The Power of the Pony Tail – Encouraging Healthy, Active Girls

On Tuesday, March 22, moms with daughters interested in cheerleading – many of them former cheerleaders themselves – gathered in TheMotherhood in honor of National Cheerleading Safety Month to learn more about the benefits of the sport and important safety guidelines.

 

http://youtu.be/qYJXNZmY6No

 

Nicole Lauchaire, VP Corporate Marketing and Communications for Varsity Brands, and a former cheerleader herself, led us through the fascinating discussion via live feed video.  She was joined for a Q&A session by Amy Bender, a seasoned sports announcer and host of ESPN’s National Cheerleading Championships.

 

Read on for a recap of the discussion!

 

 

When should girls start cheerleading?

 

“My daughter is 7 and has taken one semester of cheerleading. I don’t want to overwhelm or burn her out,” said co-host Sara, Momma Findings.

 

“Sara, you are smart to worry about burnout. It is great for athletes to participate in a variety of activities,” said Varsity’s Sheila N. “Cheerleaders can start at a local cheer gym as young as 4 or 5, then continue cheering throughout her teen years.”

 

“The program my daughter cheers through starts at age 4. I think she was almost 5 when she started. They do very simple things (and no stunts) with the littlest kids,” noted co-host Deb, Mom of 3 Girls.

 

“My daughter started last year at 7 years old and LOVED it, and she was past the ‘are we done yet’ whining stage of things,” added co-host Clarissa, The POSHpreneur.

 

And as a parent, you should “get involved in selecting the right cheer program for your child,” said Varsity’s Nicole Lauchaire.  “Make sure the values of program are reflective of what you want to instill in your child.”

 

 

5 tips for parents with daughters who want to join their school team:

 

Parents should take an active role in selecting the right cheer program for their kids, and continue to stay involved. Questions that parents should ask as they’re getting started or if they haven’t already:
1. Is the coach certified through the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) and has the school conducted the appropriate background checks?
2. Does the coach adhere to AACCA practice and performance guidelines?
3. Does the coach ensure that performance skills are taught in the proper sequence using skills progression training, with an emphasis on training all squad members in proper spotting methods?
4. Does the coach properly balance practice time between skills training and spirit leadership instruction?
5. Does the squad have an emergency plan in place?

 

 

Tryouts and training

 

“Cuteness has nothing to do with it!” said Varsity’s Sheila N. of trying out for a cheerleading squad. “Most tryouts are not a single day – there are a few days scheduled for coaches to go over expectations, and ensure potential cheerleaders know what they need. Usually, it’s a mix of jumping skills, dancing skills and possibly stunting skills. Cheerleaders can always train at an All Star gym if they need special help on certain skills.”

 

“Cheerleading was just starting to get more athletic when I was in high school. Now, a good place to start is gymnastics so you are ready for the rigors of a good squad,” suggested co-host Sarah, Genesis Moments.

 

Varsity advocates teaching skill progression – starting with basic moves and mastering them to build a good foundation before moving on to advanced techniques – to reduce the risk of injury.

 

“Skill progression is SO important, and that really needs to be regulated by not only the camp teachers but the coaches and the squad captains!” added co-host Clarissa, The POSHpreneur.

 

“One injury is too many” when it comes to the safety of the sport, said Nicole Lauchaire.  She noted that, “as with anything athletic, there is the risk of injury. Varsity is working to promote safety and reduce injuries.”

 

“I love that she said one injury is too many! If you are a mom, you completely agree!” said co-host Felicia, Go Graham Go.

 

 

Takeaways about cheer safety:
As part of National Cheerleading Safety Month, Varsity wanted to address the issue of safety. Every injury is one too many. Safety is the biggest priority for Varsity cheerleaders and coaches.

Varsity is doing a lot to promote cheer safety and injury prevention, but we all need to do even more to keep cheerleaders safe as it evolves.

 

You can find safety tips on http://www.AACCA.org or http://www.Varsity.com

 

 

Safety tips for cheerleaders to follow:
Know the rules for your school, college or all-star division/level
Ensure your squad has an emergency action plan and has practiced it
Only perform stunts, tumbling and routines on appropriate surfaces
Warm up before stretching, jumping, tumbling, stunting and dancing
Only attempt new skills in the presence of a skilled instructor
Take the iCheerSafe pledge, which asks cheerleaders to commit to their responsibility to cheerleading safety.

 

 

Girls of all sizes

 

According to Nicole Lauchaire, there’s a stereotype in cheerleading that you need to be under five feet tall and under 100 pounds to be on the squad.  She says that couldn’t be further from the truth – girls of all shapes and sizes can work together to achieve a singular goal.

 

“What’s unique about cheerleading is it allows for all different size girls to participate, and to have a great squad you need the different body types,” she added.  “There’s something unique and special about how different body types are really required in cheerleading.”

 

For example, tall girls can be spotters, larger girls can be part of the base, and petite girls can be flyers.

 

“It’s so good to hear that girls of all shapes and sizes can participate and not only that, are necessary for a squad to have!” said co-host Deb, Mom of 3 Girls.

 

 

5 specific benefits of cheerleading:
Cheerleaders are more likely than the general teen (57% vs. 46%) to hold a leadership position in or out of school.
81% of cheerleaders have grade point averages of 3.5 or higher
They value being ‘ahead of the curve’ even more than the average teen and a whopping 84% say that people look to them as leaders.
Cheerleaders are more comfortable speaking in public than the average teen (64% vs. 54%)
When concerned about an issue, cheerleaders are more likely than the average teen girl to volunteer (56% vs. 46%) and join an organization within their school (43% vs. 24%)

 

“Our experience last year with our middle daughter through our AYSA sports in our small town was really positive…so much so that her older sister wants to join this year!” said co-host Alyson, 3 Ps in a Pod.

 

And co-host Meghan, JaMonkey, added, “I agree about the confidence. I probably wouldn’t be as forward as I am now if it weren’t for Cheerleading and Theater.”

 

Takeaways from Varsity’s Teen Survey:
Varsity surveyed 1,016 teen girls ages 13-18 to represent the roughly 14 million teen girls across the United States.  Here are a few of the findings.
Participating in athletics helps teen girls make new friends (86%) and gives them a built-in support system (65%). For example, compared to the average teen girl, cheerleaders are more likely to hold leadership positions.

 

“I can think of no better activity for confidence building than cheerleading. If a girl can help lead a crowd of her peers, there’s little she feels she can’t do,” said Varsity’s Sheila N.

 

For additional findings from the Teen Girl survey, and to access the Teen Girls: Influence, Involvement and Empowerment white paper, you can visit www.varsity.com/teenresearch.

 

 

Benefits of being active for teen girls:
Teen girls derive physical, interpersonal and emotional benefits from their participation in school-sponsored sport/spirit teams.
In addition to improved fitness, joining a sport/spirit team helps teen girls make friends and gives them a support system.
Girls are not just making friends – they are utilizing activities to grow their coping skills and improve their temperament and self-perception.
A huge majority of female teen athletes say that playing some type of sport/spirit team generally makes them happier (78%), builds their overall confidence (73%) and helps to relieve stress (69%).

 

“As a school counselor, we see a direct connection with being involved in athletics and the drop-out rate,” noted co-host Felicia, Go Graham Go. “They are less likely to drop out and generally are more involved in school in general.”

 

 

Uniforms

 

Some of the moms expressed concerns of the risqué nature of some cheerleading outfits.

 

“The issue of uniforms at the school level should really be black and white – no bare midriffs and skirts of a specific length,” said Varsity’s Sheila N. “Parents who are concerned should have their administrators check with the National Federation of State High School Associations (nfhs.org) to make sure their teams are in compliance.”

 

Those rules exist for cheerleading, but “I was a dance competition coach and we had to struggle with the girls who wanted ‘sexy’ outfits,” said co-host Britt Reints, Miss Britt.  “Coaching staff said no way.”

 

Co-host Clarissa, The POSHpreneur, coached a cheerleading squad.  She noted that “modesty CAN be mixed with fashion if you work at it. And for the parents that are concerned with the uniforms, I always invite them to do a private fitting with their child so that their child isn’t getting remarks from the other girls regarding {ughh your MOM is sooo old skool} and the teen can be under less pressure and just get the uniform ordered to their liking … comfortably.”

 

To find uniforms through Varsity, visit http://shop.varsity.com/uniforms.html

 

 

“Each Varsity uniform is customized for your school and your squad’s tastes,” said Bethany H. “You will meet face to face with your Varsity rep and they will help you through the uniform or camp-wear process.”

 

 

Cheerleading scholarships

 

“Since most college cheerleading teams are not officially classified as a sport, cheerleading scholarships vary from school to school,” said Varsity’s Sheila N. “There are roughly 300 colleges and universities that offer some form of scholarship, from books or meal plans all the way to full scholarships. A great source for the details is the Annual Scholarship Guide of American Cheerleader magazine. Look for Resources on Americancheerleader.com.”

 

 

Question & Answer Session

 

 

What are some of the things that Varsity is doing to encourage cheer safety?
Varsity implemented a Safety Awareness class for all of its more than 300,000 cheerleading camp attendees.
Varsity provided initial funding for AACCA, which has implemented safety rules and standards, training for coaches and cheerleaders alike.
In 2009, AACCA and Varsity announced stricter safety standards for all competitions.
Varsity worked with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to require that all cheerleading coaches at the college level be safety certified.
Earlier this year, with the help of Varsity, the USA Cheer Safety Council was created and launched to raise the awareness of cheerleading safety and education, address misconceptions about injuries, and provide data to ensure proper training of athletes.

 

 

Tell us a little bit more about the USA Cheer Safety Council
The USA Cheer Safety Council is made up of representatives from all segments and disciplines of cheer, including spirit industry leaders, administrators, coaches, athletes and parents biomechanics experts, and the medical community.
Varsity and the USA Cheer Safety Council are partnering with the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) to conduct a research study with a goal to proactively help reduce the risks of injury in cheerleading by researching the biomechanics for common overuse injuries.
Cheerleaders, coaches and parents can visit www.usacheer.net to learn more about the USA Cheer Safety Council and its safety initiatives as well as to take the “I Cheer Safe” pledge.

 

 

Our co-host Felicia wants to know if it is true cheerleading has more reported injuries than football?

This is one of the misconceptions about cheerleading that currently exists. Using the correct participation figure, the risk of catastrophic injury in cheerleading is actually eighth amongst high school sports.

 

A big thank-you to Varsity’s Nicole Lauchaire and Amy Bender!

 

And thank you to these fabulous Talk co-hosts and online leaders!

 

Felicia, Go Graham Go

Stacie, The Divine Miss Mommy

Meghan, JaMonkey

Alyson, 3 Ps in a Pod

Clarissa, The Posh Parent

Sara, Momma Findings

Sarah, Genesis Moments

Britt, Miss Britt

Deb, Mom of 3 Girls

 

 

See the original Talk here: http://tmotherhood.wpengine.com/talk/show/id/62177