Cheer drills at home for 14 year olds

At a glance

At 14

54 cheer drills the app opens for a 14 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 14 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 14 hours for a 14 year old, with two rest days a week.

What you need

Most used: mat (12 of the 54 drills), floor (10), music (7), mirror (5), soft mat (4), wall (4), mat or sprung floor (3), music or counter (3). 4 drills need nothing but space. 9 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.

54 at-home drills

Cheer drills for 14 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 14 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

• Energy to the Last Count RunAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Dance Stamina RoundsAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Pom BasicsAges 11 and up · 8 min

jumps

Jumps

• Jump Combination TimingAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Jump Landing Control SetsAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Jump Self-Tracking on VideoAges 14 and up · 10 min

motions

Motions

• Create Your Own Eight-CountAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Motions with Cheer WordsAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Partner Motion SyncAges 14 and up · 12 min

stunts

Stunts

• Stunt Group Strength CircuitAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Base Wall SitAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Core Holds for Stunt GroupsAges 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 40-minute session

A home cheer session for a 14 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 40 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

1. 1Cheer Warm-Up, Ages 14 and UpA 12-minute moving warm-up for cheer players 14 and up: moving stretches, strength, single-leg control, cuts and build-up runs, then cheer moves at practice speed.12 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. 4Jump Prep and Arm WhipBig whip, rise tall.6 min
5. 5Cheer Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 14 and UpA 8-minute cool-down for cheer players 14 and up after training: stretches for the legs, hips, wrists and arms, each held 20 to 30 seconds, never to pain.8 min

At 14

What changes in cheer training at 14

14 is when the app opens box jumps and drills with contact, for practice with a coach. Neither is ever in an at-home plan.

9 at-home drills join the list at 14.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 14 hours for a 14 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting cheer into a week at 14

At 14 the limit is 14 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 10.67 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