Cheer drills at home for 16 year olds

At a glance

At 16

54 cheer drills the app opens for a 16 year old work at home, across 6 skills.

How long

One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for a 16 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 16 hours for a 16 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 16 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 16 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

• Clean Arms and StepsAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Copy the LeaderAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Eight-Count BasicsAges 7 and up · 6 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

• Mirror Sharpness CheckAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Motion Sequences on CountsAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Motion Speed LadderAges 11 and up · 8 min

stunts

Stunts

• Base Hand ShapesAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Base Stance HoldAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Flyer One-Foot BalanceAges 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 40-minute session

A home cheer session for a 16 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. 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 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 16

What changes in cheer training at 16

The app opens the same 54 at-home drills at 16 as at 15; 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 16 hours for a 16 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting cheer into a week at 16

At 16 the limit is 16 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 50 minutes is 4.17 hours, which leaves 11.83 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 75 minutes, is 6.25 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