Setting a Stunting Foundation

The beginning of the season is the time to set a stunting foundation that you can build upon throughout the year.  Now is the time to aggressively focus on mastering progression stunts.

In order to build a foundation for stunting, progressions are the key. It’s tempting to skip over them (and your team will talk about how “boring” they are), but you shouldn’t skip these steps, no matter how advanced your team may be. Here are a few reasons why.

Progression Stunts

When you look closely at all of the stunts that catch your eye at competitions, you’ll start to notice that they have one thing in common. They’re all based on progression stunts.

Progression stunts start out as simple as a thigh stand with the flyer who needs to step, lock and tighten. It is a prep with the bases using their legs to drive the stunt up. They are not bending over using their back. It is a back spot driving the stunt up to an extension and doing everything she can to take the weight of the flyer off the bases.

Transition stunts and inversion stunts all generally start or end in a progression stunt. If you don’t learn progressions (and master them) you’re hindering your team’s abilities to succeed down the line.

Team Skill Level

Every team is different. You may have a lot of the same athletes this year, but I guarantee those who are new to your team add a special element you didn’t have the year before. You need to get everyone on the same page and see what level your stunts are at now.

Progressions are the perfect way to do this and working with your new team is the perfect time to do it. You’ll need to know which groups they go to during stunts at camp and be able to tell choreographers the skill levels.

Progressions become a universal language for all of that in cheerleading. So all of you need to be familiar with where you are.

Even Pace

Skipping past progressions is like trying to run a marathon without training. You might be able to do it, but it’s not safe and it can lead to injury.  It also can lead to lack of trust among the team if they don’t all know what they are doing.

Progression stunts are just that–a progression. They were designed to move your team at an appropriate pace so they acquire skills they need before attempting higher level ones later.

You need these to build the base of your team’s future and progress them in a way that is safe and steady.

Progressions are the crucial cornerstone of your stunting. Focus on technique without wavering during the spring and start again in the fall after the break. I even love to use them as “warm up” stunts in practice so they never lose their technique and skills and I can always see how ready they are for the more challenging stunts down the line.

Watch the Progression Here:

Setting a Stunting Foundation Video

The best way to build a stunting foundation is by getting Stunt School for Cheerleading Coaches. You will receive access to 70 stunts as well as a number of training videos. Coach stunts with confidence – find out more here:

Stunt School

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