Cheerleading is an American activity that has spread around the world with the growing interest in American sports. But people have quickly realised that as well as being great fun, there are also a lot of benefits to the activity for kids to help them keep fit and active. Here are a few examples.
Strength training
Cheerleading involves a number of different roles including being a base, a backspot or a flyer. Each role has different requirement and all involve strength training in some form. For example, bases and backspots have to lift and support the bottom of a pyramid or a stunt and this develops strength as well as balance and focus. Flyers need to work with the rest of the team to get in the air and balance and control their bodies during the whole process. This means strength training is one of the key aspects of being a cheerleader.
Coordination
The requirements for good coordination in cheerleading is a lot like in dancing – it is essential to do the stunts and sequences that make up the activity. Much of the work is based around rhythms or counts and then steps are working into these. And anyone doing the flyer role definitely needs coordination to perform their role.
Flexibility
With stunts often including high kicks, splits, jumps and even whole sequences, cheerleaders need to be very flexible. Stretching and conditioning the body in order to be able to do these tasks is an important part of cheerleader training. It is also a safety aspect, reducing the chance of strains and sprains by making the body more flexible and agile.
Good posture
Poor posture is something many adults suffer with and the work done as a cheerleader can help stop this problem at a young age. The flexibility and strength that is at the core of the work leads naturally to a good posture and this is something that will continue into later life.
Improved confidence
Not all the benefits are physical ones – one big skill gained from cheerleading is improved confidence. The boost of learning things, developing yourself and gaining new skills has a positive effect on self-confidence as well as learning to work towards and achieving personal goals. These are all useful skills for kids to learn.
Team work
Another handy skill is the ability to work as a team, a critical part of cheerleading. Kids must learn to work with others in their team with everyone being equally important. Flyers can’t fly without bases and bases need flyers to finish the stunts so everyone is as important as everyone else. This creates a great sense of team, wanting to accomplish things together.
Taking instruction
When children learn to take instruction in school, it never hurts to add different types of lessons to their education and learning cheerleading is one of those different types of instruction. It is a combination of learning from an instructor and then putting that learning into practise, listening to what is said then making it a reality.
If you are looking for cheerleading classes in North Tyneside visit our website to find out more about our cheerleading and dance classes.