Cheer Safe

If cheerleading safety can be summarized into one concept, it’s this; skills shouldn’t be attempted before they are ready to be attempted.

While that sounds obvious and oversimplified, failure to follow proper skill progressions is perhaps the number one cause of avoidable injury. Imagine holding a baby in a standing position before it’s ever crawled. Not only can you not expect it to stand, if you let go, you know it’s going to fall! While we can encourage babies to stand and walk, and even help them to do so, we know there is a progression they have to go through that can’t be skipped. Athletic skills like cheerleading are no different. Every team’s safety program should include the understanding and implementation of proper skill progression.

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*Originally Published in American Cheerleader Magazine*

by Jim Lord
Executive Director, AACCA

Cheer often gets a bad rap in the media when it comes to safety. This is due to several reasons that require a long conversation about sociology, expectations, data reporting, misunderstandings about how cheerleading works and unfortunately, the reality that headlines attract attention. In truth, the risk of injury in cheerleading is about the same as other sports, if not lower.

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