By Cody Woodfell
Published November 6, 2018
objectifying a subjective sport
How I get such precision and timing
After doing many coaches workshops from the US to the UK, one of the main questions I’m asked is how I get such precision and timing that stand out from all my Cheer Factory teams. The answer is actually extremely simple. So simple In fact most coaches fail to do it. Make a chart! And don’t stray from it.
There’s an innate problem with all non point based sports like cheerleading and dance (to name a couple). The problem is everything from training to competition is subjective. “Yeah I know you had a good practice today because everything hit.” Thats great, but not only did everything hit not accomplish quantifiable results, but how do you track the process for next practice?
“everything from training to competition is subjective”
Anything in life that one wants to become better in requires a chart. If you own a business, you keep charts in the form of spreadsheets of how much money you take in, how much your spending.
If you want to lose weight, you keep a chart of how much food goes in and how many calories your burning. How precise and detailed you are will determine how much success you have.
The Assembly Line
Knowing this, I left the common practice regimes most coaches follow and created a detailed, objectify able progress chart we call the “Assembly line” for every skill from tumbling to stretching to stunting. Every practice, an objective goal is made and must be completed before leaving.
Stunts no longer just “hit.” No, today every stunt group flyer must point their toes when hitting bows and not wiggle even an inch for a count down of 5.
Next practice we have to do the same but now the bases cannot move even a finger. This process continues everyday for a season like a long game of add on.
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Thinking about the big picture blurs your perfection. Make a single achievable small goal daily, stick to it as if your life depends on it and do that every day. Keep a chart of these micro goals and eventually, perfection will be achieved.