Event Producers Speak Out on Safety
Our hope is that teams will think twice before putting risky skills in their routines, knowing that the risk may not benefit their final score if their execution isn’t top-of-the-line.” —Justin Carrier, VP, Varsity All-Star
With cheerleading safety at the top of the industry’s agenda, Cheer Biz News asked event producers to weigh in on the following questions:
How can we as an industry encourage and promote cheerleading safety in 2010?
What advice can you give coaches to keep athletes’ safety as their number one priority?
You’ll be pleased with the responses—proof that the industry is uniting in its quest to protect all-star athletes, educate coaches and focus on progression.
“As coaches and event producers, we should expect the same level of safety standards at practice in the gym and in the halls of our convention centers. We as an industry sometimes treat the safety rules as rules that are only in place as an excuse to get a deduction at competition, when they are really put in place to keep our athletes safe.
Safety was top of mind when we created the new Varsity All Star Standard of Scoring. The new system emphasizes and rewards superior technique and execution, as opposed to the typically popular ‘difficulty.’ Our hope is that teams will think twice before putting risky skills in their routines, knowing that the risk may not benefit their final score if their execution isn’t top-of-the-line.
With only a few preseason months to get a squad up to par for their routine, coaches are often short on time to get a routine finished and presentable for their first competition. In addition to a short preseason, making adjustments to routines during the actual competition months can be even more stressful. With just days between events, many coaches have no choice but make important adjustments to the routine during the one or two practices before the team takes the floor again. Teams can only meet to practice so often, so the tendency is to teach skills the quickest way instead of safest way—meaning no focus on skill progressions or drills.
While most progressions and drills admittedly require a time commitment, the fact is that the benefits achieved far outweigh the negatives. Rather than making hasty changes to your routine, try watering down the skills in the short term until your squad has had a chance to progress appropriately. It may not give you the ultimate result you are seeking for that weekend, but in the long term, your athletes will be knowledgeable, confident, prepared and, above all else, safe.
—Justin Carrier, vice president, Varsity All-Star
“As an industry we have to continue to educate and promote safety to all the audiences of our sport: the coaches, parents, athletes and event companies. For example, we all know parents who think their kids should be at the next level, but if these parents were more aware of safety and progression, they might be more inclined to understand the level/team their children are on.
In addition, event producers need to improve on the safety legality deduction system at their events. If event producers look the other way and “warn” when there’s an infraction, how is this teaching safety? Coaches need to know that much of their success depends on their teaching safe, progressive skill-building. If on score sheets there were a bigger emphasis on technique, it would encourage coaches not to tell a kid to “just try and hit it” just because they think a more difficult skill will get scored higher. If the score sheets are asking for clean skills, coaches may be more apt to remember that when trying to get a kid to push for a back tuck.
We run our JAM U Conference and United Cheer Expo with the main goal of educating our coaches on safety and skill progression. Along with this JAM supports the NCSSE and the great coaching education it offers. The NCSSE is a great resource for any coach to continue to educate themselves on being smart when it comes to safety.
Coaches of all ages and experience need to know that the safety of an athlete is far more important than the success of any competition. We as an industry need to work together to remind ourselves of this concept. It is easy to get lost in the ‘results’ of our industry, but what we need to remain focused on is the longevity of our industry. One of the most important aspects of longevity is keeping healthy kids in our industry as long as possible.”
—Dan Kessler, co-owner, The JAM Brands
“To promote cheerleading safety, event producers should require coaches to have a safety certification through AACCA or the USASF. This will help educate the market on the fact that when coaches are certified, the risk of injury goes down.
Spirit Cheer offers a “Safety Discount” at all events rewarding coaches that are safety certified. Safety is at the forefront of our industry, with common sense and a push from all area’s of our industry to help police what is right from wrong, I feel confident in the long run that injuries will continue to go down. Having fun with cheer should be everybody’s number one priority.”
–Mike Pare, president, Spirit Cheer
“The spirit industry can add significant strength to our ongoing efforts to encourage and promote cheerleading safety by speaking with one unified voice. If we craft a single message that’s endorsed by every single event producer, cheer gym, coaches group, safety organization and industry association—and if we then each promote and publicize this message, then each do the hard job of enforcing every rule—cheerleading will be safer in 2010 and years to come.
Awareness is the key to injury prevention. Cheerleaders need to know that injuries can and do occur. They need to know the rationale behind safety regulations and what those regulations are. Cheer Ltd. recommends that coaches have a safety session as part of all tryouts and that each cheerleader be tested on the knowledge conveyed in that session. Tests should be graded and reviewed with cheerleaders, giving them the opportunity to correct the answers they got wrong. All tests should then be signed by the cheerleader and kept on file. Further, Cheer Ltd. recommends that parents be invited to the safety session during tryouts.”
–Gwen Holtsclaw, founder and CEO, Cheer Ltd.
“Encouraging coaches to get safety certified and, as a company, standing by our restrictions and penalties will help promote safety. But having rules is only a start; we have to teach progression and proper technique to adequately make a difference in safety. Coaches have to continue their education in cheerleading to not only keep up with this evolving industry, but to learn what is needed to keep their cheerleaders safe. Coaches should take advantage of all coach workshops, coach conventions and safety classes available to educate themselves on proper progression, new techniques, proper warm-ups, how to conduct effective practices, tools for keeping yourself organized and focused. The more in the know and focused you are on your teams, the safer your athletes will be. Also, an emergency plan and keeping emergency information on hand for participants is important.” –Shannon Tootle, president, ECDA
“As soon as the industry on the whole accepted different ability levels, the safety of our athletes improved. Athletes were then put into the level at which they could perform stunts safely. The USASF along with many of our talented coaches put in place stunts and tumbling that are accepted for each level. They also determined which stunts were not safe and not allowed at all. The sport of cheerleading has always placed the athlete’s safety first!
Cheer Power refuses to put teams on the floor without spotters. The many arguments for not putting them on seem to stem from them getting in the way of teams doing very difficult transitions. In those cases, we ask coaches to talk to spotters about some of the more intricate aspects of their routine. We have never seen a catastrophic injury come from a spotter getting in the way of a stunt. Judges always take that into consideration and never penalize a team in the few times that a spotter might have gotten in the way. On the other hand, I have seen many saves by spotters on the floor.
The one thing I would recommend to new coaches is to be sure athletes are not over their heads at the level they are performing. Nothing can be gained from an athlete pushing him or herself to achieve a stunt or tumbling pass before that athlete is ready to do so! We love to see athlete progress and move up—that’s the purpose of levels—however, there may be a limit to what you can expect from a certain athlete. The best coaches today are not only talented but always, always keep the safety of their athletes foremost in their minds. ” –Regina Symons, president, American Cheer Power
“First and foremost, we need to focus on the coaches and gym owners in the industry. There has been a huge push by the USASF to make sure coaches are getting credentialed at all levels, but not as much of a push by the gym owners to get the coaches who teach the Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 teams. A number of gym owners I have spoken with only get their Level 5 coaches credentialed and don’t worry about the rest. In addition to lessening the potential liabilities to their gym, they need to understand the importance of educating all of their staff so their coaches can start teaching the proper technique and progressions. After all, habits start forming at an early age, and if safety becomes a habit for the youth of today, then it will become second nature as our athletes gets older.
It’s a coach’s duty to look out for the athletes of tomorrow. There have been a number of rules that have changed over the past 10 to 15 years due to negligent coaches. It’s our job to constantly be on the lookout for things that might not be in the best interest of safety, and to make sure that all of our coaches and athletes understand that in order to keep our sport moving forward, safety and injury prevention must remain priority number one.” –Brian Elza, VIP host, Athletic Championships, choreography director for Premier Athletics
“As an industry, the key elements to keeping cheerleading safe are coaches’ education and parental involvement. We need to make sure that we as an industry are following best practices for providing a safe environment and always keep the athlete our focus when it comes to safety.
We continue to review our company safety policies annually to stay better prepared in the event of an injury to participants or spectators. Repetition of our safety plans educates our staff on what to do in case of emergency.
Coaches must stay up to date on safety issues and standards. Take advantage of safety education, such as those offered by USASF and AACCA, and continue to learn. Don’t push a team, group or individual past their ability level. Also, have a practiced emergency plan in place.” –Rhett Lewis, vice president, American Championships
“As an industry, we need to work together and collaborate our efforts to continually support and encourage coaches to be safety certified—and perhaps by providing extra benefits if coaches are safety certified. If coaches are certified and attend an event, they will receive added value.
I say to coaches, get certified! Stay current on safety issues and injury prevention. Take time and initiative to stay connected with Safety Seminars, and you will find coaching is so much more rewarding.” –Liz Rossetti, president & CEO, AmeriCheer Inc.
“Having worked closely with many of my colleagues in the spirit industry over the years, I firmly believe we all agree that safety is our number one priority as event producers. By continually educating, reinforcing and executing safety protocol at our events, we, as a whole, are bringing safety to the forefront.
UPA provides a ready-made emergency plan for anyone and everyone at no charge. In addition, the UPA Safety Panel of Experts are current on rules, regulations and protocol and are available to answer any questions pertaining to safety issues.
Safety needs to be the number one priority for all programs, whether they are a beginning rec club or an advanced competitive team. A solid emergency plan should be in place and the team should practice it once a month. Coaches must be trained, and all staff members need to keep their CPR training current. Teams must incorporate all steps necessary for stunting and tumbling (from the easiest move to the most difficult). Never assume that everyone knows what to do. Assume that they don’t!” –Lisa Saline, president & CEO, United Performing Association
“To promote safe cheering, All-Star Challenge has a stronger emphasis on proper technique in the judging process. The fastest way to effect change in the cheer industry is to put it on the score sheet. By rewarding teams for proper technique, teams are encouraged to perform skills that they’ve perfected and are thus less likely to suffer an injury.
For coaches, teaching skills with proper progression is essential to safe training. Also, proper conditioning and flexibility create stronger athletes, and stronger athletes are less likely to get injured. Finally, as it relates to competitive coaches, get a routine and stick with it. Consistency creates confidence and confidence in turn creates healthy champions.” —Dennis Worley, director of business development, All-Star Challenge and Xpress Brands
“The best way to encourage safety is to ensure coaches’ qualifications and training, which need to be current and updated regularly. Coaches should practice proper progression of skills and ensure that practice facilities are adequately equipped. Finally, coaches need to make sure safety standards are in place and communicated to all involved so that they may be met.
As an event producer, we encourage coaches to make sure they are aware of any relative state, city or league safety rules and consistently follow them throughout the season or year. We also encourage them to take advantage of the many resources available to them through the industry such as AACCA, NFHS, NCSSE, educational workshops and safety certification programs.
For coaches, when teaching new material and routines, proper progression of skills need to be in place and followed. Injuries can occur when even a basic skill is attempted without proper technique. Coaches should allow an athlete’s doctor to determine the extent of an injury and when they should return to active participation following that injury rather than making that decision based on the competition calendar. Too many athletes return to competition before they are ready, only to aggravate or amplify an existing injury. Finally, keep current with standard safety practices and make sure they are followed throughout the year.” —Brian Hallam, president, US Spirit
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