Let the Competition Begin!

Football season is over for high school cheerleaders and all-star teams are adding practices to their schedules. The holidays are approaching and the cheerleading competition season is about to begin.

How can you make sure that your team is ready for that first competition? With planned preparation!

Start with any and all paperwork as far in advance as possible and handle administration tasks early. Be sure to download medical release forms from the competition organizer’s web site and get everything out to your cheerleaders and their parents as soon as possible. Set a deadline for everything to be completed and returned. This will allow for more practice time and fewer headaches as the competition approaches.

Establishing a consistent warm-up routine is another important way to be better prepared for competitions. A month before the first competition, start warming your team up at practices the same way you plan to warm-up at competition. By creating a consistent warm-up routine, your squad will be more relaxed on the day of competition as repetition and muscle memory will help calm the squad down amidst a hectic and crazy warm-up room. A good example of a warm-up routine would consist of a short jog, a good stretch and a sequential stunt warm-up. For a stunt warm-up, start with basic stunts like extensions and liberties before getting into a complicated stunt sequence or pyramid. Nothing can ruin confidence on the day of competition more than a bad warm-up session.

Next, set a “watered-down” date. This would be a day approximately two weeks before the first competition. If any skills in the routine are not hitting solidly then changes should be made at this time to ensure that the team has a routine they are capable of hitting. Many teams will keep harder skills and transitions in their routine and hope they hit at competition. In reality, if something doesn’t work at practice, it more than likely won’t work at competition. The best bet is to go slightly easier and cleaner, instead of harder with more mistakes.

After any major changes to the routine are made, begin running the routine full out multiple times at practice. After working individual sections of the routine, start combining sections to make sure your squad is conditioned enough to handle a full routine. It’s at this point, the two week mark, when a team should be ready and capable to perform their routine without faults. This leaves plenty of time to clean-up the routine and fix any minor mistakes.

Other important preparation tasks include: making sure to have at least two new copies of the music on CD or on an Ipod; clearly written directions given to every person who is driving to the competition; and a confirmation from the competition organizer that the team is completely paid for before showing up at the front door.

With good preparation your squad is set for success. Now it’s up to the team to take the floor and really shine!

Article Written by David Kirschner – President, The Spirit Consultants, LLC www.thespiritconsultants.com