Cheer drills at home for 17 year olds

At a glance

At 17

54 cheer drills the app opens for a 17 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 17 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 17 hours for a 17 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 17 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 17 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
• Energy to the Last Count RunAges 14 and up · 12 min

jumps

Jumps

• Straddle Leg LiftsAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Tuck Jump HeightAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Jump and FreezeAges 7 and up · 6 min

motions

Motions

• Motion Speed LadderAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Basic Motions: High V, Low V, TAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Clasp and Clap TimingAges 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
• Stunt Group Strength CircuitAges 14 and up · 12 min

tumbling

Tumbling

• Log Rolls and Rocking ChairsAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Tumbling Body ShapesAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Bridge and Shoulder PrepAges 11 and up · 8 min

A 50-minute session

A home cheer session for a 17 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 50 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. 2Tuck Jump HeightDrive up, knees high.10 min
3. 3Straddle Leg LiftsLift from the hip, toes pointed.8 min
4. 4Toe-Touch Hit and LandUp first, then hit.12 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 17

What changes in cheer training at 17

The app opens the same 54 at-home drills at 17 as at 16; 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 17 hours for a 17 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting cheer into a week at 17

At 17 the limit is 17 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 12.83 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