Cheer drills at home for 13 year olds

At a glance

At 13

45 cheer drills the app opens for a 13 year old work at home, across 6 skills.

How long

One home session of about 40 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 60 minutes for a 13 year old.

How often

At most 5 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 13 hours for a 13 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 13 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 13 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

• Copy the LeaderAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Eight-Count BasicsAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Freeze Dance GameAges 7 and up · 6 min

jumps

Jumps

• Jump and FreezeAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Jump Prep and Arm WhipAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Star Jumps GameAges 7 and up · 6 min

motions

Motions

• Basic Motions: High V, Low V, TAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Clasp and Clap TimingAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Motion Simon SaysAges 7 and up · 6 min

stunts

Stunts

• Base Stance HoldAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Flyer One-Foot BalanceAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Flyer Tight Body on the FloorAges 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 36-minute session

A home cheer session for a 13 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 36 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 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. 2Bridge and Shoulder PrepShoulders over hands.8 min
3. 3Jump Prep and Arm WhipBig whip, rise tall.6 min
4. 4Toe-Touch Shape on the FloorKnees up, chest up.6 min
5. 5Cheer 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 13

What changes in cheer training at 13

The app opens advanced (level 3) drills at 13.

13 is the first year of advanced drills in SSTracker's age gate.

The app opens the same 45 at-home drills at 13 as at 12; 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 13 hours for a 13 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting cheer into a week at 13

At 13 the limit is 13 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 40 minutes is 3.33 hours, which leaves 9.67 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 60 minutes, is 5 hours.

The research behind it

• Ages 13 to 15 are the "specializing years", after the sampling years of 6 to 12.

  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