Expert: Kimmi - 6/16/2008

Question
Hi, I have a lot of questions for you about stunting. You see, I just recently made the cheerleading team at my high school and I’m a flyer. At tryouts we did easy extensions and half extensions and then cradled down from them and I was fine with those. Now we are doing Liberties, full downs, and twist-ups and I can’t seem to get them. When I do the Lib. I lose my balance then try to regain it and end up falling one way or another. When we do the full downs for some reason I fly back way too far when we were trying the “building” steps towards the full downs like just turning my head as the first step. When we do the twist ups I can’t seem to get my feet in the bases hands because I am used to having a back spot. I really have to nail these as soon as possible because some of the flyers are not going to be flying for much longer because our coach doesn’t want us switching out anymore and I really want to fly. My coaches have been giving me advice but they yell and I think that makes me even more nervous and its one thing to listen and another to do it when I am up in the air. Can you give me advice on the stunts and ways to practice at home safely?

Answer
Hi Ashley,

 It's hard to say alot about your problems without seeing what you're doing, but I'll do my best. With your lib, it sounds like you're throwing your hips off. If if you leg is lifted you need to keep your hips level for balance. You can practice this at home by doing libs on your bed, or a chair, or a pillow - something unsteady.

 Full downs can be difficult for people to get. With this, I'm not sure what you're doing that's not working, but I can tell you that you need to make sure you're wrapping tight when you twist, because that might be why you're traveling too far. On that one, you need to ask your coach straight out what you're doing wrong and how to fix it.

 Your twist ups is just a matter of trial and error. You can do them without a back. You should be holding all your weight in your arms in any stunt anyway, so the backspot is necessary. Ask your stunt group to do it with you over and over until you get it right.

 Even if you don't get all this perfect, showing your coach that you are dedicated and willing to work very hard will go a long way. Good luck!

Happy Cheering!
Kimmi