Proper Scorpion/needle Form?

[cheerdadof4]

Hey there! My CP is currently working towards her needle and she/we have a few questions about positioning. She's seen a lot of athletes/pictures of flyers holding their air position with straight, locked out arms. CP's on the other hand has bent arms and elbows although her leg is for the most part straight up and down, and near her head. Is their a reason/preference for the straight arms and if so, how does she learn to change her form? Secondly, with a transition for scale to scorpion she's found it takes her awhile to hit the perfect position, is there a way to make this easier besides stretching and becoming more flexible? Her leg/hip position seems to be fine - the issue is in hand placement.

Thank you so much!
CDO4 & CP3

 

[SmileyRyleigh]

Arm placement (bent/straight) depends on a few things, like leg flexibility and shoulder flexibility, and also where the athlete is holding on the leg... It may also just be coaches' preference. I don't think there is truly one "correct" way. (someone can correct me if I'm wrong!)

 

[Official OWECheer]

Hey there! My CP is currently working towards her needle and she/we have a few questions about positioning. She's seen a lot of athletes/pictures of flyers holding their air position with straight, locked out arms. CP's on the other hand has bent arms and elbows although her leg is for the most part straight up and down, and near her head. Is their a reason/preference for the straight arms and if so, how does she learn to change her form? Secondly, with a transition for scale to scorpion she's found it takes her awhile to hit the perfect position, is there a way to make this easier besides stretching and becoming more flexible? Her leg/hip position seems to be fine - the issue is in hand placement.

Thank you so much!
CDO4 & CP3

Needles are WAY different than straight-leg scorpions. A needle, with good body control, is easier (flexibility-wise) than a straight-leg.

Needle: http://cheerwiz.com/picpic126.jpg

Straight-Leg Scorpion: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1f/9a/93/1f9a93ba308944298d54cd87a9a660e6.jpg

 

[DaniV]

Hey there! My CP is currently working towards her needle and she/we have a few questions about positioning. She's seen a lot of athletes/pictures of flyers holding their air position with straight, locked out arms. CP's on the other hand has bent arms and elbows although her leg is for the most part straight up and down, and near her head. Is their a reason/preference for the straight arms and if so, how does she learn to change her form? Secondly, with a transition for scale to scorpion she's found it takes her awhile to hit the perfect position, is there a way to make this easier besides stretching and becoming more flexible? Her leg/hip position seems to be fine - the issue is in hand placement.

Thank you so much!
CDO4 & CP3

Play around with the hand placement that allows her to transition quickly and easily to scale. We have alot of beautiful tear drop scorps but based on their hand placement and the counts allowed in our routine, we couldn't transition to a scale because our flyers would have to switch their grip. As a coach, I prefer to have the flyer holding the backside of her leg with both hands (typically bent arms) so when the let go with their right hand, you are already in the scale grip.

Ask her coach and see what they. Each coach is different and straight legged scorp/needle/spike can be held many different ways.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

@cheerdadof4

Could you post a picture of what hers looks like? I think that might help others when giving advice. Is this similar to what you're talking about wanting for her arms?

I never had a problem grabbing for a scale with this grip, I just slid my hand through to the other side of my ankle. And to pull it, I always started on my foot with fingers facing out and just climbed up my leg. So I would go from foot with my left hand, and then grab ankle with my right hand, then adjust my grip and straighten it out. Not a great description but it's the best I can think of haha. I played around with a couple grips but that one worked best for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MzLyn23]

here's my cp's step by step how she grabs and stretches from scorp to needle or spike or whatever lol

I know she grabs, pulls, and then slides one arm down and continues pulling up.... her's does over extend but she wasn't fully stretched for this... she also does the quick version where she kicks her leg back grabbing with both arms and pulls the leg up and she slides hands down by her ankles or shins.... (sorry she does opposite leg)

 

[MzLyn23]

also from there she's always just takes her right hand and brings it into the inside of her ankle... her scale from needle barely moves just her torso... i don't know how else to describe it... lol

 

[cheerdadof4]

@cheerdadof4

Could you post a picture of what hers looks like? I think that might help others when giving advice. Is this similar to what you're talking about wanting for her arms?

I never had a problem grabbing for a scale with this grip, I just slid my hand through to the other side of my ankle. And to pull it, I always started on my foot with fingers facing out and just climbed up my leg. So I would go from foot with my left hand, and then grab ankle with my right hand, then adjust my grip and straighten it out. Not a great description but it's the best I can think of haha. I played around with a couple grips but that one worked best for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, the arms are the same with the exception of a little bit of bend. Looking at this photo I'm thinking maybe the problem is that she pulls it more over top of her head instead of straight up and down. (CP says your needle is beautiful, btw.) How do you find getting from scale to needle without full release in this position?

 

[cheerdadof4]

Play around with the hand placement that allows her to transition quickly and easily to scale. We have alot of beautiful tear drop scorps but based on their hand placement and the counts allowed in our routine, we couldn't transition to a scale because our flyers would have to switch their grip. As a coach, I prefer to have the flyer holding the backside of her leg with both hands (typically bent arms) so when the let go with their right hand, you are already in the scale grip.

Ask her coach and see what they. Each coach is different and straight legged scorp/needle/spike can be held many different ways.

Thanks for the great advice about holding her needle and transitioning to scale! Do you have any suggestions for going from scale to needle?

 

[omgitssydthekid]

Yes, the arms are the same with the exception of a little bit of bend. Looking at this photo I'm thinking maybe the problem is that she pulls it more over top of her head instead of straight up and down. (CP says your needle is beautiful, btw.) How do you find getting from scale to needle without full release in this position?

Tell CP thank you, but that picture is about four years old. I'm an aged out coach now haha. And going from scale to needle was tricky to get the leg all the way straight, but if I'm remembering correctly, I had to bend my leg a little bit to get my right arm to be able to grab for the needle, and then I adjusted my left hand to be able to straighten it out. I remember having trouble with that at first too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DaniV]

Thanks for the great advice about holding her needle and transitioning to scale! Do you have any suggestions for going from scale to needle?

Just keep practicing until it's easy and fluid. I tell me kids to pull A TON (like 50) a day to get more and more practice. But make sure you are stretching and doing both sides to keep your back and hips from hurting.