Full Down

[kimhabri]

So my stunt group has been together for about 2 years now. We can do all sorts of stunts, but we seem to have a block for a full down. I'm secondary base. When we try to full our flyer seems to always end up falling on my side. It's like i become her back spot every time.. We will really take any tips on how to fix this. we've been struggling for about 5 weeks now,and no matter how we try to fix it, it continues to fall. Thank you in advance.

 

[Kate081]

I say ask someone with cheer experience to have a look at your group do one and see if they can see what the problem is. Possibly your flyer isn't twisting right, or the bases aren't throwing her high enough. It could be both.


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[cheerforeverever]

So my stunt group has been together for about 2 years now. We can do all sorts of stunts, but we seem to have a block for a full down. I'm secondary base. When we try to full our flyer seems to always end up falling on my side. It's like i become her back spot every time.. We will really take any tips on how to fix this. we've been struggling for about 5 weeks now,and no matter how we try to fix it, it continues to fall. Thank you in advance.

It is difficult to visualize what the exact problem is without seeing the full down attempt. Your stunt group could be doing a number of things. Could you possibly upload a youtube link to a video of this?

In the mean time, practice a regular prep with a nice high straight cradle. Make sure bases dip at the same time (bend the knees, extend arms by your ears and release at the top). Flyer should not be bending knees (legs locked!), staying as tight as possible & waiting for the pop. Once she feels the pop, she should be shrugging her shoulders with arms by her ears in a touchdown motion to ride that pop, NEVER looking down, ALWAYS with ankles glued together.

Examples of no-no cradle technique.
Make sure these problems are eliminated before trying any full downs!:

Notice how the flyer bends her knees in cradle, trying to "JUMP" out of the cradle:
Phoenix Stars Cheerleaders- Superstars prep cradle - YouTube

Notice how the bases do not extend their arms for the cradle. The flyer also does not ride the cradle:
Highland Cheer: Freshman practice; Prep to Cradle - YouTube

Flyer does not keep legs together:
Prep cradle - YouTube

If the bases are giving a good pop, the rest of the work is up to the flyer for full downs. For flyers:
-The shoulder & hip should always be in line! Think about it: if your shoulders twist while your hips stay facing forward, you physically cannot get all the way around! your shoulder and hip are a straight board when you are stunting! Tight and together.
-Don't jump out of the stunt/ bend knees
-Don't look down, because that is where you will go if you do
-Ride the cradle. Don't pull a shoulder down to try and spin right off the bat (nose diving is scary)
-Keep ankles glued together
-From a high V, shoulders should shrug up at the pop, then arms should wrap as she looks over her left shoulder (right hand to left butt pocket) as she squeezes her body together (remember ankles together!) to twist left. Her hip should follow her shoulder around, as long as she looks over the left shoulder, wraps her arms and stays tight as a board with legts/feet together.....that will be enough twist to get her around without having to wind herself up and pull her shoulder/upper torso into a twisting motion.