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♦ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2006
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Enroll your children in a program
that offers quality staff and safe
training practices.
So your daughter wants to he a
cheerleader and your son likes throwing
Hips off the sofa. What do you do with the
both of them? You enroll them in a facility
that offers programs in both cheerleading
and gymnastics. It sounds simple to call
the local gymnastics studio or cheerleading
gym for classes. The question ol which one
is not an easy one to answer if you want
them both to get the safest training from the
most qualified staff.
Today, there arc many chcerleading and
gymnastics programs available. Some gyms
offer primarily gymnastics with minimal
classes for cheerleading. This usually
means only tumbling and maybe some basic
jumps, with safety and skill in proper stunt
ing and technique falling by the wayside.
Others are cheerleading gyms that primarily
train cheering techniques and oiler minimal
tumbling classes, which means there isn't a
suitable environment in which hopeful gym
nasts might train using uneven bars, vaults,
and sophisticated gymnastics equipment.
Since gymnastics skills are now a require
ment for any cheerleading squad wishing to
be competitive, the goal is to find one ol the
new combination gyms that offer full pro
grams in both cheerleading and gymnastics.
These new combination gyms have taken
the best of both worlds and combined them
into one program. These gyms have
qualified and certified coaches in both
cheerleading and gymnastics. They ensure
that all of the cheerleading staff are certified
in American Association of Cheerleading
Coaches and Advisors (AACCA) safety
guidelines, participate in frequent
continuing education classes, and arc
certified in CPR and first aid. They also
ensure that all of their gymnastics staff are
USA Gymnastics safety certified, that all
apparatus is to USA gymnastics
specifications, and that the gymnastics staff
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regularly participates in continuing
education classes and is also certified in
CPR and first aid. These qualifications and
certifications allow for a “safety-first”
environment for these young athletes.
This not only allows you to get a
professional program for your young
athletes under the same roof, but there is
also the assurance that everyone in the
facility can and will work together for you
and your children. This is done through
monthly staff training in both sports. The
cheer staff is trained and certified in
accordance with USA gymnastics safety,
and the gymnastics staff is crossed-trained
in accordance with AACCA safety
guidelines, although it is not their specialty.
This cross-training allows for a full
understanding of both sports by the entire
coaching staff.
Competitive chcerleading boasts 31,(XX)
new participants this year, making it the
fastest growing sport in the United States!
There are approximately 3.8 million
cheerleaders in the United States according
to Sports Data, Inc. This is an increase from
3 million in 1990 and almost a 25-percent
increase in 10 years.
In addition, at least half a million
cheerleaders attend cheer camps each
summer in the United States and Canada.
The past 10 years have seen a rise of
All-Star programs, currently near 1,500 in
the United States, in which kids as young as
six years old begin intensive cheer
programs with an emphasis on gymnastics
and competition preparation. American
Cheerleader magazine reports that there are
currently 225 colleges that offer full and
partial scholarships to cheerleaders.
Gymnastics, one of the oldest sports in the
Olympics, is also a fast- growing sport in
America. A good gymnastics program will
offer a variety of pre-school and
recreational classes for both boys and
girls. Competitive programs should also be
offered for both boys and girls, level one
through elite. Gymnastics coaches should
be professional members of USA
Are you ready to take your cheerleading career to the next level?
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For questions or to register
Email: jonsmiley@powerhousecheerleading.com
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Gymnastics if they are taking teams to
regional and national competitions. You
should be sure that the gymnastics program
is a “club program" so that the athletes can
compete in national and regional
competitions with other aspiring Olympic
hopefuls.
Organized Activity
An organized activity can be beneficial in
the development of a healthy self-esteem.
With the decrease in physical education in
the schools and security issues in our
society at present, playing outside and
having fun while exercising has become dif
ficult. This has led to a sedentary lifestyle
with children getting absorbed in computers
and video games. This has also contributed
to a 4(X) percent increase in type II diabetes
in children ages 10-14 in the past ten years.
When children are sedentary, they are also
more inclined to develop self-image issues
due to the lack of exercise and stimulation.
They then develop poor eating habits and a
feeling of inadequacy. Sports such as
cheerleading and gymnastics encourage
children to exercise and stay healthy and to
eat a proper diet. In addition, they provide
emotional support and positive feedback
from teammates and coaches, while both
winning and losing at competitions. This
support and experience help children to
prepare for the future and to have a realistic
view of life and themselves.
Parental Involvement
Parental involvement in a child's life is
essential to the values learned and later
used as adults. According to The American
Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
(AACAP). parental involvement and
organized sports provide children with
a feeling of pride, accomplishment and
success, even when there is failure. These
feelings and support have been shown to
decrease the incidence of self-image
disorders leading to fewer cases of de
pression. anxiety and abuse of food. It is
important that parents understand what is
happening with their children, on and off
the competition floor. The staff of these new
combination gyms are dedicated to
assisting parents in the growth process of
their children by providing education in
nutrition, proper eating habits and fitness.
This support is provided in order to assist
the parents so that they can better support
their children. Without the assistance of the
parents, the children will find it difficult to
succeed.
When choosing a cheerleading and
gymnastics training facility for your young
athlete, look for a combination gym that
offers professional training from qualified
and certified coaches in both sports, making
sure that the gym has safe and well
maintained equipment. Look for a gym with
an in-ground foam tumbling pit for safe
landings and an in-ground trampoline
system to allow for safe perfection of
jumps. Seek a gym with full-size
competition floors (42' x 42’ foam floor for
cheerleading and 42' x 42’ spring floor for
gymnastics) to enable full training space
and proper positioning for competitions,
as well as a professionally built Tumble
Trak for learning safe tumbling sequences.
Finally, make sure the coaches and staff arc
friendly and professional.
The Top Five Things You Should Know.,.
1. Select a combination gvm that offers full
programs in both cheerleading and
gymnastics.
2. Be sure that the coaches are well trained,
have competed in the sport they teach, are
qualified, and have current
certifications.
3. Select a facility with high-quality
training equipment.
4. Select a gym that is concerned with the
overall health and fitness of your children by
offering seminars in health, fitness, diet and
nutrition, and choose a gym that
encourages your involvement as a parent.
5. Ask if the gym trains high-level
competitive gymnastics teams and All-Star
cheerleading squad teams.
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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
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