FOCUSING ON SAFETY
by Pam Headridge
As a coach, your primary focus should always be on safety. Teach your cheerleaders the skills to protect team players from injury. Spotting drills are the key to safety in cheerleading. This is probably the most difficult element for them to learn because when an object or person is falling towards them, instinct tell them to protect themselves first; therefore, they move away from the falling person. Teaching spotting is a leaned activity and should never be assumed that because you as their coach tell cheerleaders to catch, they automatically will do it. Practice, practice, practice these skills to develop a trust relationship between the flyer, spotters and bases.


SPOTTING DRILLS
BASIC RULES
Spotters should always be looking at the flyer
Spotters’ hands should either be touching the flyer or their arms should be extended up toward the flyer
Spotter should stay as close as possible to the flyer to break her fall no matter which way she falls.

GROUND LEVEL DRILL
Divide into stunt groups - 2 side people, back spotter & flyer
Flyer stands, with her arms at her side, in front of 2 side bases and back spotter.
2 bases and back spotter bend at their knees and catch the flyer as she falls back into their arms.
Progress to the next level and now flyer will jump backward into their arms.

NEXT LEVEL HIGHER DRILL
Flyer stands, with her arms over her head and hands clasps together, on a bench or bottom row of a bleacher
2 bases stand on either side of flyer and perform the “bear hug” technique as flyer steps to the ground
BEAR HUG - As flyers dismounts the spotters reach up to the flyer and catch her in a tight hug position, pulling the flyer close to their bodies and lift the flyer upward during the catch (resisting).
Flyer must keep her body tight and arms up at all times
Take it a level higher and repeat the drill. At this level the spotters will only be able to touch the flyer by placing her back hand on the calf of the flyer. This is one of the “triggers” that helps create a “catch” reaction rather them a “run” reaction. The other triggers are to stay close and to reach up and across the front of the flyer’s body with the front arm.
Make sure the flyer always stays tight, lands on the ball of her feet and bend her knees upon landing.
Have everyone try every part.

STUNT LEVEL
Try the same drill in a double base shoulder level stunt with a back spotter.


4 CORNER SPOTTING
When learning intermediate stunts, it is important to have extra spotters around the stunt to keep everyone safe. The best way to do this is having extra people at each corner of the stunt like the corners of a box.
Each person has an area that they can easily reach and are able to safely catch the flyer if she falls.
Spotters need to stay close to the stunt and absorb the catch in their legs.
Teach flyer that she needs to always stay tight in a fall and trust that her bases and spotters will catch her.
When falling, a flyer should never try to “save” the stunt by reaching out to a person standing on the floor.


STUNT PROGRESSION
In stunt progression, a coach needs to look at 2 primary elements in relationship to cheerleaders: STUNTS and DISMOUNTS. Each element needs to be practiced and perfected at the lowest level before advancing to shoulder and overhead level. Proper technique must be developed in the both the bases and flyers. Each component of a stunt and dismount should be broken down into its simplest elements.
Cheerleaders need to learn in progression in order to create a memory of movement.
Cheerleaders need basic climbing techniques, adequate body strength, balance and body alignment awareness and stability in order to perfect a stunt and maintain safety.
Cheerleaders need to master the basics in order to perform the harder stunts safely.
Coaches need to evaluate and determine the proper ability level of each cheerleader and therefore set a standard of care. To do this every coach and cheerleader should use a “PROGRESSION CHART”

BASIC RULES FOR STUNTING
No one should talk while stunting except coach or third base (back spotter).
The third base (back spotter) is the most important person in all stunts. They are in control of the stunt.
The third base (back spotter) calls everything while stunting. (what stunt is being performed, when to start, when to break, when to cradle, etc.)
Every stunt should be done to a count so that everyone has the same timing.
Everyone should know when to dip or step and when to lock.
Everyone should know what position they are and what their job will be during the stunt. They should realize that each position is important.

FLYER (top person, climber, mounter, partner)
Flyer should know how to fall.
Flyer should not let their feet go more then shoulder width apart.
Primary beginning drill for a flyer is STEP/LOCK.
Flyer must know when, where and how to place her hands, feet, and other body parts on the base and be able to maintain balance.
Flyer should not bottom out but hold her weight in her arms.
For shoulder level stunts, HANG DRILLS help the flyer to understand weight control and not “bottoming out” . Hang drill is where the flyer puts her hands on the shoulders of 2 bases. The back spotter has her hands on the waist of the flyer. The flyer jumps up and holds her legs bent in the air and distributes all her weight into her arms.


As progression occurs, flyer needs to understand and master body alignment. Teach “CYLINDER CONCEPT”
Flyer should always keep their shoulders and hips square as though their body
is in a “cylinder” that prevents their body from falling out of alignment.

BASE (bottom person, primary, secondary)
Bases should know how to catch.
Bases should stand no further apart then the width of the flyer's shoulders.
Bases need to control their hips in order to maintain stability and balance.
Bases should bend their knees and distribute their weight over their knees, ankles and toes and keep their back straight.
Bases should not lean forward when the flyer loads into hands or when catching.
Bases should not back up while stunting.
A good beginning drill for the bases is pretending the stunt without the flyer. Often the back spotter can be the “pretend flyer” by using her hands as the flyer and press down.

DISMOUNTS: (Step off, Shove Wrap or Pencil Drop & Cradle)
STEP OFF- This is where the bases have hand to hand contact with the flyer and assist on the dismount.
Flyer must keep body aligned and tight.
Bases and back spotter must help to absorb the flyer’s weight on the dismount.
SHOVE WRAP (Pencil Drop)
The back spot and 2 primary bases bend their knees and push the flyer’s feet together.
The flyer stays locked as her feet come together and drops straight down.
The flyer should get her arms either clasp overhead or straight forward for this dismount.
The bases & back spotter bear hug the flyer on the way down.
CRADLES
Pointers on cradles starting from an elevator (extension prep)
Use a count so that everyone moves at the same time. The back spotter calls: "Ready - 1 - 2- down - up - catch - and - out".
The flyer can do arm movements in a number of different ways.
1. They can start in a High V and on the pop reach arms up to a touchdown in blades.
2. They can start in a High V and on the pop bring arms down to the legs in front.
3. In the air the body should stay straight or in a slight arch. Feet should be pointed and stay down until right before the catch.
4. Upon landing in the cradle, the flyer's arm should hit a T motion. This will allow the third base to scoop and hold higher.

The bases should dip together on the down and pop up on the up.
After they catch they should stop the flyer at chest height and bend the knees to cushion the catch.
Be sure the bases do not lean forward as they catch.
They should not let the flyer's bottom go lower than their waist.
The back spotter holds ankles or calves of the flyer and throws from the ankle/calves on up. As the back spotter throws she should reach up, hands in blades until the flyer comes down scooping the flyer into her chest. Be sure she does not hit the flyer in the face with her hands as the flyer comes down.
All the bases should watch the flyer at all times in case she starts to fall or lean in one direction.
Could use a forth base (front spotter) if desired. She can hold the front wrist of the bases. She can help even out a bad pop as the bases dip and throw. The front spotter catches the feet at the ankles on the cradle.



SOURCES:
AACCA Cheerleading Safety Manual
Varsity.com
Kevin T. Brubaker (Charlotte All Stars)
NCA Coaches Manual