Cheerleading practice is vital to the success of your squad. Frequency of practice is not nearly as important as organizing effective practices full of valuable activities. One of the most important things you can do is plan your practices. Make sure to have a detailed, written practice agenda to refer to and file away for future reference.
Announcements
Start practice with announcements. Prepare a list of announcements prior to practice and work hard to stay on topic. Announce important upcoming events: games, practices, performances, fundraisers and social events. Make sure to provided detailed expectations for each event, such as time, attire and costs. Include time for clarifying questions. Answer all questions to ensure full understanding but keep a tight rein so announcements do not take up too much of your practice time.
Training
Carve out time from every practice for training. You can do all of your training in one segment or spread it throughout your practice but do not neglect it. Make sure your cheerleaders start with a thorough warm-up prior to any activity. A good warm-up with include at least 10 minutes of cardiovascular activity and a complete head-to-toe muscle stretching. The best choice for warm-up stretching is dynamic stretching, which uses movement to warm up the muscles. Also include conditioning exercises for motions, jumps, tumbling and stunting. Do not forget to take time for static stretching -- stretches that are held. Static stretching is what will improve flexibility and prevent injury.
Stunting
Carve out a special segment of practice for stunting. Have an agenda for the stunts you plan to cover during that segment of practice. Use the time to drill familiar stunts, fix and perfect recent stunts, and learn new stunts. Make sure safety regulations are reiterated and reinforced every time you start to stunt. When working on new stunts or stunts that have yet to be mastered consistently, always use spotters. Aim to have one spotter per person involved in the stunt.
Materials
Work time into your schedule for learning new materials and reviewing previously taught items as well. Also spend time incorporating stunts into cheers. Again, plan out the materials you will cover in this section to help you stay on task. When you are presenting new materials, formations or incorporations, come prepared with an exact plan. Decide who will be teaching new materials. Work out the formations on paper before you get to practice. Plan which counts stunts will take off on as well. The more you have planned beforehand, the smoother this segment will run.
Cool Down
Do not neglect a cool-down time at the end of practice. This is a good time to do the stretching portion of your training because muscles are thoroughly warm and supple at the end of a hard workout. Hold stretches for 30 seconds and repeat each stretch at least twice. Guide the stretching process by giving form reminders, encouragement and even hands-on correction. Use the time to revisit the most important announcements from earlier in practice. Consider this time as a general wrap-up to the physical workout and the meeting as a whole. Try to insert a cool down even when practice is running behind schedule.
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