All of us at TSI would like to congratulate everyone that made their cheer teams!
What happens next?
CHEER SPONSORS
Cheer has been under the Fine Arts Department for years. The heads of the Frisco Fine Arts Department are from different backgrounds than cheer, so are not as invested. A couple of years ago, I reached out to them and offered my services to help. I received a hearty “Thank You,” was told that no one in my industry has ever reached out to them before, and then crickets. In my opinion, our cheer coaches are underpaid and overworked, just like our teachers (slowly pushing my soapbox out of the way). They don’t get paid anymore for those extra practices, so hats off to the coaches that do! I have nothing but respect! Also, there are surprisingly a lot of cheer coaches that don’t have a cheer background at all. Recently, UIL has adopted Cheer, so I’m hoping the industry will start getting more respect.
Please let your coaches know that I’m more than willing to help if they need it!
SHOES
Whatever you do, don’t let the all star kids talk your coach into buying the Infinity Cheer Shoes! Yes, they are the number one competition cheer shoe in the country! They are WAY expensive! They don’t last long! They come with a fashionable carrying case because you are not supposed to wear them outside of the gym! They are made for the spring floor and have almost no cushion. For the past several years, kids come to me with shin splints and more because they are practicing and performing on the gym floor and track in those shoes. Do some research and get a good shoe with proper cushion! I’m still a fan of the Reebok Freestyle Princess for $40! You’re welcome!
CHEER CAMP
You’re going to bond. You’re going to learn Cheers, Chants, Dances, Jumps, Stunts & More! There are also evaluations and competitions at the end of the week! Some of the teams are going to get a head start and practice, while some won’t even meet till camp. Can you guess who will win?
If you or your coach need any help, please free to contact me personally! I actually enjoy it! With over 30 years in the industry, I have a pretty good idea of where to find your answers.
STUNT CLINICS
TSI offers Stunt Clinics for school teams! I have been marketing to the cheer coaches, and have found over the years that most of them don’t respond. What I have found is that the parents are the ones that have to make it happen (with a few exceptions). One school has already booked two clinics! Some schools don’t want to deal with the liability of a practice off of school grounds. If you would like to set up a Stunt Clinic, ask the coach first. If she’s not interested, then offer to set it up yourself. If liability is an issue, then make it “Sally And Friends Stunt Clinic” and make sure everyone knows that the school is not liable. You’d be amazed how easy it can be set up. Now that I’m in my own gym, I have weekends open for the Stunt Clinics.
Just send me an email and we can get it set up asap!
Quick background on me:
For 10 years, I was the Tumble & Stunt Editor for American Cheerleader Magazine (for kids) and CheerBiz Magazine (for the coaches). The articles I wrote were How To articles.
I have spoken at Coaches Conferences across the US and Canada over Jumps, Tumbling & STUNTS.
I have been a certified Safety Judge for competitions for over 20 years.
SIDELINE WORK
Every year, cheerleaders complain to me that their crowd wont yell with them. How many of you were told not to spirit at tryouts? Did you ask why? That’s what cheerleaders are supposed to do! How many of you screamed “Yell with us!” during the sideline chant at tryouts and were told not to? And we wonder why the crowd is not yelling with you! Newsflash: It’s not the crowd’s fault! Can’t blame the cheerleaders, because they are doing what they were told, so do we blame the coaches? Again, do they have a cheer background in the first place? So who is supposed to teach them? If you go to an All Star gym for training, you might want to ask if the coaches training you ever cheered on the sidelines. Did you know that All Star Cheerleaders don’t even cheer, and haven’t in roughly 15 years? I have been in the all star industry since almost the beginning, and I’m not happy with the influence it’s had on the sideline cheer industry (see Shoes above).
Just so we are clear, I cheered 2 years in high school and 4 years in college, and have been working with school cheer my entire career. Coach Blake cheered at Lewisville HS and Texas Tech, and has been on the UCA Staff for I believe 10 years. (UCA is very sideline oriented in case you were wondering)
If you need help, get in touch with us!
PEP RALLIES AND SIDELINE CHOREOGRAPHY
Need a little more excitement on the sidelines? Is your crowd sitting down or on their feet at your Pep Rallies and Games? If you need material, we can help! We’ve got Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and Dallas Mavericks Dancers on speed dial!
This is what we do!
UIL
If you are on a high school team, then chances are that you will be competing at the UIL competition next year. This competition is VERY SIDELINE ORIENTED! If your team goes in with a performance style routine, you won’t last. If your stunts are not simple and solid, you won’t last. If you have squad tumbling, or a connected jump sequence, then you won’t make it. Once again, make sure that you hire a choreographer that knows sideline cheer!
Contact us now at Staff@TumbleAndStunt.com
Craig Callaway
TSI
TumbleAndStunt.com
972-839-3323