Cheerleading dates back to the 1860s. Today it is considered an American tradition at football games. You go to a football game and you know you will see cheerleaders cheering on their team. Cheerleading as a spectator looks like a lot of fun which I’m sure it is, however, what we don’t see is the hard work behind all the perfect movements we see. They seem to do their routine so precisely and at the right moment.
In general, cheerleaders need to be flexible, although some positions require more flexibility than others. Flyers are the team members who require the most flexibility. Meanwhile, bases require flexibility the least. Cheerleading positions typically require either physical strength or flexibility.
It takes many hours of practice to achieve what cheerleaders are able to do. It takes strength, balance, flexibility, patience, and dedication to become a cheerleader. There are cheerleaders who go to high-level competitions and cheerleaders who cheer at football games. Competition cheerleaders have had more training and routines are more complicated.
Cheerleading Positions:
bases- ones that lift the flyers
spotters – help balance the cheerleading stunt
flyers – the ones actually performing the stunt
There may be more than one team player in each position
Do you have to be Flexible to be a High School Cheerleader?
Yes you do need to be somewhat flexible to be in high school cheer. While there your flexibility will improve. Flexibility reduces the chances of injuries. There are a few excercises that you can do to improve your flexibility:
Frog stretch- This can loosen hips and groin To do these correctly you can look it up online where it shows you step by step the correct way to do these.
Seated forward bend – This excercise will open your hips and warm-up your legs. Once again look up online to see step by step the correct way to do these.
Low Lunges – To stretch your groin area do a few sets of these.
Do you have to be able to do the splits to be a cheerleader?
Splits is a physical position in which the legs are in line with each other and extended in opposite directions. They are performed in various activities such as dance, gymnastics, yoga, and cheerleading , just to name a few. There are two forms of splits, side split legs are extended to left and right of the torso and the front splits which is done by extending one leg forward and one leg to the rear of torso. There are also many variations a few of them are:
- Oversplit – angle between legs exceed 180 degrees
- Suspended split – done after leaping or jumping
- Twisting split – transitioning from font split to side split, and then to the opposite split
- Martial arts split – front split in which the back leg is rotated so the inside edge of the foot rests on the ground.
Hip joint pain and knee pain can result from doing the splits improperly. Stretching before attempting the splits helps muscles, tendons and joints get warmed up.
Yes being able to do the splits is considered basic cheerleading skills. There are several split stretches that can be done to help with mastering the splits. To do a split reach your hands above your head and continue to swan dive down towards the ground, hanging at the waist reach your hands to the ground and let your palms fall to either side toward the ground and bring your chest towards your knees. You should not force your body for this rather prepare it. Work on your flexibility in the hips and hamstrings with yoga and stretches. Make sure to where comfortable clothes and start slow.
Does cheerleading need flexibility?
Yes, flexibility plays a major role in cheerleading. Most if not all the routines need the cheerleaders to be flexible for the stunts and as stated before flexibility prevents injuries. Flexibility is needed to do:
- an Arch – position in which the back is curved
- Aerial – cartwheel without hands touching ground or floor
- Liberty – a base holds up a flyer with one of her feet in both of base’s hands, the flyer’s other leg is bent ending up in what looks like the position of the Statue of Liberty.
- Scorpion – while in a liberty position, a cheerleader grabs the toe of their bent leg and brings it up to almost behind their head
