All-star cheerleading is a highly competitive sport that requires a great deal of athleticism, skill and dedication. The same is true for all-star cheerleading coaches. All-star coaches must be dedicated to cheerleading and willing to go above and beyond to ensure their squad is adequately prepared mentally and physically for demands of cheerleading competitions. Coaches will need to design routines, run practices, understand the rules of competition and prepare their squad for all-star competitions.
Step 1
Obtain a cheerleading coach certification. The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators along with the National Youth Cheerleading Certification offer cheer coach certifications. These certifications teach injury prevention, safety, dealing with parents, techniques in cheerleading and techniques in coaching. Certifications can be obtained through online programs.
Step 2
Familiarize yourself with the rules of competitions prior to beginning practices for the season. Obtain copies of the rules from competitions your squad plans on attending. The rules will tell you length requirements of cheers and dances along with any restrictions, especially with stunts and tumbling.
Step 3
Hold conditioning sessions a few days a week during summer. Have your cheerleaders jog, stretch and work on strength training to help better prepare them for competition. The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends one to two strength-training sessions per week for 30 minutes per session.
Step 4
Create cheers and dances. Watch footage of competitions held in the previous year, take a hip hop dance class at your local gym and watch music videos for ideas. You will need to choose music as well. Select club remixes of popular songs as well as remixes of older but well-known songs.
Step 5
Enlist the help of one or two assistant coaches. Teach your assistant coaches the materials and allow them to help teach your squad the new cheer and routine.
Step 6
Hold stunt and tumbling practices. Stunts and tumbling are a large part of all-star cheerleading routines. Hold one or two practices a week that enable your cheerleaders to perfect these skills.
Step 7
Be available. Give your cheerleaders a phone number and email address to reach you. Share this information with parents as well, especially if you are coaching youth all-star cheerleading.
References
- "National Academy of Sports Medicine: Essentials of Personal Fitness Training"; Scott Luccett; 2008
- Manassas Park High School: Cheer Workout
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