Danielle has been featured on NBC,Inside Cheerleading Magazine, FITNESS Magazine, Livestrong, Yahoo Beauty, NY Post, American Cheerleader Magazine and more. Through fitness, Danielle focuses on helping cheerleaders build the confidence, strength, and flexibility they need to reach their goals and prevent injury.