Cheer drills at home for 10 year olds

At a glance

At 10

25 cheer drills the app opens for a 10 year old work at home, across 6 skills.

How long

One home session of about 30 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 45 minutes for a 10 year old.

How often

At most 4 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 10 hours for a 10 year old, with two rest days a week.

What you need

Most used: floor (6 of the 25 drills), mat (4), music (4), mirror (3), soft mat (3), open floor (2), markers (1), music or counter (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 5 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

Safe at home

One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

25 at-home drills

Cheer drills for 10 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 10 year old and one that works at home: a room, garage or yard, one parent as the partner, no venue. Each drill's page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a log to print.

dance

Dance

• Eight-Count BasicsAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Freeze Dance GameAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Clean Arms and StepsAges 7 and up · 8 min

jumps

Jumps

• Star Jumps GameAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Toe-Touch Shape on the FloorAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Jump and FreezeAges 7 and up · 6 min

motions

Motions

• Motion Simon SaysAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Tight Fists and Locked WristsAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Basic Motions: High V, Low V, TAges 7 and up · 6 min

stunts

Stunts

• Flyer One-Foot BalanceAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Flyer Tight Body on the FloorAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Base Hand ShapesAges 7 and up · 6 min

tumbling

Tumbling

• Forward Roll BasicsAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Handstand Against a WallAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Log Rolls and Rocking ChairsAges 7 and up · 6 min

A 27-minute session

A home cheer session for a 10 year old

A warm-up, 2 drills and a cool-down, 27 minutes in all. Do it up to 4 days a week, with rest days between.

1. 1Cheer Warm-Up, Ages 7 to 10An 8-minute moving warm-up for cheer players aged 7 to 10: easy running, moving stretches, balance and soft landings, then cheer moves. Before practice, never still stretches first.8 min
2. 2Clean Arms and StepsSmall and clean beats big and messy.8 min
3. 3Belly Breathing for VoiceBelly fills, shoulders stay still.6 min
4. 4Cheer Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 7 to 10A 5-minute cool-down for cheer players aged 7 to 10 after training: an easy walk, then gentle stretches for the legs, hips and wrists, each held for a slow count of 10.5 min

At 10

What changes in cheer training at 10

The app opens developing (level 2) drills at 10.

The app opens the same 25 at-home drills at 10 as at 9; the ones below are a different selection from that list.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 10 hours for a 10 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting cheer into a week at 10

At 10 the limit is 10 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 4 sessions of 30 minutes is 2 hours, which leaves 8 for team practice and games. Even 4 days at the app's longest, 45 minutes, is 3 hours.

The research behind it

• Ages 6 to 12 are the "sampling years": high play, low deliberate practice.

  Côté and Vierimaa 2014

• Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week.

  NATA youth sport specialization recommendations

Questions and answers