5 Ways training at Varsity can help you in all sports

Here at Varsity we are focused and determined to teach the sport of cheerleading to our athletes. However, people who want to be cheerleaders or dancers are not the only people who can benefit from taking classes with us. The sport of cheerleading encompasses so many facets of fitness that anyone in any sport can benefit from our programs. Here are five ways that training at Varsity can help you reach your goals regardless of the sport(s) you play.

1.)    Flexibility

In all sports flexibility is a must. Flexibility allows people to move faster, build more muscle, and it helps prevent injuries. More flexibility in the hamstrings allows people to move their legs in longer strides and move them faster. The flexibility to perfectly execute a jazz and freestyle pom kick or heel-stretch can easily translate into a more powerful kick in football or rugby. Flexibility also helps with gaining muscle. If the muscle is tight it is bulkier and less likely to gain muscle, whereas muscle that is flexible and elongated can add muscle more easily. A good visual representation of this is to imagine how many pieces of paper can fit in a box that have been balled up versus how many could fit in a box lying flat. Increased flexibility also decreases the chance of injury. When muscle is flexible a person is less likely to have pulled or torn muscles.

2.)    Core Strength

A person’s core encompasses everything that is not their arms and legs. It is used in almost every movement a person makes. To properly perform dance moves such as turns, and tumbling moves such as back handsprings and snap downs out of handstands takes an exuberant amount of core strength.  The stronger a person’s core is the more powerful they are and the more balanced they are. Coaches from every sport will tell you that core strength is key to their athletes being successful in their respected sports.

3.)    Body awareness

Body awareness is being able to understand where your body is and how your body moves. To complete tumbling, stunting, and dance moves, a high amount of body awareness is required. Our athletes must fully understand their bodies and where they are in the air in order to make them do the complex movements we ask out of our athletes. Body awareness is also important for coordination, which translates to good hand eye or foot eye coordination. Since most sports require athletes to be able to use their hands or feet to maneuver a ball, this coordination is crucial.

4.)    Stabilizer muscles

Stabilizer muscles are smaller muscles that help larger muscle groups complete various actions. Since these muscles are much smaller, they are harder to train in traditional workout routines. Holding one’s own body or another person’s body is a great way to work these smaller but still critical muscles. When holding another person in your hands their body is moving and more awkwardly shaped than a barbell, so muscles have to work even harder to keep them balanced enough to stay in the air. In both cheer and cheer dance our athletes must lift themselves or others into the air and maintain their balance and the balance of others at the same time. In this way, cheerleading gives a workout that is unique to other sports. It can give our athletes the edge over other athletes that have not experienced the benefits of working their stabilizer muscles.

5.)    Mental Toughness and Confidence

One of the most valuable things that we teach at Varsity is mental toughness and confidence. Not only do our athletes have to be physically strong, they must possess a certain level of mental toughness. Since cheer dance and tumbling are more technical sports than most, our athletes must work on the same skill over and over until they can execute it perfectly. They must constantly hone their craft and spend hours and hours making small and tedious adjustments. Through this our athletes build determination and the drive to better themselves day in and day out. A skill that every coach wants their athletes to possess. We also focus on building confidence. Many of the skills we have our athletes do require them to do things that most people find very scary. Flipping or turning your body in the air is not something everyone can just wake up and do. It takes practice and confidence to execute those skills. And not only do our athletes have to have the confidence to do this, they must do it clean and precise. Another way we build confidence is by doing performances. Our athletes get in front of a crowd and showoff their skills in a routine, and the ability to be able to perform your best in front of a crowd is invaluable to every athlete.

The authors

- former High School Cheerleader

-former University of Missouri Cheerleader

-UCA staff and Head instructor 7 years

-10 years experience coaching at the High School, College, and Competitive level of Cheerleading