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I'd just like to discuss or share views on the importance of gymnastics to cheer. Anyone out there with thoughts? For instance, should gymnastics be mandatory for try-outs? If so, should the gymnastics be performed right then and there during try-outs in front of one's peers? This also begs the question of "open try-outs versus closed try-outs". I guess that ought to be enough to discuss for now!:AngelPray

I believe that gymnastics is a vital tool used in getting one's crowd to their feet and revved up for the game! If gymnastics is mandatory to make the squad, then the gymnastic portion of the tryout MUST be performed during the try-out itself in front of one's peers judged by unbiased judges from out-of-town with NO CONNECTION to any of the participants. An open try-out is ideal and would really leave no question as to the outcome. Why would a coach not want the very best cheer leaders within their school on their squad? How cruel to everyone involved by putting girls or boys on a squad when they can not perform the required elements? Hamstrings everyone, hurts everyone, and makes for a dismal year filled with hard feelings and disruptions of all kinds.
"Fuzzy5118" Wrote:I'd just like to discuss or share views on the importance of gymnastics to cheer. Anyone out there with thoughts? For instance, should gymnastics be mandatory for try-outs? If so, should the gymnastics be performed right then and there during try-outs in front of one's peers? This also begs the question of "open try-outs versus closed try-outs". I guess that ought to be enough to discuss for now!:AngelPray

I believe that gymnastics is a vital tool used in getting one's crowd to their feet and revved up for the game! If gymnastics is mandatory to make the squad, then the gymnastic portion of the tryout MUST be performed during the try-out itself in front of one's peers judged by unbiased judges from out-of-town with NO CONNECTION to any of the participants. An open try-out is ideal and would really leave no question as to the outcome. Why would a coach not want the very best cheer leaders within their school on their squad? How cruel to everyone involved by putting girls or boys on a squad when they can not perform the required elements? Hamstrings everyone, hurts everyone, and makes for a dismal year filled with hard feelings and disruptions of all kinds.

Gymnastics is very important for cheerleading in this day and time, but I do feel as if it overrides the true meaning of cheerleading. I have seen girls that can tumble like crazy, but can't hold a high V. I think to get a very good and well balanced squad that gymnastics and fundamentals should be ranked equally. I would rather have a girl that is doing a round-off handspring with very good motions, timing, rhythm, facials, voice, compared to a girl with a round-off hand-tuck and horrible motions, voice, facials, etc.
"Pirate Pal" Wrote:Gymnastics is very important for cheerleading in this day and time, but I do feel as if it overrides the true meaning of cheerleading. I have seen girls that can tumble like crazy, but can't hold a high V. I think to get a very good and well balanced squad that gymnastics and fundamentals should be ranked equally. I would rather have a girl that is doing a round-off handspring with very good motions, timing, rhythm, facials, voice, compared to a girl with a round-off hand-tuck and horrible motions, voice, facials, etc.

Point well taken & I agree that good motions , voice, and facials are key elements to good projection and spiritedness! But you do agree that the backhandspring and/or roundoff backhandspring is essential?
"Fuzzy5118" Wrote:Point well taken & I agree that good motions , voice, and facials are key elements to good projection and spiritedness! But you do agree that the backhandspring and/or roundoff backhandspring is essential?

I definitely agree. I also think that to be competitive you should have round-off tucks also. Standing tucks are more difficult and that should be an optional pass at tryouts. More and more squads are requiring standing tucks at tryouts and I think that is great as long as they have the cheer fundamentals to match.
"Pirate Pal" Wrote:I definitely agree. I also think that to be competitive you should have round-off tucks also. Standing tucks are more difficult and that should be an optional pass at tryouts. More and more squads are requiring standing tucks at tryouts and I think that is great as long as they have the cheer fundamentals to match.

I am so glad you said this....... I didn't want to throw that thought out there since I've been so outspoken tonight!:AngelPray In order to be competitive a cheer squad must have gymnastics, good fundamentals, great jumps, and thrilling yet safe stunt work, not to mention fabulous choreography and thrilling/well-mixed music! These same skills all work together in a different way for a game situation but the choreography is in how the game is set up... i.e.pre-game cheers, dances, chants, and how your squad relates to its crowd. Knowing when to cheer the long chants and when to key on one words chants for the crowds benefit. It's important for all to know what cheer to do on your first full time-out or quarter change and what can be done during a 30 second timeout on the sideline. Just going out there without a plan won't cut it. Cheer leaders are there to lead the cheers/crowd, if they don't have a plan then time, talent, and crowd support of that ball team is wasted and then what have you got? The crowd should always enter the gym believing they & their cheer leaders are the 6th man !:champ:
AMEN to that sista!
But, I agree with the standing tuck as an option! Because most girls or guys who have a round-tuck, can they not pick-up the standing tuck during the year? And if not, some one has to be base during stunts don't they?
Nice point, but a squad with all tucks is much more impressive than one with all hands. there's a time and place to showcase everything! but I like the way you're thinking and willing to express your thoughts!
For me, cheerleading wouldn't be what it is without gymnastics! But if you have a cheerleading squad that isnt that competetive, and likes to just goof off and cheer then i don't see gymnastics as an essential thing, but on the other hand if you have a competetion squad where your main goal is to win district, regional, kapos, etc then YES you absolutely have to have tumbling to win!...But i would seriously be sooo bored on the court without gymnastics!
If I was a cheerleading coach AT LEAST a standing and round-off back-handspring would be mandatory.
If a squad doesnt compete then isnt exactly necessary to have any tumbling.

It is also hard to get good squad tumbling in the eastern KY area because there arent that many good places to get the proper training.
"Pirate Pal" Wrote:Gymnastics is very important for cheerleading in this day and time, but I do feel as if it overrides the true meaning of cheerleading. I have seen girls that can tumble like crazy, but can't hold a high V. I think to get a very good and well balanced squad that gymnastics and fundamentals should be ranked equally. I would rather have a girl that is doing a round-off handspring with very good motions, timing, rhythm, facials, voice, compared to a girl with a round-off hand-tuck and horrible motions, voice, facials, etc.


I totally agree!!!!!!!!!
Gymnastics is very important to cheering. It makes the squad look better the more tumblers u have, however tumbling isnt everyones favorite or best cheering quality i mean some girls are better at stunts jumps or even just motions but overall as a whole team yeah its important....
Cheerleading has progressed to the point that tumbling(not Gymnastics) is very important.  Of course it depends on the coach and what type of squad she/he wants and how competative they want to be.  Motions and the other fundamentals are also impairative to a good squad but those things are so much easier to teach than tumbling.  I can teach somebody to do a V in one day, but you can't even teach or learn a backhandspring in one day.
:1:I think that cheerleading does need at least some gymnastics..if you have noticed at UCA nationals in Orlando, FL all of the top teams have all standing tucks..and at least 3 or 4 fulls..in my opinion gymnastics is very important if you plan of winning a title!! :1:
You are exactly right and the most imporatant thing is squad tumbling not just one or two people who can tumble. the top 5 squads had squad standing backs.
It should be up to the girls as to what kind of squad they want to be. If they know their coach is good and will work them and whip them into shape so they can be successful, then they'll be more willing to work harder on those fundamentals. Gymnastic ability and or tumbling must factor into this equation. Why have a squad with half and half? Why have a squad pay minimum of 600 bucks a month per girl for a once a week lesson(which isn't nearly enough...) of gymnastics and never use it?(but we see this all over the place) Why not push every girl to max out her potential and bolster her confidence by acheiving her goals in gymnastics and then allowing her squad to benefit from her accomplishment? If you're gonna be successful in cheer competitions, you simply must have all tucks(roundoff and standing) and a few fulls! Check out the best squads, all have fulls. Get with it folks, backhandsprings are like cartwheels... NO BIG DEAL ANYMORE.... I'd use a standing backhandspring as a mandatory item for an elementary or middle school squad. High School squads must be ready to make roundoff tucks and standing backhandspring/back tucks mandatory or suffer through outrageously tedious years of mediocrity!
Amen!
Gymnastics are very important if you want to be taken serious as a squad.  At the high school level everyone should have standing handsprings, round-off handsprings and be working hard on everything else.
[quote author=blackcatcheer link=topic=18454.msg211467#msg211467 date=1142386935]
Gymnastics are very important if you want to be taken serious as a squad.  At the high school level everyone should have standing handsprings, round-off handsprings and be working hard on everything else.
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Respectfully... you can not be serious. If you don't make the back handspring and robkhdspg mandatory at the middle school level, you'll never get them at the high school leve musch less anything more difficult with any consistancyl!!!!!!! Too much happens with hs girls and if they don't have the ability coming in, then they'll drag it out and mommah will be raisin hell all the way thru because the coach is just "being mean or hates her baby"!!!! The coach wil be between a rock and a hard place because she let them on the squad knowing better and all the girls and their mothers will be madder than hell because they've paid thru the nose for gymnastics, sacrificed things for those lessons, worked their tails off to get the passes, but they can't win squat because their level of difficulty is that of a middle school squad because some were allowed in without being qualified! Talk about nasty situations, but it's going on all over this state as we speak!
well apparently it's not very important. if you go to UCA and watch, you notice that every time has squad tumbling. that is the ONLY must have with uca. our squad threw 6 fulls and 7 hand tucks and squad tumbling and still got a lower score in tumbling than the first place team which only threw hand tucks and handsprings...so to tell you the truth...i just dont know....


[move][/move]cheer_babe21
Snake...I do agree with you that you need handsprings in middle school...especially to help prepare you for the high school level.  My Jr. High squad had about 50-50.  Now only the girls that could tumble in Jr High are actually cheering for the high school.
Very if you want to be the best
You're only as good as your weakest member. Everyone needs to have the skills.