DII Game Day Cheer, Get On My Level

Game day is a major part of college cheerleading, especially for the Tarleton State Cheerleading Team.  Tarleton fans live for GAME DAY!!   We get excited about ours sports from the minute the schedules are released! I would like to give you an idea of a football game day prep for college cheer at Tarleton.  

Tailgating

Tarleton State has created an amazing setup for tailgating called Texan Alley. This amazing tailgating event starts 3 hours before kick-off with an incredible turn-out of students, faculty, alumni, community, and football fans.  Texan Alley,  is a FREE event, with amazing food, music, and lots of Tarleton State Spirit.  Our Texan cheerleaders are definitely a familiar face at Texan Alley as we lead the Football team from the bus through a spirit tunnel as they make their way into our stadium to start their pregame warm-up.  This is just the beginning of a new tradition we started here at Texan Alley, a tradition of love and spirit for our Tarleton Texans, a tradition we hope  to continue and grow into an even bigger event.    

Preparation for Game Day

The week prior to game day we practice for 6-8 hours to learn new skills so that we can show off for our Texan Nation from the sidelines to support our purple and white.  During these practices we perform our run-throughs on the actual Memorial Stadium field to prepare ourselves for the pre-game and the game day activities.  It takes a certain amount of coordination to keep a balance between The Sound & The Fury (our marching band), and The Texan Stars (our dance team)  to ensure that our pregame agendas all run smoothly while performing for the Texan crowd and getting everyone pumped up for the Texans as they run on the field to the sound of the Tarleton Fight Song.  Some of the cheerleaders tumble out to the middle of the field while other cheerleaders run with the flags while the remaining cheerleaders stunt and/or shake their poms until the last player or coach runs through the spirit tunnel that we have created for them.

Once we have completed our run through, we must hustle to the sidelines to get into position for kickoff and to continue cheering our Texans to the victory.  I consider sideline cheerleading the most difficult aspect of game-day routine as we are constantly calling chants, throwing baskets, tumbling, building our cheer pyramid, which is one of newest routines we just conquered, performing our elite stunts,  and last but not least, performing different jumps!  “Cheerleading's 100 year history has developed as its own unique sport; but also why our sport's "cheer leading" or "leading" of "cheer" skills are used to enhance crowd participation at sporting events. You'll notice these skills have been technically developed specifically to lead and energize sporting event crowds which easily transforms to the great excitement we all see today at cheerleading competition venues around the world.”2

When the Texans score a touchdown, I have part of the cheerleaders run onto the field with the Texan flags, while the remainder of the cheerleaders run to the endzone to execute the ripple standing backs.  If we have any promotional items like t-shirts or footballs we throw these to the ever roaring crowd in celebration.  

According to an article I read on Varsity Cheerleading’s website, “A larger crowd, more spirit, and fans that genuinely care if the team wins the game are just a few things that make a difference when cheering in college.”1 Tarleton students have  amazing school spirit, a spirit  that fills our stands chanting and making it known that We Are, Tarleton State!  If you have never experienced a Tarleton State home game, I encourage you to follow us @TarletonSports to stay in the loop of each upcoming event, you won’t be disappointed.

 

References

1(2017). Retrieved 1 March 2017, from https://varsity.com/images/library/pdf_college/college.pdf

2(2017). Cheerunion.org. Retrieved 1 March 2017, from http://cheerunion.org/history/gameday/

Skill Differences in College Cheer

College cheer is a competitive sport that requires discipline and dedication. To cheer at the college level, the athlete typically needs to meet minimum skill standards in order to make the team. As the Head Cheer Coach at Tarleton State University, I will share the skill requirements for our athletes.

It’s a Numbers Game.

Think about sports teams - they often have a huge number of athletes hoping to make the team but the rosters are typically small.  At Tarleton State, the cheer roster consists of 50 spots. With nearly 2,500 freshmen enrolling each year, you can bet that some may be interested in cheering at the college level but the open spots are few. Do these hopeful athletes have what it takes to make the cheer team? Experience and skill sets makes the difference.

Cheer Divisions

Cheerleading takes many shapes and forms, from little bitties to adults, from All-Star (competition) to grade school all the way up to college.  One of the more obvious differences in All-Star Cheer and school cheer is just that - competition.  All-Star cheerleaders are not always school cheerleaders and vice versa.  All-Star cheer is broken into levels for their skill sets.  These different levels are set for safety reasons by the U.S. All Star Federation (USASF).  Not only is All-Star cheer broken into levels, but they also have age groups which are set by USASF.  All-Star cheer typically runs all year long where school cheer is just during the actual school year, cheering at school athletic events.2  

College Cheer for your school first.

Looking further into college cheerleading, more specifically here at Tarleton, our cheerleaders participate in both school and competitive cheer.  Cheering for our school comes first, and then competitive cheer.  Safety skills are different in college as we cheer on different surfaces ie:  track, turf, dead mat (what you see below without the spring portion), basketball court whereas competitive cheer performs solely on a spring floor (see image below for what a spring floor looks like)

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Rules and Skill Sets

College cheer rules and skill sets are different from high school and/or All-Star Cheer.  Since colleges have different divisions like Junior College, NCAA Division I/II/III, all of the safety rules are implemented across the board for colleges from American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) and are required by NCAA to have a certified coach due to cheerleading not being a NCAA sport.  Most high schools follow the same guidelines set by AACCA but some are able to adhere to NFHS (National Federation High Schools) safety rules.1

Let’s break down some of the different skills within cheerleading and what the different skill sets are:  

Stunting, here are a few videos showing dismounts that are only legal for college cheer:

Twist Release to Prone X

Front Flip Cradle Dismount

Baskets:  

Back Tuck

Pyramids:

Inverted Pyramid with Release

One last thing that most don’t think about with cheerleading and would only come up with a routine would be the dive roll. Dive rolls are not legal for anyone except for college cheer according to USASF and AACCA.1

These are just a few examples, to view more videos there is a full listing on the AACCA website.1  

After reading this blog my hope is that you have a better understanding as to why there are so many differences in college cheer versus high school and/or all star.  It is important to realize that not everyone knows these differences however the plan is for those interested to be able to have a clear idea so that they are more aware and prepared should they make the transition from high school/all star to college.    

References

1 American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators:  http://aacca.org/

2 United States All Star Federation for Cheer and Dance Teams:  http://usasfrules.com/

Benefits to Cheering in College

If you haven’t ever cheered in college but really would like to, keep reading as I plan to tell you all of the ins and outs to life as a college cheerleader from the perspective of Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.  Varsity, a wonderful resource which highlights the cheer profession, has a great little article that corelates but from a much more vague standpoint, you can read that here:  https://varsity.com/images/library/pdf_college/college.pdf

At Tarleton State University we have been given a multitude of opportunities and resources to help us “take the cake” and excel in the college cheer world.  For starters, not only do our cheerleaders receive financial assistance for academics via scholarships and out-of-state tuition waivers, but we also cover all travel and clothing expenses. This includes uniforms, practice wear, travel gear, and poms for the girls and megs for the guys to name a few.  

In addition to all of the aforementioned benefits, the opportunities for Tarleton cheerleaders extend well past the financial aspect.  Our athletes have access to strength and conditioning coaches that are certified nutritionists and personal trainers. These coaches create and conduct workouts for our cheerleaders which take place in our state of the art Texan Weight Room.  Therefore, Tarleton cheerleaders are  receiving optimal and effective workout routines and training programs.

Cheerleading is dangerous - accidents and injuries happen. In the event of one of these occurrences we have access to in-house certified athletic trainers.  These athletic trainers are nationally accredited and certified to ensure that our cheerleaders get the best treatment and return to play as soon as possible.  

Education is our number one priority at Tarleton; it’s the actual reason you are coming to college, therefore we take it seriously.  We have mandatory study hall hours each week and access to tutors l for any and all academic subjects , thus enabling our cheerleaders to be the successful students.  In order to guarantee our cheerleaders’ academic success, grade requirements  must be met in order to maintain eligibility(minimum 2.00 GPA) to cheer, as well as scholarships eligibility(minimum 2.50 GPA).  

Let’s talk about practicing, you have to practice to get better right?  At Tarleton we have access to our own gym every day from 1-3pm.  Inside this gym we have a set of 9 purple flex roll mats that interlock with our Block T logo in the middle.  Having these mats gives us the proper space and safety needed to perform our day to day skills.  We follow American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA( College Cheer Safety Rules at all times.  If you would like to learn more about those college safety rules you can find them here:  http://cheerrules.com/aacca-college/

Cheering at Tarleton is a once in a lifetime opportunity that you do not want to miss.  Come join the Tarleton family and become a Texan from the inside out.  

Sources:  

Varsity.com College Cheerleading: Being a College Cheerleader. Retrieved February 01, 2017, from https://varsity.com/images/library/pdf_college/college.pdf

CheerRules.com 2016-2017 AACCA College Safety Rules. Retrieved February 01, 2017 from http://cheerrules.com/aacca-college/

College Cheer Nationals: An Experience Like No Other

Going to National Cheerleading Association (NCA) College Nationals is one of the largest recruiting opportunities for college cheerleading coaches.  Along with competition, scholarships, travel expenses, priority housing are a few other opportunities available.  A little back history for those of you that aren't familiar with college competitions. Teams do not sign up to compete at College Nationals but actually have to earn a bid in order to qualify for Nationals. These bids come from summer camps and are partially paid bids:  gold, silver and bronze. There is one more option to qualify for Nationals and that's by sending in a video. Here's a link to more information on paid bids for NCA CollegeNationals: http://nca.s3.varsity.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Files/Competitions/Rules-Divisions/college_rule_book.pdf

As a college cheer team, our team strives to obtain a gold paid bid from summer camp; however, we are happy with a silver if we win one of those!  More bid information can be found here: https://www.varsity.com/publications/NCA-NDA-College-Camp.html#20-21

So let’s fast forward, we are preparing for Nationals from day 1 of tryouts.  It is imperative to recruit the most elite athletes to be on the mat at competition since we are only allowed 20 (11 men and 9 women) cheerleaders.  NCA’s motto is “The Work is Worth It”, honestly I cannot think of a better saying.
 

Competition isn’t the main focus for our collegiate team, however it is still important.  That being said, our day-to-day emphasis is supporting school events, cheering at athletic competitions, daily workouts, and study hall. Sometimes it seems that practicing for College Nationals is pushed to the back burner; however, this is the one thing that we get to do for ourselves so we make time for it.  From learning new skills and pushing each other while practicing for Nationals, we create team unity and we become more like a family.  Competition can either build you up or break you down...lucky for me I can say it has always built my team up.  As a coach, I can see this unbreakable bond when my team walks off of the competition mat - knowing they did everything they could in that moment and that they “left it all on the mat”.

Every cheerleader that I have had the pleasure of coaching said competing at NCA College Cheer Nationals was like no other competition they had ever experienced. Preparing the team veterans for the competition is easy, but it is difficult to prepare the rookies who have never competed at that level of competition before.  Each year we start over, we do our best to prepare them for one of the greatest moments in their college career - NCA College Cheer Nationals.  



Sources:  
Boggs, B. (2017, January 01). College Rule Book for College Teams. Retrieved March 01, 2017, from http://nca.s3.varsity.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Files/Competitions/Rules-Divisions/college_rule_book.pdf

Boggs, B. (2017, February 20). Paid Bids. Retrieved March 01, 2017, from https://www.varsity.com/publications/NCA-NDA-College-Camp/assets/basic-html/page-20-21.html#

Transitioning to College Cheerleading

Do you have what it takes to cheer in college, more specifically Division II College?  Did you cheer in junior high/high school?  Believe me there are some similarities but it is a completely different ballgame here in college.  Oh, you cheered competitively?  Yeah, not the same thing as College NCA Nationals.  Interested to know more?  Keep reading and I will tell you how to make this transition as smooth as possible.    

Here at Tarleton our cheerleaders are required to be in attendance at several events throughout the year not to mention all home athletic events and some out of town athletic events.  You may have similar cheer experiences as far as cheering in pep rallies and at home football/basketball games but that’s probably the gist of it.  As far as competitive, it’s pretty much just comps after comps, none of the political public meet and greets.  The Tarleton State University Cheerleaders are role models, they are the face of Tarleton and all that it encompasses.  We put on pep rallies for incoming freshmen, the Chancellor of the A&M System, Transition and Family Relations during Family Weekend to name a few.  Not only do we put on pep rallies and perform for thousands we also create routines to show off at Midnight Madness in conjunction with the band, the dance team, the Purple Poo, the Plowboys and PANKUS.  All of those are different spirit organizations here on campus.  Tarleton is all about tradition and improving our game day experience one step at a time.  

Home athletic events, let’s talk about that for a minute.  Our football games are very similar to high school in the sense of cheering on the sidelines but we have such a huge impact on the game as far as creating that atmosphere that shows our support starting with Texan Alley, our tailgating.  The cheerleaders make a spirit/parade rally welcoming the team off the busses and walk/march them through the middle of tailgating while yelling chants the entire way.  This lets the team know we have their backs, we are there for them and no one else.  We also are part of the pre-game ritual, we make a tunnel for the team to run through, we tumble out on the turf before them and run our flags that spell out T-E-X-A-N-S along with our Texan Rider flag which is our mascot.  Moving on to volleyball, not many high school much less college teams cheer at volleyball but we do and we love it.  Our volleyball team is so appreciative of our support, we cheer during the game and then we are the entertainment between the matches.  We even travel to regionals when we aren’t hosting it, and give our team the feeling of home court.  Last but not least, basketball, my favorite of all.  Cheerleaders have the best seats in the house, sometimes I don’t think they realize that.  We cheer on our teams during the game, perform routine medias that we plan out with band and dance so that we are coordinated and make the game day experience the best it can be.  Call-outs are probably the most fun, we love coming up with different elements to showcase our talent, entertain the crowd, while the players are being announced.  During basketball games we are also the ones that help with giveaways, we have things like the Truck Shuffle, we get to pick the participant of that game.  Fan of the Game, that’s us too!  It is so neat to be able to be in control of situations that affect the crowd.  

So I have only touched on athletic events but there is much more to cheering in college.  When in college you typically don’t have mom and dad to make sure that you are eating right, much less eating at all.  Your teachers aren’t going to call home when you skip class.  Your mom isn’t going to write you an absent note to your professor when you are sick.  It is all on you, you are an adult now whether you are ready to be or not.  You are in charge of what you do, when you do it and how you do it.  In this article they discuss the importance of being on your own, not having a teacher that will always give you extra credit to help ensure you are successfull.  http://www.nebhe.org/thejournal/the-high-school-to-college-transition-minding-the-gap/

Blog Posts Coming Soon!

• Transitioning from High School/Competitive Cheer to College Cheerleading
• Benefits to cheering at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX
• NCA College Cheer Nationals, an experience like no other cheer comp
• Skill differences in College Cheer
• Division II Game Day Cheer, Get on My Level