Get Ready for Competition!
What are the foundational principles you have as you prepare for competition? Now matter how long I have coached, I have found success by following five foundational principles as I prepare my team for competitions:
Get Help with your Routine
If you have never competed with a team before or you are not confident in your choreography skills, hire someone to choreograph your routine. Most coaches hire a choreographer. A choreographer will put together the most competitive routine for your skill level and will help you maximize your score.
If you choreograph your team’s routines, still have someone come to practice and take a look at your routine. You want to make sure you have all the elements needed to make your routine competitive. Having an outside perspective can make a significant difference.
Compete at your Skill Level
Be sure to have confidence in all the skills you will perform. It is better to have a judge write that you should add another level of difficulty than to have them write that your skills are shaky. It will also build confidence in your team when they can hit.
Follow the Scoresheet
It is important that you give your team a routine that will score well, so follow the scoresheet. If you are being scored for your use of signs – use signs. If there is a pyramid score in the music section – make sure there is a pyramid in the music section. I have judged many competitions and it is very discouraging to see teams not follow the scoresheet and that comes down to the responsibility of the coach.
Use All Members
Make sure you use all the members of your team throughout your routine. This is a team effort and you don’t want to just highlight a few of your star athletes. Judges want to see that your entire team has skills.
Stress the Importance of Everyone on the Team
Every member on your team needs to know how important he/she is on the team. There is nothing more frustrating as a judge to see a few members of the team not performing, not yelling, and not participating at the same level as the rest of the team. The team needs to know that the judges are looking at everyone on the team, even if they are in the back.
Check out this YouTube video for more information on this!
Do you want feedback on your competition routine? Send it to CCA for Virtual Coaching! Find out more here: https://www.cheercoachacademy.com/virtual-coaching
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