Cheerleading is accepted as a kind of entertainment involving cheering, dancing and performing stunts to support sports teams during games and competitions.
Cheerleading is more than just spirit and pep, believe it or not. But beyond all the hoopla, stunts, and dances are something called Cheer Theory or how to cheer together safely.
Think of Cheer Theory as the “science” behind cheerleading. This stipulates how it is that cheerleaders can perform complex stunts, jumps and pyramids yet do them safely to protect from injury as well as ensuring their performances are kept snappy and synchronized.
Excitement and movement are secondary in cheer: teamwork, timing, and trust are what competition experience is all about. In this blog, we are going to take a closer look at how Cheer Theory operates as well as dissect the different components that create our beloved sport.
What is Cheerleading?
Cheerleading is a sport in which teams of cheerleaders perform routines that include dancing, tumbling or acrobatics, jumping and stunting. They perform routines to get the crowd excited and show support for sports teams as well as compete against other cheerleading teams.
Although cheerleaders perform at football, basketball and other sports events, most teams deserve a couple of competitions where routines are judged.
Cheerleading is tough because of the large number of tricks that need to be mastered and executed with strength, balance, and precise timing. Jumps, like the toe touch, stunts, which are lifting teammates into the air and even tumbling similar to gymnastics. The best part of cheerleading routines is how these various elements come together in such a rapid and energized spectacle.
The Importance of Teamwork
One of the core foundations in Cheer Theory is Team. Cheerleading is not a one-man sport but a collective effort working as a team, performing your best. Any squad is a team, and every team requires more than one player to win. If the base did not support her, then she would have ended up on the floor and no stunts or routines could be done.
Base this role is responsible for safely lifting the flier into stunts Flyer performs the stunts Spotters ensure proper form and safety during the stunt All roles are critical in the stunt happening, and each cheerleader must have faith that another will perform his/her role as expected or well.
The base there is the person or persons who stay on the ground who lifts and taxis. They have to be sturdy and fixed because they must carry their team.
The person who is thrown into the air is called the “flyer”. Good balance to perform flips while being up in the air… Flyer
The spotter is the one standing next to the flyer for a safety purpose. They also serve as spotters who are there to catch the flyers if they happen to fall and guide them down for a safe landing after rendering the stunt.
According to Cheer Theory, teamwork is when every cheerleader has the trust of their teammates and talks with them. It goes back to if a single person is doing something wrong, mistakes could be made and even result in someone being hurt.
When everyone works as one and helps each other, the show runs like clockwork, and it is safe for every member of the group to do some insane stunts.
Timing and Synchronization
Timing and Synchronization are even more important to Cheer Theory. Timing is everything in cheerleading as all the moves, jumps and stunts must be performed just at the right time for a routine to look tight and professional. If one cheerleader decides to perform a move earlier or later than another, she throws the whole routine of course.
Everyone is: While everyone does their routine, it helps them to stay in sync. Syncing the moves so that all the cheerleaders are doing the same thing at the same time keeps everything together and looking sharp.
Cheerleaders always practice the routines so the movements will be perfectly synchronized. This is even more crucial when it comes to jumps and stunts, where the slightest error can cost the team deductions during a competition.
Fantasy time: A team is doing a basket toss, and the bases have thrown the flyer 10 feet into the air, ideally for one and three-quarters of a back somersault before being caught.
For the bases to see her and the flyer to be caught by the bases, they need to lift her at the same time she squats (before they hit that squat), and she needs to know when to jump (right here) and how many tucks/stumps/flips are necessary.
A timing which is only a fraction of a second off can result in the flyer not being able to have an even flip or the bases can miss catching them correctly.
Which is exactly think why in the world those are so vital in supporters. They ensure that each move is executed precisely this way the danger is small and also the staff seems terrible to see throughout their functionality.
Developing Trust and Communication
Because cheerleading is a team sport that requires so much trust and communication between teammates. Because cheerleaders are performing stunts in which they lift and throw one another in the air, everyone must be comfortable with and stand behind each other. Trust that every cheerleader will perform their role and keep them safe.
As an example, a flyer has to have trust that the bases will catch them after doing a stunt. When the flyer doesn’t think they will be caught, they may stop or not hit the stunt correctly.
Likewise, the bases must trust that the flyer will maintain her point of balance and balance throughout their lift. The team could not do the bigger level stunts they perform without that trust.
Cheer Theory also focuses on communication. Your cheerleaders should be able to communicate with one another and give feedback during practice. During performances, however, a scenario might arise in which they have to make quick changes and for them to do that they must be understood.
For instance, the bases might signal the flyer before they lift by saying “ready“ or “up“, just to inform them of when it is going to happen. The flyer may also give feedback to the bases on whether they are on balance or need to change position. Proper communication is a game changer as it ensures that everyone knows what they know and also reduces accidents.
Safety in Cheerleading
A major part of Cheer Theory is the safety side of cheerleading. Safety is a big part of cheerleading, as there are many stunts and tumbling passes that the athletes do.
One of the mission statements for Cheer Theory is trying to balance letting cheerleaders perform skills like this safely yet entertaining people watching from the outside as well.
The following are some of the safety Tips in Cheerleading:
ALWAYS stunt with spotters Spotters are there to catch the flyer if something goes wrong. They are there to keep the boys from toppling over when Grace tosses them and make sure they land on their feet after tumbling out into space.
Cheerleaders have to be limber and strong, so it is very important to warm up and stretch out before stunting. Stretching reduces the risk of injuries such as muscle pulling.
Practice stunts on mats: Stunting is one of the top cheerleading tips that you should follow, many times when we do flips or carry other girls in cheerleading, it may happen that they do not support all the body weight and fall, to avoid accidents most of the Amateurs practising stunts with soft types of mats. Then, they may practice a few times on slightly tougher surfaces such as gym floors or the competition mat.
If it is a jump, flip or stunt working with the right form is necessary for safety. Cheerleaders repeatedly drill their form to ensure they are executing the moves correctly and safely.
Sound safety measures, for the most part, involve careful practice and ensuring that everybody knows what they are doing in cheerleading. Cheerleaders can execute some awesome stunts while following safety rules and practising properly.
Strength and Flexibility
It might seem easy watching those girls and guys cheer, BUT it takes A LOT of strength and flexibility. You have to be strong enough to lift teammates and flexible enough to do jumps and poses; essentially a mixture of gymnastics, aerobic exercise, and strength training.
Bases, the women who have to support the flyer while performing stunts, especially need strength. The flyer will also require flexibility, as it must be able to stretch in multiple positions while suspended in the air or thrown upwards.
For instance, in a scorpion stunt, the flyer stands on one leg as they lift the other leg (above their head). It may look like the flyer is in a more difficult position as it requires a lot of flexibility to not bend your back, but it’s very easy to keep your arms by your head compared to the bases that still need strength within that stunting position. At the same time, you are bases and they need to be strong enough for your flyer on top of all of them.
Cheerleaders exercise to make them stronger, and stretchier by building their strength in the weight room and by stretching out while working on stunts Cheerleading routines require a certain degree of power and grace, which is why cheerleaders need to have the strength and flexibility required.
Competition & Scoring for Cheerleaders
Competition is another facet of team cheerleading. Routines are judged on things like creativity, difficulty and execution as well as the timing of each movement. Cheer Theory helps teams form the scoring strategy that will win over the judges.
Judges look for
Difficulty: None of these stunts or skills are easy. More difficult stunts can help earn teams more points but only if executed correctly and without fail.
Coordination and Synchronisation: Judges want to see that the entire team moves in perfect coordination. A routine in which all members are correctly timed and synchronized will be graded higher than one with some out-of-sync dancers.
Creativity: The routine of Cheerleading should be such that looks fun so that it grabs attention. Teasing and Tricks: Teams that can figure out a cool way to mix it up with stunts, tumbling and dance are awesome in the judge’s eyes. (more points)
Execution: How good are the cheerleaders at performing the moves? The areas where points can be raised against teams are execution which every stunt pass needs to be performed with a perfect form.
Competitions, therefore, are an opportunity for teams to exhibit the effort and talent that they have put into their routines. If a team puts in the work (watches Cheer Theory and practices their routines), they have an opportunity to blow away the judges and take the top spot.
In conclusion: Cheer Theory
Cheer Theory is the science that allows cheerleaders to safely do their awesome routines as quickly, efficiently, and even synchronized together as possible. It teaches cheerleaders teamwork, timing, communication and safety WHILE getting stronger and flexibility.
The science of Cheer Theory goes beyond just cheering loudly and doing fun motions to let the crowd gyrate, it gets into the nitty-gritty of what makes cheerleading tick, helping all-star teams create incredible performances.
Cheer Theory assists cheerleaders in all that they do, whether it be practising for their next game or preparing for the next big competition. This is where the training, teamwork, and emphasis on safety come into play to keep cheerleaders doing what they love: I know this first-hand as a former LSU cheerleader.
