New Co-ed Flyer Needs Liberty Tips!

[Erin Miller]

Hello,

I have been cheering for 5 years now and now I am trying to make a college team in my state and I have been flying all-girl most of the time. I started training co-ed a few months ago and I've progressed pretty quickly however, I am having a hard time pulling libs!! I either pull too early or I feel like I am loosing my balance in the air!! Please leave me any tips that you think would help improve the stability and timing of my liberties!!

Thank You

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Stop trying to balance yourself. Let your base balance you.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Your only job is to be a statue and stay tight. Let your base do the rest of the work, and you'll find libs MUCH easier. Also remember that your weight should sit differently when stunting coed-style instead of all girl. When flying all girl, weight should be pulled up and forward a bit, which is probably what you're used to. When stunting coed, weight should be pulled up and back a bit. Don't sit or lean, but open your chest a bit more than you're used to.

 

[ScottyB]

Stop trying to balance yourself. Let your base balance you.

Bingo.

In coed, your job is to stand there and pull up and stay tight.

Think of it like balancing a stick in your hand.. you move your hand to keep the stick upright. Now imagine if the stick was trying to help you balance at the same time, it would fall over immediately.

 

[purplecheer]

When you hold your lib, pull your knee back to help you balance.

 

[913]

Your job is to stay as tight as you possibly can in the air. If your base is doing his job he will balance you, all you need to do is lock out your knee and squeeze your butt and core. Of course also make sure you're paying attention to the easy basic stuff because it's easy to forget about! Don't look down, don't heel or toe, don't sit into your hip, etc. Staying tight no matter what is the easiest way to make sure your base will always be able to hold you up if they're doing their job right. Pull your lib about the time you're at the height of your base's chest, if you pull any earlier it could make the toss awkward or cause you to move around and be hard to catch.

Strengthening ankles always helps with balance! A great exercise for this is to set a timer on your phone for 5 minutes then stand on one leg and balance. That's all you have to do! At 45-second intervals you can pull different body positions but do not put your other foot down until the timer is up. After you're done with one foot repeat with the other. Do this often enough and not only will balancing become second nature but you'll never twist/roll an ankle again!