All-Star Random Cheerleading Questions

[kickdblcj]

2 words...... butt scoots

 

[AshleyErin]

Yikes.... do you know any cheer coaches that balance cheer with college? I REALLY want to start coaching (I 'm getting ready for it) but I've never really heard of girls in college that can balance the two. I want to believe that it's possible, though.

I currently coach and am in university (second year)! I love it, it is so rewarding and my marks actually went up this year compared to last...but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with poor time management skills. It is a lot if you don't have a good understanding of your classes or have other activities that you participate in, but I also have a job in retail and I'm on the cheer team at my university so it is possible!

 

[Official OWECheer]

I currently coach and am in university (second year)! I love it, it is so rewarding and my marks actually went up this year compared to last...but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with poor time management skills. It is a lot if you don't have a good understanding of your classes or have other activities that you participate in, but I also have a job in retail and I'm on the cheer team at my university so it is possible!

Thanks so much for the advice!

 

[BigBow]

Not a question, but just something random and funny (WARNING: adult language!)

cheer coaches be like...

 

[Twinklestars]

Does anyone know how I can take free CPR/First Aid classes? Also, what jobs in the industry can I work in the summer and on weekends? I am in school right now and want to start working (I feel like getting a cheer-focused job will help me to manage my time better).

Sometimes fire departments will offer or do classes for free.

I would start calling local gyms about summer and weekend work.

 

[ssccxnce]

Not a question, but just something random and funny (WARNING: adult language!)

cheer coaches be like...

THIS IS MAJESTIC.
I don't even coach but like 80% of these were my feelings during practice.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Sometimes fire departments will offer or do classes for free.

I would start calling local gyms about summer and weekend work.

Thank you!

 

[LeahofthePack]

What is the difference between A&T and STUNT? Or is there no difference? If there is a difference, could a school have both a A&T team and a STUNT team?

 

[AScheer]

2 words...... butt scoots

Did I miss something?

 

[kickdblcj]

Did I miss something?

conditioning

 

[mamabear]

Not a question, but just something random and funny (WARNING: adult language!)

cheer coaches be like...

lmao---that is awesome

 

[retiredl5cheer]

What is the difference between A&T and STUNT? Or is there no difference? If there is a difference, could a school have both a A&T team and a STUNT team?

A&T is a sport all its own and I think STUNT is sponsored by Varsity. I could be completely wrong.

 

[Cheeranswers]

i can't read A&T without saying AT&T in my head

 

[Ems]

What is the difference between A&T and STUNT? Or is there no difference? If there is a difference, could a school have both a A&T team and a STUNT team?

A&T is it's own sport that's treated like any other sport at their school. It's broken up into 6 different sections: compulsory, partner/group stunts, baskets, tumbling, pyramids, and group routine. Besides compulsory, where each team is scored on how well they can execute the same routine, the rest of the sections are completely unique. They're scored very similarly to gymnastics, based on execution and difficulty, where each team has the whole floor to themselves and everything is done to counts. The style of the stunting is a bit different from cheerleading as well as the group routine layout. Stunt teams are their own entity completely different from their schools (usually non-competitive) cheer team, like Baylor and Oregon.

STUNT is put on by USA Cheer/Varsity. It's broken up into 4 quarters: group stunt, jumps and tumbling, pyramids and baskets, then group routine. Teams learn 6 pre-made routines for the first 3 quarters, 18 one minute length routines in total. The routines increase in difficulty, with routine 1 being the easiest, routine 6 being the hardest. They are given a DVD of the routines along with count sheets before the start of the season (I think November-ish?). At the actual meet, they go head to head against another team, performing the same routine on the same mat (three panels for each team, a "neutral" panel in the middle"). At the beginning of the meet, there's a coin toss to see who win's "possession," meaning who gets to pick which routine competed first. Say team ABC wins possession, they pick routine 3, both teams go out on the mat and do routine 3, then the judges decide who wins based on execution and timing. The losing team gets 1 point, the winning team gets 2 points and possession to pick the next routine. There are 4 routines per quarter, excluding the last quarter which is your traditional 2:20 routine. At the end of each quarter theres a 2 minute break, and between the 2nd and 3rd quarter, there is a 10 minute halftime. At the beginning of each quarter, which ever team has the lowest score gets possession. In the fourth quarter, teams get the whole mat to themselves and the points are multiplied by 4 since you're only competing one time. Kinda confusing written out, but if you watch it, it makes more sense. The STUNT teams are usually the school's competitive cheer team, and they perform their competition routine for the fourth quarter. For example, Louisville All-Girl and OSU Small Coed (they replace the guys) are their school's STUNT teams.

Also to answer the question if schools could have their own A&T and STUNT team, I'm going to say technically yes, but I don't think it's going to happen. I feel like A&T popped up in response to cheer teams not being competitive (Oregon/Baylor) or their competition cheer team got cut (Quinnipiac, HPU). I don't even think any school with an A&T program has a competitive cheer team. While they both meet Title 9 requirements for a sport, A&T is much more accepted by schools as a sport, at least from what I've seen.

 

[Gannon Coach]

A&T is it's own sport that's treated like any other sport at their school. It's broken up into 6 different sections: compulsory, partner/group stunts, baskets, tumbling, pyramids, and group routine. Besides compulsory, where each team is scored on how well they can execute the same routine, the rest of the sections are completely unique. They're scored very similarly to gymnastics, based on execution and difficulty, where each team has the whole floor to themselves and everything is done to counts. The style of the stunting is a bit different from cheerleading as well as the group routine layout. Stunt teams are their own entity completely different from their schools (usually non-competitive) cheer team, like Baylor and Oregon.

STUNT is put on by USA Cheer/Varsity. It's broken up into 4 quarters: group stunt, jumps and tumbling, pyramids and baskets, then group routine. Teams learn 6 pre-made routines for the first 3 quarters, 18 one minute length routines in total. The routines increase in difficulty, with routine 1 being the easiest, routine 6 being the hardest. They are given a DVD of the routines along with count sheets before the start of the season (I think November-ish?). At the actual meet, they go head to head against another team, performing the same routine on the same mat (three panels for each team, a "neutral" panel in the middle"). At the beginning of the meet, there's a coin toss to see who win's "possession," meaning who gets to pick which routine competed first. Say team ABC wins possession, they pick routine 3, both teams go out on the mat and do routine 3, then the judges decide who wins based on execution and timing. The losing team gets 1 point, the winning team gets 2 points and possession to pick the next routine. There are 4 routines per quarter, excluding the last quarter which is your traditional 2:20 routine. At the end of each quarter theres a 2 minute break, and between the 2nd and 3rd quarter, there is a 10 minute halftime. At the beginning of each quarter, which ever team has the lowest score gets possession. In the fourth quarter, teams get the whole mat to themselves and the points are multiplied by 4 since you're only competing one time. Kinda confusing written out, but if you watch it, it makes more sense. The STUNT teams are usually the school's competitive cheer team, and they perform their competition routine for the fourth quarter. For example, Louisville All-Girl and OSU Small Coed (they replace the guys) are their school's STUNT teams.

Also to answer the question if schools could have their own A&T and STUNT team, I'm going to say technically yes, but I don't think it's going to happen. I feel like A&T popped up in response to cheer teams not being competitive (Oregon/Baylor) or their competition cheer team got cut (Quinnipiac, HPU). I don't even think any school with an A&T program has a competitive cheer team. While they both meet Title 9 requirements for a sport, A&T is much more accepted by schools as a sport, at least from what I've seen.

There are actually three schools with A&T and a competitive cheer program! Gannon is one of them - we are very fortunate here that both are considered a sport and we have access to great resources! A&T and Comp Cheer were added at the same time (April 2013) so for both programs, this is our first competitive season. We both are also separate from our traditional sideline program. I am the competitive cheer coach, and I oversee the gameday cheer team (cheer at home football and basketball games) but they have their own coach and are an entirely separate program. We're fortunate that our administration here is so supportive of both programs and we have not had any issues with having all three teams (Comp Cheer, A&T, and sideline) coexisting successfully.

I know that Adrian College in MI also has a competitive cheer team, but share a coaching staff with their A&T program - at least last I had heard back in the fall. I am also 99% sure that King University in TN has a competitive cheer team in addition to their A&T program. Our competitive cheer team does not compete in STUNT, but will be attending NCA College Nationals, in addition to other local/regional events. I don't believe either of the other schools participate in STUNT either, but I'm not positive on that. So while it's definitely unlikely, it's not impossible!

To be honest, I wish more schools would consider both - there's more than enough interest at the youth/high school level to support both programs and athletes tend to gravitate toward one or the other because the competitive format is so different. I like that at Gannon we have access to the exact same resources (funding, scholarships, equipment, practice space, athletic training, etc.) because it really allows the athletes to pick what's the best fit for them - they each have their own merits! We love having both programs here and it has really worked well so far.

Just thought I would share!