Stunting Issues: Flying

[beasthie]

Hey I'm a flyer for my team and I'm working on going up. When I go up my bases say I bouncr too much and I bring my knees together like I'm going up into a cupie but we do the old school simple step in. Is there any way I can fix this? When I go up they say I also stick my butt out too much, is there a way to fix this too?

Thank you for answering this, I appreciate the help!

 

[cheerforeverever]

Are you loading in for a two legged stunt I am guessing (as in, right foot is in base's hand, stepping in so that your left foot goes to the other base)?

The first thing that you need to be able to do is hold your own weight.
If you have not already, do some hang drills:
(Example: Basic Cheerleading Stunt Progression: Hang Drill - YouTube
This will ensure that you are able to hold yourself up without the bases or backspot having to lift you at all. Bases should be shoulder width apart. Flyer jumps up to lock out the arms, keeping them in tight (the further the bases are away from each other, the harder it will be for your arms to hold your weight as your arms are further apart). Your knees should be up so that it almost looks like you are seated on an invisible chair. Keep drilling this until you are able to hold yourself up with no help from the bases/backspot. Ideally, you want to be able to hold this for at least 10 seconds without coming down

Once you are able to do hang drills correctly, you need to understand how to step and lock:
(Example: Basic Cheerleading Stunt Progression: Step Lock Drill - YouTube )
The only time your knees should ever technically be bent when stunting is when loading in (unless you are doing a body position or something). You can practice stepping up and locking your knees out pretty much anywhere (a curb, a brick laying flat, a low balance beam, etc)......just be safe & don't try to step up & lock knees out on an unstable surface.

Once you are able to step & lock out, you can focus on the actual load in to sponge, then (once that is mastered), the dip up from sponge to prep level:
http://cheerskills.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-25-at-5.51.10-PM.png
When you are stepping in (right foot is already in right bases hand - picture one in link above), you are going to step into a "sponge", which is the same position as you did for the hang drill (arms locked out, holding your own weight - picture 2 in link above) as the left base catches your left foot. As the bases bend their knees together to "dip", you are going to push off of those shoulders to stand up & lock those knees out, staying as tight as a board. Something that may help you to squeeze tight is to shrug your shoulders up after you push off the bases shoulders.
Another thing to note is that you need your whole body to be aligned together (vertically and horizontally). Envision that your ankles, hips, & shoulders are all glued to a Popsicle stick.Where one part goes, the other 2 parts should be in line with it. To achieve this, you must squeeze every muscle as tight as you possibly can, so that your body does not move. For another visual, think of which is easier to hold upright: A wooden ruler or a live squirrel that is bending and wiggling around..... In other words, your job as a flyer is to stay as tight and non-moving as possible. Let the bases fix your feet if needed, as that is their job to adjust. You just stay tight with knees locked.

The "sticking your booty out" issue is due to not staying tight with ankles/hips/shoulders aligned. You are bending forward at the hips (which should not be able to happen if you are tight as a board), therefore allowing for the booty to go back. Your center of gravity as a girl is in your hips, so if your hips are bent towards the ground, guess where your body is headed? .

The bouncing sounds like you may perhaps be trying to bend your knees to jump up during the stunt (sometimes new flyers try this because they think they need to jump up to the top, which is incorrect) OR do not have the rhythm of stepping and locking yet . You do not need to add bounce to go up in the air. Let the bases dip you....all you have to do is stay tight while they dip and push off their shoulders to stand up in that tight as a board vertical position. Once you are vertical, DO NOT bend your knees. If you bend your knees once you are in the air, gravity will ensure that you are coming back down to the ground.

 

[beasthie]

Okay thank you so much I will work on this as much as I can!