An old line of thinking used to state that “the coach is always right.” As amazing as most coaches are, they are also human, and can make mistakes. These mistakes can range from actual willful negligence in the worst cases, to the more common mistake of overestimating an athlete’s ability level, whether physical or mental. In order to help foster a program that is based in safe practices, coaches should be willing to open up lines of communication and even take constructive criticism themselves. From the very beginning, as teams are in the selection process, coaches should communicate to ..read more

Being a knowledgeable coach is imperative to running a safe program. It is important that coaches stay up to date not only on the safety rules, but on the standard of care for coaching athletes and for supervising young people. Years ago, we didn’t use seatbelts; now they are the standard. Cars didn’t all come with airbags; now they do.  Right now, the standard may be for driver and passenger airbags; the future may bring changes that make rear-seat and side airbags the new standard. Likewise, the way cheerleading programs were run thirty years ago no longer would meet the standard for to ..read more

If cheerleading safety can be summarized into one concept, it’s this; skills shouldn’t be attempted before they are ready to be attempted. While that sounds obvious and oversimplified, failure to follow proper skill progressions is perhaps the number one cause of avoidable injury. Imagine holding a baby in a standing position before it’s ever crawled. Not only can you not expect it to stand, if you let go, you know it’s going to fall! While we can encourage babies to stand and walk, and even help them to do so, we know there is a progression they have to go through that can’t be skipped. Athle ..read more

The most important goals of National Cheerleading Safety Month are education and awareness. Throughout the month, we will be focusing on ways to get the most of the amazing activity of cheerleading while minimizing the risk of injury. It’s more fun when you’re safe! There may be no more important component of your safety program than a well-executed emergency action plan. Even when all of the rules and safety progressions are being followed, there will always be a risk of injury due to activity or even to a non-cheer related issue such as cardiac arrest. An emergency action plan, or EAP, will ..read more

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS    Downloadable PDF Is there a governing body for cheerleading?USA Cheer represents all forms of cheerleading in the United States and advocates for all cheerleaders – school, college, and all star (non school, club cheerleading) – to receive the tools they need to succeed, including proper equipment, trained instructors and medical resources. How has the increase in participation changed cheerleading?Cheerleading has seen a dramatic increase in participation across the US. According to numbers from the National Federation of State High School Associat ..read more

The following images can be downloaded by clicking the image. Cheer Safety Fact Sheet   Injury Data Charts       Safety Downloadables Parent Information Medical Professional Information Coaches Information Athlete Information Administrator/Gym Owner Information [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container] The post CheerSafe Downloadables appeared first on CheerSafe: Cheerleading safety resources for coaches, athletes, parents, administrators and media ..read more

*Originally Published in American Cheerleader Magazine* by Jim Lord Executive Director, AACCA Cheer often gets a bad rap in the media when it comes to safety. This is due to several reasons that require a long conversation about sociology, expectations, data reporting, misunderstandings about how cheerleading works and unfortunately, the reality that headlines attract attention. In truth, the risk of injury in cheerleading is about the same as other sports, if not lower. The perception of cheerleading injuries goes back to the idea of the cheerleader as the “girl next door” or the “all-America ..read more

The college cheerleading rules for 2016-17 have been published at http://www.cheerrules.org/aacca-college , including a summary of changes at the end of the page. There have been very few changes to the college rules for the past 4 or 5 years. Similar to changes at the high school level this year, the rules committee has made several changes to this year’s rules, which will allow new skills and more creativity at the college level. As with all rules limitations, the most important safety element for teams is that they follow skill progressions for each stunt group and stay within their p ..read more

Another study has come out that confirms what we have known for a long time, that cheerleading is actually one of the safer sports available to young people. In the January 2016 edition of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal PEDIATRICS, Dustin Currie, et al., state that using the last five years of data compiled by the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study (NHSSRIS), injury rates in cheerleading rank 18th out of 22 sports, with an overall injury rate of .71 injuries per 1,000 athlete-exposures (AEs). Concussion Rates Lower Than Other Sports In addition to the l ..read more

The New York Times is featuring an excellent series on concussions. Part 2 ran this week and it’s worth a read. “As the number of youngsters who participate in organized sports grows and reports of concussions rise, it’s vital for parents, athletes and coaches to know how these injuries are properly diagnosed and treated to avoid long-lasting consequences. While preventing an injury is always best, limited progress has been made in keeping youngsters free of concussions in sports with a high risk of head injuries.” Read the rest: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/the-right-response ..read more