Category: Spirit

We’re talking about how we can grow All Star together, and want your input! Join our Growing All Star webinar next Tuesday, December 19th at 11:00AM CST to learn about new ideas and opportunities to expand All Star and to let us know what you think! Cheer coaches and owners who attend the webinar will…

The USASF is thrilled to announce a brand new resource for members! You now have access to an exclusive Video Library that illustrates nearly every Rule and Glossary term for the USASF Cheer & Dance Rules & Safety Guidelines. Do you ever ask yourself “what exactly does that rule mean?” Just click the links and…

Shea and David share their thoughts on the early season competitions they’ve attended on the 40th Drills=Skills.

Cheating is generally considered a bad thing, but when it comes to cheat grips and tricks for stunts it can be a good thing. Finding a way to get the same look of a skill, a full up for example, using a grip that makes it easier or less risky is a great training tool…

The Perfect Cheer World is the topic of discussion on the 39th Drills=Skills.

As our industry has grown the knowledge has greatly expanded and so has the number of experts. People that have probably forgotten more than most will ever know, like James Speed and Debbie Love, have passed on what they know to so many and that next generation has expanded on the knowledge base and passed…

When working stunts add an extra element to the end. Instead of doing only your 4 elements to hit the high range, practice with a 5th or 6th, even if it’s a repeat of one of the first 4. This will help build stunt endurance and increase control of the stunt sequence, since they’ll need…

Happy Thanksgiving. Welcome to December and the first Cheer Worlds bid events. Norwich Bulletin reported As Cheerleading Evolves, Injuries Continue to Rise. USA Today’s For the Win published Oklahoma WR Apologizes After Injuring Oklahoma State Cheerleader in Scary Sideline Collision. The Ledger-Enquirer posted Cheerleading Championships Among Big Events this Weekend with Huge Economic Impact. Fox…

Coaches interested in a L6 Credentialing Session this season need to schedule your session now with Andre Carter! The goal is for the session to take place by mid-January. After that, the next session will take place next season.

Membership boxes are being packed and ready to ship. We need to make sure we have your BEST delivery address in your program profile. Log into your profile and make sure your delivery address is one that UPS can deliver to between 9 am and 5 pm. For instructions on HOW to update delivery address,…

This week’s Drills=Skills features Shea and David talking about Level 4 tumbling.

This one also could have been named practice to music because as much as possible your teams should practice to music. This will get the athletes used to counting music and more importantly, counting to music while performing skills. This can only help a team when performing to music. At a minimum use an 8…

I should probably say keep your elbows in, but that title isn’t as catchy. When stunting as a base, cradles excluded, elbows should stay inside of the shoulders. Power is lost when the elbows get wider than the shoulders. I see this being a problem most often on twisting up to group stunts, such as…

Early this week the IASF released the International Divisions Score Sheets Level 1-6. Mid this week they released a revised version, reversing some of the policies announced in the original version.

Dear USASF Members: The USASF Board of Directors held their annual in-person meeting on November 6-7, 2017. One of the key discussions at the meeting was a thorough review of USASF policies and resources targeted at athlete protection. The USASF mission includes “strive for a safe environment for our athletes.” To the USASF, safety extends…

Safety is the topic for the 37th Drill=Skills.

Debbie Love has been preaching the Dynamic Warmup for as long as I can remember. It’s the idea of moving through positions to stretch and warmup muscles instead of static stretching, which is hitting a position and holding it. Men’s Fitness said a Dynamic Warmup is: a series of movements designed to increase body temperature,…

Dear USASF Northeast Program Owners & Coaches: I am writing to inform you of some staff changes that will affect the Northeast Region. We are pleased to announce that Tim Morgan will transition from Northeast Regional Director to an operational role focusing on logistics and field staff development. Prior to stepping into the role of…

Wendy Bruce-Martin returns to the 36th edition of Drill=Skills to discuss Mental Prep with David and Shea.

I recently had a couple conversations about the reasons given for things not going as well as expected at a gym, such as lower than expected placements and athletes leaving a program. One coach talked about their program’s team placements being low, but as a program they didn’t have a great understanding of the scoring…

In tumbling it’s pretty standard to break each skill down into parts. The instructors at the USASF regional meetings did a great job of this, pointing out the entry, middle, and exit of each skill. We need to start doing the same things for stunts and developing drills that help with the pieces. The only…

Dear USASF Dance Programs and Coaches: Because of the nuances and similarities between the genres, the USASF is, once again, assisting its members in determining the appropriate category to enter that most closely matches the descriptions provided in the USASF Divisions & Categories document located in your USASF Member Profile. If you have any question…

The full crew is back together for show 35, discussing basic elements of skills.

October has come and gone, bringing showcase season and Halloween with it. Here’s the rest of the news: Several cheerleaders have joined the kneeling during the national anthem or similar protests, including cheerleaders in Texas, Michigan, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Georgia. The Kennesaw State cheerleaders seemed to receive the most press for their involvement in…

Most coaches know their athletes should stretch before and after practice. It doesn’t always happen, but we at least know it should. What many don’t realize is the stretching should be different before and after a practice or workout. Stretching before practice is done with the intent of getting your body and muscles ready to…