Cheer drills at home for 11 year olds

At a glance

At 11

45 cheer drills the app opens for an 11 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 an 11 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 11 hours for an 11 year old, with two rest days a week.

What you need

Most used: mat (11 of the 45 drills), floor (9), music (5), soft mat (4), wall (4), mirror (3), music or counter (3), open floor (2). 4 drills need nothing but space. 7 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.

45 at-home drills

Cheer drills for 11 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for an 11 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

• Dance Stamina RoundsAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Pom BasicsAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Turns and SpottingAges 11 and up · 8 min

jumps

Jumps

• Bent-Knee Reach and KickAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Pike Jump Floor PrepAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Straddle Leg LiftsAges 11 and up · 8 min

motions

Motions

• Level Change MotionsAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Mirror Sharpness CheckAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Motion Sequences on CountsAges 11 and up · 10 min

stunts

Stunts

• Base Wall SitAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Core Holds for Stunt GroupsAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Stunt Group Count and TimingAges 11 and up · 10 min

tumbling

Tumbling

• Bridge and Shoulder PrepAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Hurdle Step PracticeAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Wall Handstand Shoulder PushAges 11 and up · 8 min

A 30-minute session

A home cheer session for an 11 year old

A warm-up, 2 drills and a cool-down, 30 minutes in all. Do it up to 4 days a week, with rest days between.

1. 1Cheer Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for cheer players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then cheer moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2. 2Base Stance HoldChest up, knees out, solid feet.8 min
3. 3Flyer Tight Body on the FloorLock it, squeeze it, hold it.6 min
4. 4Cheer Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for cheer players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, wrists and arms, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

At 11

What changes in cheer training at 11

20 at-home drills join the list at 11.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 11 hours for an 11 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting cheer into a week at 11

At 11 the limit is 11 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 9 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