How to stunt in cheerleading

http://www.ehow.com/how_4452258_do-cheerleading-stunts.html

The first thing you to do is make sure you have the proper clothing, shoes, and either in the grass or on a mat. Then you have to break it down in to groups the bases, fliers and spotters. The bases are usually the stronger girls on the team. There should be two side bases a back spot and sometimes a front spot if there are enough people or if the stunt is very difficult. The fliers are the girls getting thrown in the air. They must be very coordinated, flexible, have lots of balance, and not be scared of heights. The fliers are typically the smaller girls on the team because they are easier to lift and toss around. Then there are the spotters, the spotters are girls who stand around the stunt just in case the flier comes down a way where the other girls could not catch her. Next comes the stunting part, you should start off at a very simple elevator. The two bases should face each other with their feet about shoulder width apart. The flier should then stand between the bases with her hands on her shoulders and the back spot behind her with her hands on her hips. The flier will then jump into the bases hands while the back spot helps her into theirs hands. The bases lift her up to chest level and the back spot will have her ankles lifting her up to take some of the weight off of the bases. Once they are ready to come down the back spot will call 2,3 and either they will cradle or do a pencil drop. After they feel the have mastered the elevator they can move on the extension, one foot stunts and much much more.  

i choose this picture because it shows all different levels of stunting.

Cheerleading Accidents

In cheerleading there can be many accidents and injuries some more serious then others. There has been cheerleaders who have died from cheerleading. You can get hit in the chest the wrong way of fall out of the air and land on our head and break you re neck. But not all injuries in cheerleading result in death. There has been many knee, ankle, wrist, and back injuries. I myself tore my ACL from cheerleading, it happened just from cheering for so many years. It was the worse pain i have ever been in in my entire life. Some injuries can put you out of cheerleading forever but others you just have to take it easy for a could of weeks. You would have never thought of cheerleading being a reason someone could die but it is possible and a horrible thing. I know if i ever lost one of my team mates it would be devastating, it would be like loosing a sister. When your out on that mat you dont think about anything like that, when your up in the air getting thrown round the thought of you might die doesnt even cross your mind. It just happeneds all to fast and no one thinks twice about it. Even if its just a sprained ankle it hurts the team because thats one girl were out untill they get better and can come back.

Heres an article about a cheerleading injuries:
     
During the last 25 years cheerleading has accounted for 63 percent of all high school direct catastrophic injuries to female athletes and 56 percent at the college level, according to a study conducted by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury (NCCSI).  Cheerleading injuries continue to increase each year, in part because cheerleading has evolved into a high-risk activity.

i chose this aricle because it shows just how much cheerleading can impact someone and how often it happends.

I choose these pictures because it shows that we are like a family and we just like to have fun. Loosing one of us would be the hardest thing ever.      

Did you know ...

That cheerleading isn’t all fun and games. It may look easy but it’s nowhere close to that. There are so many things you have to remember from all the different kind of jumps to what move goes on what count. Getting up after getting knocked out and acting like nothing ever happened. Cheerleading in my opinion is probably one of the closest teams out there. Every girl on that team is there for each other no matter if we aren’t best friends outside of cheerleading. We fight through the tears, injuries, and drama together no girl gets left out. We all love each other like sister and treat one another just like that. If you mess with one of us you’re going to have the entire team right behind her taking her side no matter what or who is on the other side. But through all the drama we make it through the day. If there’s a problem that happened at school or during the day it better be dropped before you step foot onto that field. There’s no room for negativity or put downs needed at practice that happened hours before.  We work our butts off to make everything perfect and when that stunt falls or we mess up we keep that big smile on our face and keep going no matter how we are really feeling inside. On Friday night we give it our all no matter how our boys are playing or what the score is. We are out there to support our football players every step of the way and get the crowd pumped up to help them lead to victory. We push each other to our limits and sometimes even over, we don’t do this to be mean or hurt each other but because we know what we are capable of and we better be reaching that. We encourage each other to try new things and give it our all because at the end of practice we are a family and that’s all that matters.

These pictures show how hard we work to get where we want, but then we can have a little fun after we hit it.

Cheer as hard as you can, be the best you can at what you do because remember if you don't think you're good there's always a little girl looking up to you thinking she wants to be like you." Author Michelle, Bulls Gap, TN, USA

Tell me how cheerleading isnt a sport ?!

These pictures show us having fun a working hard. Where there to lend a hand when a teammate needs help, even if it is just to tie a shoe.  

Some say it’s a sport but others don’t agree, but what I don’t get is how isn’t it a sport? Not only are we the ones out there on Friday nights getting the crowd pumped up, were much more. We lift girls above our heads while they twist their bodies into pretzel form and keep a smile on our face while we do it. But the girls In the air stand on someone’s hand extended up into the air, we keep up smiling and our confidence while we are being thrown in the air and trusting them to catch you before you reach the ground. We build up our strength until were about to pass out but we always have to do it just once more. We run, yell, stunt, tumble, dance make everything perfect, and smile all at the same time even if we mess up. Staying up late to finish homework and practice the motions just so they can be pretty much perfect. We practice our jumps, motions, back handsprings, tucks, layouts, stunts, and everything else until everyone is sweating to death but the doesn’t stop us we keep going. Being there for your team when they are in need, working through all the injuries, the tough times and taking feet, elbows, fist, and feet to your face, head, stomach and back. But we just get back up and keep going. We work our butts off for ten months to make our routine perfect and when that first competition comes around we bring it just like every other team that’s out there. And no matter what we always leave with a smile on our face. But the best thing about cheerleading is through all the sweat, tears, and injuries we become a family and stay a family. Now tell me how cheerleading isn’t a sport.