Every try to tell someone, “check out my webpage it’s http://www.cheerisamazing_3487_university_college-cheer.com”?

Not an easy thing to remember…

Easier if its http://www.kucheer.com right?

Well why would you have a Facebook Page that is impossible to tell people “Hey come check out my site its http://www.facebook.com/utsa”;

Much Much Easier! Specially instead of the non custom URL that Facebook gives you.

Also consider,

if you are using initials like GVSU or UNCG I would say, for those of us sitting on the other side of the country and may have never heard of Grand Valley State University (Allendale, Michigan) or University of North Carolina at Greensboro you may want to place your full name at least in the about section, so that curious onlookers don’t have to google your initials to find out who you are.

So, here we go.

First go to your page, and click on the Edit Page Button and Select Update Info.

Half  way done,

Second, from the tool bar on the Left, click Resources, and Select a username

Almost done,

This is the important part, you only get TWO chance to change your URL, make sure it is something that is descriptive, but easy for anyone (assume you have no idea what your page is about and you are trying to find it).  Simple URLs like, KUcheer, or UofLCheer seem to be the most popular and generally have more followers than those with long, confusing, or no custom URL at all.

Yes, I’m plugging University of Kansas Cheer, Check out their page its great! They also have taken advantage of most the Social Media out there (Even Pintrest).

Good Luck, and keep in contact with me!  I would love to help you create a Social Media plan for your Cheer Program!

This is only the First round, there are considerably more Facebook accounts than any other Social Media site.

Image via CrunchBase

Notice the URL’s in Bold, all but 2 teams in the Top 12 have a customized URL.  Changing your URL takes about 15 seconds, click here to find out how, and make your page much easier to find and to direct people to.

University of Kansas                              http://www.youtube.com/user/KUcheerleading/

University of Texas at San Antonio        http://www.youtube.com/user/UTSAcheer/

Image via CrunchBase

School                                    Following    Followers     Tweets              Twitter Name

Added after Last Count and Will be included in New Table between

March 11-16

Eastern Michigan                                                                   @EMUCheer

LSU                                                                                              @LSUCheer

Wilmington University                                                        @WilmUcheer

Avila University                                                                     @AvilaCheer

Western Illinois                                                                      @IWCheerleading

Stony Brook University                                                       @SBUCheer

Florida State                                                                             @FSU_Cheer

Boston University                                                                  @BUCheerleading

UNLV                                                                                          @UNLVCheer

George Washington                                                               @GWCheer

UCLA                                                                                           @UCLASpiritSquad

Purdue University                                                                 @Purdue_Cheer

Radford University                                                               @RUCheerleading

Queens University                                                                 @QueensCheer

University of Illinois                                                            @Illinicheer

Auburn University                                                                @AUCheerleading

Ryerson University                                                              @RU_Cheerleading

St. Johns University                                                             @STJ_Cheer

Make sure you stretch and warm-up any stunts or tumbling you will be doing at the game.

National Anthem

Most squads stand in a line while the national anthem is being sung. DO NOT sway, talk, chew gum or laugh while it is being sung. You should stand up straight with your hand over your heart or behind your back. Every cheerleader should be doing the same thing.

Introductions
Make sure you are cheering FOR your team and not against the other team. It is your job to get your crowed pumped and on their feet. This is not a time to show-off your tumbling. The attention is on the team and players, not you.

Injured player?
Take a knee. This is not a time to chitchat amongst your friends. Be respectful. Also, be sure to clap when the injured player walks off the field/court.

Enjoy the game!

Cheer on your team! Never join in on booing or jeering, leave that to the crowd. Your role is to cheer on your team, not hate on the opposing team. If your crowd does being to jeer start a cheer that can turn the attention back to your team! It can sometimes be a challenge if your team is being trampled, but keep smiling and keep up the energy. Congratulate your team on a win and lift them up if it’s a loss.

At the end of each game my squad passes the “purple bow”. The purple bow goes to someone who has out-shined and outperformed all of his or her other teammates that week, or to someone who has had a rough week. It’s an honor to wear the purple bow, especially when everyone else is in white!

Does your squad have any game day rituals?

Where was it held?

The Universal Cheerleading Association College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship is the most prestigious college cheerleading championship in the country. The 2013 UCA&UDA Championship was held on January 18 – 20 at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. For many college cheerleaders, games are just another practice, and it all comes down to this day. Every cheerleader’s dream is to own the much coveted white jacket. The white jacket is awarded to the winning team. It symbolizes hard work, dedication and the satisfaction of knowing you’re the best.

And the winner is…

The scores have been tabulated, and the results are in. After winning 19 National titles, The University of Kentucky, was considered the crowd favorite. However, this year they did not come out on top. Kentucky fell, literally, into second place when they dropped one of their stunts during finals. This was a huge upset for the reigning champions, but a blessing to The University of Memphis. Memphis outperformed every other team to be crowned the 2013 National Cheerleading Champions. Needless to say they rode back to Tennessee with a fancy new white jacket and a pretty new ring.

The 2013 High school Championship will be held January 9 at the Walt Disney World Resort.

I’m not sure, but this seems to be a video diary of the University of Oregon’s NCATA team! Should be exciting!

Reblogged from michigancheerleader:

Written by four contributors to a website called “XXFactor: What Women Really Think” (A part of a website called “Slate”), this article debates the claim that cheerleading should be considered a Title IX sport. It first explains the first really big boom in the collegiate sport in a while, when in 2009 Quinnipiac decided to replace women’s volleyball with cheerleading. There was debate about whether this was because the college actually needed to cut volleyball because of lack of participation, or funds, or if they cut it and replaced it with cheerleading just to comply with Title IX requirements.

Honestly, I don’t really like what to people say in this article. They kind of put down cheerleading. And while I agree with the them that if cheerleaders don’t compete, then it should be considered a sport, I don’t agree with the way they compared gymnastics to cheerleading. While both require the same type of skill, strength, and determination, they are different sports. In the discussion, Torie Bosch writes “I know a lot of gymnasts hate the way cheerleaders tumble–they just have to turn the trick and land it, rather than performing it properly. Some of that sloppiness may help explain the crazy high injury rate.” This annoys me, just because cheerleaders and gymnasts tumble differently, its they way they are taught. Most gymnasts are taught the grace and the elegance, whereas cheerleaders focus on power. The crazy high injury rate is mostly due to schools that don’t have enough funding for the right equipment and coaches because it is not considered a sport. Also, Larimore writes, “the NCAA already offers a sport for women who can do back handsprings—it’s called gymnastics.” These sports are different despite their similarities, and until now, I had no idea the ideas people had toward them.

Today is one of those days.

Heck this week has been one of those weeks, and I anticipate this to be the case as I continue trying to do the “right things” in recovery.

I was recently reading a blog post, on a pretty awesome recovery based website, and something the author wrote a couple of days ago really hit home.

I never took physics in highs school or college because I was history major and totally opted to double up on Chemistry and Genetics rather than anything that seemed as scientifically complicated as Physics, but I do understand the basic principle of momentum; and as Carrie explains them, they totally apply to anyone trying to overcome a bad habit or difficult situation.

At first you face the challenge with so much force and positivity.

“I can totally do this! I have a plan, want it so bad; nothing is going to stop me!!!!”

But the nonlinear progression of things messes up that force and it is as if you are climbing Mt. Everest, getting slower and weaker with every step.

It gets more complicated the further you ascend, everything in your mind tells you it would totally be easier to turn back, and to be honest, your brain is right.

Relapse is scaling down the ginormous mountain, and does not take long at all because once you start the plunge it is pretty easy to sprint to the destination.

That destination sucks.

But at the same time, I am trying to think about it like when I started to cheer in college.

Before you shake your head that I am using an exercise analogy, hear me out.

Cheering was totally unnatural to me. I didn’t participate in the sport in high school, and kind of tried out on a whim my freshman year at LVC so the nights I would come home after two hours of practice, I literally felt like a bus hit me.

I was somewhat used to lifting light free-weights but that is NOTHING compared to lifting a person over your head or holding you own body weight in a handstand on top of someone’s shoulders.

I will forever argue that cheerleading is a sport because when it comes to stunting, no amount of strength training can truly prepare a body for the various muscles one uses. BUT, after a few weeks into the season, the soreness subsides and you are in the routine of a new workout. It is still hard, but manageable and somewhat exciting to perform and see the results of a lot of time and effort spent bettering yourself and your team.

I think that scenario would be a GREAT thing for me to remember when I am struggling to reach my prescribed calorie content for the day claiming I am soooo uncomfortable.

Of course it is uncomfortable!

I am not used to consistently sticking with the increased number of exchanges. Mentally it is hard, and physically, I don’t like that my stomach sticks out like I am preg-o due to bloat, but similarly to when I was in college and the relinquished distress my body felt following pre-season, I will get used to the anxiety and pains of recovery.

It might even be exciting to see the results, just like when you could see the faces of the crowd after throwing up an awesome basket toss or two and a half.

I may not enjoy the weight as it piles on, but less conflict within my family, a more fun and free way of life, and Ryan actually telling me he is proud of me again, would most definitely be welcome reward.

I was terrified and hesitant about college cheering, but ended up absolutely loving my experience, the friends it made me, and how I felt after even the toughest practice days. I am hoping the process to find balance, is no different

Sideline cheerleaders serve as positive role models and lead the student body in a positive manner at games. Cheerleaders are the ambassadors for the school they represent. Cheerleaders assist the school and the officials in the promotion of good sportsmanship.  Simply, they are entertaining to the crowd ! Effective sideline cheerleaders can drastically change the atmosphere of the game.

Good sportsmanship should be the foundation of any cheerleading team. Cheerleaders have the responsiblity to treat opposing cheerleaders and players with respect and as a guest. They should be treated how they would like to be treated if visiting another school. Sideline cheers should be positive and offer praise to your team and never demoralize the opponents.

Cheerleaders lead and encourage. It is critical that cheerleaders represent their schools and communities in a positive manner. Through their actions and leadership skills; they should encourage their peers and fans to do the same.

Some examples of inappropriate sportsmanship would include yelling to distract opposing players, interfering with the game officials, booing, directing cheers at the opposing student body and even activities such as tumbling intended to challenge the other team to do the same.

The most important role of the coach in sideline cheerleading is that of “teacher.” The coach should display leadership, poise, timeliness, honesty, and integrity. One of the most important things a coach can teach is good sportsmanship.

Sideline cheerleaders also perform at pep rallies, make banners for the school and/or football stadium or gym.  Sideline cheerleading is fun. It is time to shine in front of your school. Most of these cheerleaders also cheer competitively or on their schools competition cheer team.  Friday night football games are their time to lead the crowd, cheer on their team, and show of their amazing talents.

http://www.varsity.com

Cheerleaders  now perform elite gymnastics skills.  These skills are performed in the air as well, for example, twisting skills from a basket toss. A cheerleader can perform a variety of twists, flips, and rotations from a basket toss. Other advanced stunts such as double downs, one-legged stunt series, and pyramids all can present the potential for serious injury.  Cheerleading is now the most dangerous sport for female athletes!  The video clip below from fox news is one of many video’s and broadcasts regarding the increase in cheerleading related injuries.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4207082/cheerleading-most-dangerous-girls-sport/

The cheerleading industry is dedicated to the safety of its’ athletes and has made tremendous efforts to increase safety through training and certification. The cheerleading industry is  highly regulated. Actually, it is equally or more governing than any other athletic activity.  High school cheerleaders are governed by the National Federation of  State High School Associations (NFHS). This is the same group that is responsible for all high school sports. They have specific requirements of their coaches that are to be completed yearly.

College cheerleaders are regulated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA requires all of  their cheerleading coaches to become safety certified through the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA). All Star cheerleading  is governed by the United States All Star Federation (USASF).  This organization writes rules and regulations for all star cheerleaders.  These rules are updated and reviewed regularly.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports an increasing trend in cheerleading injuries since 1980. The growth of the sport and the increase in difficulty, as well as the increase in the number of cheerleaders; all contribute to this increase.

In 2007, there were 26, 786 hospital emergency room visits caused by cheerleading related injuries. Among this, 15.1 % of these visits were head and neck injuries.  Among the reported head injuries in 2007, 783 of these were associated with concussions. Among the neck injuries, there were 5 fractures, 303 contusions, and 1,281 sprains/strains. It was estimated  that 98% percent of the cheerleaders were treated in the emergency department and released. That seems like a high percentage, however,  that leaves 221 athletes hospitalized, 217 were treated and required transfer to another hospital, and 64 were held for observation purposes.

In addition, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research has been compiling data related to cheerleading catastrophic injuries for the past twenty-eight years. During the 2009-2010 school year, there were two high school related catastrophic cheerleading injuries.

High school and college cheerleaders account for approximately two-thirds of the catastrophic injuries to female athletes. Cheerleading is the most dangerous female sport. Please continue to follow my blog for more cheerleading safety issues and initiatives.

See the full report here www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/2010Allsport.pdf

Specific muscle memory and muscle “quickness” to perform stunts; rely solely on strength and repetition.  It has been my experience that by beginning the season with drills such as these; cheerleaders progress to advanced levels of stunting at a faster and safer pace. By beginning with basic stunting, and holding a flyer in various basic positions for 8 second counts, the bases and flyers build muscle, quickness, coordination, and muscle memory.  This training also offers increased safety as beginner stunts are mastered prior to progressing to more difficult stunting. These practices are difficult and should be concluded with stretching. Difficult conditioning days are better accepted by teams when they are broken up with team bonding activities such as theme days. This adds fun in addition to working hard to build a solid and consistent team that works well together. Without teamwork, the effectiveness and success of the team struggles.

Cheers,

Coach Valarie

1. You’re a cheerleader? Statement of fact: the coolest thing about being a cheer guy is stunting (remember that). But in order to learn to stunt, you have to be in some way involved in a cheer team. While that’s not something that we’re embarrassed about (anymore), I happen to know that “hmm… should I tell anyone that I’m on cheer?” thought that presents early in the onset of becoming a guy cheerleader. Plenty of rednecks people still think all cheer guys, regardless of their sexual orientation, are totally gay. While this is just a demonstration of their own lack of understanding for what we do, it is a misperception we have to deal with nonetheless. The easiest way to butch yourself up is to change your facebook profile pic to a shot of you doing a cupie. It’s true — look through any cheer guy’s profile pictures and 100% of the time you will see pictures of one-armed stunts.

2. Hot Girls. No guy wants to look like an inept little bitch around a group of hot girls. But, especially when a guy is first learning to stunt (that is, before they’ve begun to fully understand the cheer relationship dynamic), they are much more inclined to think that failing to “get good” quickly is seen as weakness. And so when you’re dropping hands for two months, you probably feel pretty retarded. Almost as retarded as you’ll feel after you realize nobody cared that you sucked at first — it’s all part of learning.

3. Motions. Because the one place you learn to stunt is in the confines of a cheer team, you will more than likely be subject to the “motions” plague. Motions are a combination of arm movements that sync with the girls’ choreographed dances, which are intended to make the guys standing in the back look less retarded while the girls dance in front of them. It’s sort of like if you have a 2-year old nephew that you’re babysitting while you’ve got a few bros over at your house — you’d give him a wooden spoon and a pot to bang on while you three jam out on your guitars. The point is that he thinks he’s involved, even though absolutely no one is paying attention to him. And what’s worse is that even though no one is watching you hit the motions (except maybe your parents), if you’re out there and you DON’T do them, you’ll look even more retarded. Sweet.

4. Meg Motions. Surprisingly, just the action of waving your urethane cone (sounds dirty right?) around usually doesn’t warrant much attention. However, meg motions can be more interesting when they introduce the opportunity of causing physical harm to others/yourself if you/they screw up. It’s like this: you know full well that you never watch Nascar racing, but if if you flip to it and there’s a huge crash, you’ll probably wait to change the channel until you see the full extent of the carnage. Well, the dynamic is the same: everyone watches the girls dancing in front of the guys until someone in the back screws up and blasts Kris in the face (I felt bad even though it was his fault).

5. Dropping.

a) Just dropping alone is embarrassing enough. For the most part, coaches will restrict full squad stunting to the lowest common denominator, but even then there will be some people struggling to press out those extensions. What could be more demeaning than to have the WHOLE SQUAD restricted to toss extensions because of YOU, and then to have you drop your stunt when you’re out there in front of everyone. Yea… bummer.

b) You and your partner are just that: a team. You want to avoid inflicting physical pain on your teammate as much as possible. Who do you think is responsible for it if your girl falls from the top and hurts herself? YOU ARE. Regardless of who else is around, you are your primary spotter, and if she hurts herself that is solely on you. Protect this house, bitch.

6. Tossing. Yea alright this is a given, and I know you girls have to have some strong damn legs to do your part of the toss, but the fact is it’s called a “toss.” And we toss you.

7. Tumbling. If you look the through your cheer team’s roster, you’ll likely find that 80-90% of the girls on the team cheered in high school, which generally means they have some tumbling experience. The remainder of the girls on the team will be either ex dancers or gymnasts, or something that gives them an advantage when it comes to tumbling. On the other hand, while some cheer guys are fortunate enough to have a gymnastics background, the vast majority of guys recruited for cheer are just going to be your average Joe that was tricked into it by a hot chick. That means that most cheer guys are starting from square one in the tumbling department, and at age 20 that can be a challenging hill to climb.

8. Tossing Baskets. Consulting one’s own common sense should reveal that having four testosterone-fueled dudes propel a 102 lb girl as high as possible into the air is not a good idea. However, the rule of thumb for cheer guys is that if what’s being described sounds as unbelievably dangerous as it is awkward, then it’s probably something you’ll have to do. I know that flying a basket is probably the most nerve-wracking thing a cheer girl has to do, but have a quick think about what us guys are going through: any (even slight) miscalculation that the flier makes either during the toss or in the air has to be addressed in a few milliseconds and acted against by three dudes below that are uh… holding hands. If the worst should indeed happen, as many guys as are available will readily sacrifice their own bodies to keep the poor little flier from slamming to the mat from 20 feet up. Lets just say that crab-walking backwards 10 feet below a flier sucks.

9. Pyramids. I guess pyramids are only as sucky as we make them. I really dislike tossing shoulders, but two guys of equal height that are good at tossing shoulders do the trick in a pinch. Of course if the pitch is too low, say goodbye to your skin, because your middle layers are going to fight tooth and nail to muscle that top girl up, and that means grinding some sticky cheer shoes into your shoulders. But then if the pitch was too low, it’s more than likely the guys’ fault. …which means that’s the hardest part, saved for us, yet again.

If you have a look at all of the sub-titles above, you’ll see that I’ve hit on just about everything that’s even remotely involved with cheer. Girls are interested in being college cheerleaders because they were high school cheerleaders. Guys that become college cheerleaders do so because they’re tricked into it by girls who don’t tell them the whole truth! I hope this exposé gives you some perspective, dudes. Fuck doing motions!

The college football season kicks off this weekend, and that means that cheerleaders around the country will get to strut their stuff on the field.

At the University of Arkansas, cheerleaders have been working overtime to prepare for the new season.

From KFSM-TV in Fayetteville, Ark.:

Cheer Captain Mallory Wilson says all the hard work is worth it when they hear the roar of the crowd.

”We don’t have an off-season. We’re five days a week, at least two hours a day and it’s constant. But it’s worth it,” says Wilson.

The pom squad has also spent this week tightening up their routines. On Saturday night, it’ll look perfect out there. Keep in mind that weeks and months of work has gone into making everything look easy.

Senior Molly Mathias grew up in Fayetteville and is team captain. She’s ready for the rush this Saturday in a sea of cardinal red.

“I’m a little nervous but excited because there’s nothing like the first game,” says Mathias. “Now I get to help other people adjust to a new season. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Check out the story on their website to see their video of the Arkansas cheerleaders practicing.

Related: College Colors Day is Friday. Gear up in your favorite college football team’s colors.

This past year, the University of Colorado won top honors.

Colorado’s human mascot, Chip the Buffalo, won the event. Chip is played by three students, and he won by the overall strength of his performances.

Here is the video that Chip submitted for the 2010 competition:

Here is the video of Chip’s championship performance in 2009:

From the Boulder Daily Camera:

The competition tallies half of the points for a pre-submitted video and the other half for a skit at the competition, which was held in Orlando, Fla., last weekend.

Chip earned a head start by entering the weekend with a first-place video in November.

For the skit, the handlers created “Chip’s Dance Party,” which fused different genres of music — from a jukebox playing “Twist and Shout” up to an iPod blasting Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.”

It was the crowd involvement that helped Chip pull ahead of the pack, said Koerbel.

“There were maybe 2,000 people there and not a single person didn’t have their hands going left to right in the air,” he said. “Everybody was screaming and cheering — that probably gave us the upper hand among a lot of really stiff competition.”

Owens said the props, skit and video were great, but it’s the mascot himself that matters most.

“Chip is all about being big — being larger than life,” said Owens. “He’s a character, not a person. He’s out there to entertain.”

Colorado’s human mascot, Chip the Buffalo, won the event.

Chip is played by three students, and he won by the overall strength of his performances. From the Boulder Daily Camera:

The competition tallies half of the points for a pre-submitted video and the other half for a skit at the competition, which was held in Orlando, Fla., last weekend.

Chip earned a head start by entering the weekend with a first-place video in November.

For the skit, the handlers created “Chip’s Dance Party,” which fused different genres of music — from a jukebox playing “Twist and Shout” up to an iPod blasting Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.”

It was the crowd involvement that helped Chip pull ahead of the pack, said Koerbel.

“There were maybe 2,000 people there and not a single person didn’t have their hands going left to right in the air,” he said. “Everybody was screaming and cheering — that probably gave us the upper hand among a lot of really stiff competition.”

Owens said the props, skit and video were great, but it’s the mascot himself that matters most.

“Chip is all about being big — being larger than life,” said Owens. “He’s a character, not a person. He’s out there to entertain.”

Here is the video that Chip submitted for the 2010 competition:

Here is the video of Chip’s championship performance in 2009:

Here’s a video of them in action.

The video is from the 2008 co-ed nationals, which saw the Cardinals edge out Oklahoma by a fraction of a point.

Related: Create your own custom cheerleading uniform.

It takes talent, dedication and a lot of hard work. And as the cheerleaders at the University of Louisville show, it doesn’t hurt to look good, either.

But even though cheerleading has become so athletic, cheerleaders still face criticism from outsiders.

Related: Check out our selection of cheerleading strength and conditioning gear.

Related: Check out our selection of cheerleading strength and conditioning gear.

Related: Keep your gear in this cute cheerleading duffle bag.

Cheerleading America is the Internet’s leading resource for cheerleading equipment, apparel and footwear, including megaphones, pom poms, shoes and hair bows.