This is part four of a four part series. All other parts can be found on the blog. I hope you enjoyed reading this and let me know what you want me to cover next!
Decades ago, cheerleaders weren’t having to worry about what would happen after they return from an injury. When we compare cheerleading to 1969 to 2022, many things have changed. The main purpose for a cheerleader was to cheer on the sidelines, and the highest they would go up in the air was maybe a few inches or feet. In its development over time, high-flying baskets and complex stunts and pyramids are built, putting athletes more at risk for sustaining an injury.
There are many steps that can be taken in order to prevent catastrophic injuries from occurring; Here are just a few.
Training
Although cheerleading continues to develop into the sport we’re all familiar with today, the standards of safety and training haven’t been evolving at the same pace. Coaches need to be up-to-date with all the proper training programs and certifications to ensure a safe environment for athletes. Considering the catastrophic risk that cheerleading can bring, even athletes need to be trained for their peak performance, and be able to maintain that high endurance levels at all time.
If one isn’t properly trained or educated about cheerleading and the skills involved, this can lead to a higher risk for injury.
Safe@AllStar, USA Cheer, and USASF offer a multitude of resources and guides for coaches, athletes and even parents.
100% Recovery Before Return
It can be super tempting for an athlete to try and rush back to the floor after an injury, but these athletes need to take enough time to actually allow the injury to fully heal. Not only are you allowing the injury to be completely healed, but you’re lessening the risk of reinjuring yourself. Athletes can regain strength, balance and range of motion through exercises given by physical therapists and sports medicine professionals before jumping back in.
Follow all instructions the medical professionals give to you. They're professionals for a reason, they know what they're doing. Athletes who are eager to get back on the floor and try to rush the recovery time are just putting themselves at risk for re-hurting themselves and potentially making it worst than the initial injury.
Coaches, follow protocols given by medical professionals, too. It can suck having an athlete out for a period of time, especially when they play such a key role in the routine, but I would rather put a 100% healthy athlete on the floor compared to a 75% healed athlete that still has a lingering injury.
Athlete Self-Care
One of the most important factors for injury prevention is athlete self-care. Making sure their bodies are properly hydrated and healthy will help provide all the proper energy sources they need to perform such a high-caliber sport. Athletes need to stay hydrated. IN a sport such as cheerleading, cardio and endurance are super important during a routine. Hydration is so essential, and if the body isn’t hydrated properly, it can start to shut down on itself and make the athlete feel super fatigued and exhausted. So if anyone hasn't told you today, drink water.
I've known a handful of athletes that don't eat a nutritional meal before competing because they're so nervous about feeling sick when they start to get their bodies going. This usually backfires because they'll feel like crap because they didn't eat. If your body is lacking nutrition, you're just putting yourself at risk of hurting yourself both internally and externally. Health comes before the glitz and competitions.
Governing Bodies Take Active Control
Injuries in cheerleading can very well be reduced, not 100% taken care of, but can be prevented to a point where the numbers aren’t astronomical every year. The organizations that represent cheer – United States All Star Federation (USASF), Varsity Brands, International All Star Federation (IASF), USA Cheer, National Cheer Association (NCA) – take an active role in controlling safety.
The National Cheer Safety Foundation (NCSF) was founded by Kimberly Archie. This foundation has dedicated its purpose to raising the standard of safety and care in cheerleading to reduce injuries, disability, and even death. The NCSF has always been vocal when it comes to athlete injury and safety. Even with it not being a governing body, the foundation has used its platform correctly to be the voice for athletes as the actual higher ups in cheerleading fail to properly use their platform to speak up and protect athletes in the context of any safety aspect.
The governing bodies have created all of these safety programs and regulations but fail to take initiative to implement said regulations. They're relying on coaches, athletes, and parents to fully understand the rules and programs so they don't have to always be on everyone about safety. USASF has reiterated time and time again that athlete safety is their number one priority, but fail to truly offer help and resources to stand by that priority.
RECOGNIZE CHEER AS A SPORT
Cheerleading itself was just recently recognized as a sport by the Olympic Committee, but has yet to be recognized by the NCAA.
The NCAA recognizes cheerleading as a club-based organization, so it doesn’t follow the same rules and regulations that a sport such as gymnastics would follow within the NCAA, and since it’s not recognized, trying to find numbers and the right documents to study the rate of injury isn't the easiest. Most cheerleading statistics that are available offer stats from individual states, and often is just high school cheerleading, or sideline cheer injuries that are being reported.
In order for the NCAA to truly recognize a sport, the sport needs to meet requirements. These include high participation numbers, sponsorships, etc.
While our governing bodies have the rules and regulations that we as gym owners, coaches, personnel, athletes, and even parents have to follow, they aren’t under the control of a true athletic department.
Some benefits of having cheerleading recognized as an official sport would give athletes access to proper training, qualified coaches, athletic trainers, better practice centers, and limits on what an athlete goes through. It would be a huge contributor to taking those steps in injury prevention and athlete safety; And also give cheerleading a good name and people would probably start taking it more seriously if it had proper recognition.
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