Sports Blog

While watching ESPN recently, I found myself wondering who determines how time slots are divied up throughout the show.  I was excited to see what had happened in the College World Series that day, and I was disappointed to see only a brief highlight of North Carolina’s extra inning defeat of Cal State Fullerton.  The program quickly moved on to other, evidently more appealing sports.  I then sat and watched as a few long minutes of golf highlights were reeled off.  Obviously there must be a larger (or in some other way worthy of ESPN’s marketing efforts) fan base for golf than there is for college baseball, but then again, there’s also likely a larger market for scrapbooking supplies than for college baseball.  But ESPN is for sports, right?  Following this thinking caused me to ask myself a question that I’ve discussed with people on a few occasions before:  Is golf a sport?

Okay, lets lay out some criteria for what characterizes a sport.  Wikipedia says that a sport combines physical and mental activity for the purpose of competition, and that there is a scoring system involved.  It would seem that golf is covered under this definition, except that I question whether there is much physical exertion involved.  I’ve played golf a few times - not enough to consider myself more than a beginner, and I’ve watched some golf highlights as a side effect of taking a break to catch up on recent happenings in the baseball, football, basketball, etc. world.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anyone as much as jog while playing golf, except when, as kids, my friends and I were chased off the local country club’s courses by security personnel.

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Do golfers lift weights or do any specific exercises to improve their game?  Those kinds of habits are good indicators  I imagine that maybe some of the younger generation of golfers have incorporated some kinds of workout routines into their game.  Googling for “tiger woods workout” found this response by Tiger to a fans question about increasing his fitness and strength levels to improve his golf game.  “I’ve always felt that golf is a sport, and you have to train as if it’s a sport.” (from GolfDigest.com)  After making that comment, Woods does mention lifting weights, but his recommendations focus mostly on building hand strength.Asking this question of golf might suppose the need to ask whether other sports are really sports.  Responding to being questioned about his obesity and his smoking habit, John Kruk once told a lady, “I ain’t an athlete, lady, I’m a ballplayer!”  Of course, John Kruk doesn’t exactly set the mold for baseball players, especially nowadays.  I think most would agree that, especially compared to golf, baseball is indeed a sport, and its players are, in most cases, certainly athletes.There are other characteristics of golf that cause me to question its value as a part of SportsCenter and its inclusion as part of the sports world.  Most amateurs play the game to relax and take a break.  Often the game is treated like going to dinner: “Why don’t we talk about this over dinner, or maybe a round of golf?”  I know of businessmen who invite their attorneys to play golf with them as a way to cut down on their legal expenses.  I don’t hear many of those same people inviting any lawyers to play pickup basketball.

Everyone who follows sports has most likely seen it.  Remembering back to my days of Little League baseball I can think of certain kids who, in the final inning with their team down by a run and the bases loaded with two outs, you could bank on their getting a hit.  They weren’t always the kids with the highest batting averages, although they usually were among the top quarter of the league.  In competitive sports it often appears that there is just some strange gift some particular players are given (or that they develop?) for hitting the clutch shot, making the critical putt, or kicking the last second field goal.  Comparing basketball legends, Michael Jordan obviously had the gift; Karl Malone and John Stockton (these two can’t be referenced separately) didn’t.  The two Finals series in the late 90’s between the Bulls and the Jazz characterizes the difference between a player (and team) who can’t avoid winning and one who is destined to be no better than second.

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Before you begin any jumps, be sure to stretch your body completely to prevent injury. You should be sure to stretch your back, arms, legs, and stomach. To perform each jump correctly, it is important to learn to do them using the correct format. Although it may vary from squad to squad, the following is a common format taught at many national cheerleading camps, and is the standard format for doing jumps. (more…)

Trying out for a cheerleading team can be one of the most exciting and scary experiences in a young girl’s life. To make a high school or lower cheerleading team it is essential to come prepared for try-outs. Here are some tips to help you be ready for your cheerleading experience.

First of all, make sure you know the requirements for your cheerleading squad. Many teams require at least some basic tumbling skills, such as proficient cartwheels and round-offs, and quite a few are now requiring more advanced skills including back handsprings or even back tucks. Other requirements may include passing grades for a school cheerleading squad, a knowledge of basic cheering skills and jumps, splits, and the ability to make cheering and fund raising events. Talk to the cheerleading director or coach if you are considering trying out for the team to learn what requirements your squad has. This person may also be willing to help you learn these important skills before try-outs begin.

Once you have determined the requirements for your squad, you should get to work right away improving your cheerleading skills. Many of the things you will need to learn take time for your body to be able to do. For example, learning the splits is a process that can take several months depending on your current skill level. I will be writing articles with recommendations on stretches you can do to be able to do the splits and to improve overall flexibility.

I recommend getting ready for try-outs by first improving the flexibility of your body. If you are new to cheerleading and tumbling, you should spend at least 20 minutes every day just stretching. There are many stretches you can do to increase your flexibility in your legs, back, and arms. Flexibility is important to have in everything a cheerleader does.
Tumbling is another important aspect of cheerleading. It is important to take one skill at a time and learn each completely before moving to the next skill to insure confidence and gracefulness. Some things to watch for when doing any tumbling skills are hand placement and alignment. Your body should always travel in a straight line. Start with the cartwheel. It may to helpful to draw a chalk line to make sure your leading foot, hands, and landing position are in one straight path.

RobbinsSports.com sells a cartwheel mat that can be used to learn and practice hand placement. Once you are confident with your cartwheel, switch to learning round-offs. Video tape yourself performing these skills and see how you look. Make sure your legs are straight when in the air and that tumbling looks smooth and easy.

Once you have learned the tumbling skills mentioned above, you are ready to learn to do a back handspring. When learning more advanced tumbling skills, it is important to have an instructor and spotter present. This will help insure that you learn these skills correctly and prevent injury. An instructor can also trouble-shoot your tumbling and help you develop these skills more quickly than on your own. An instructor will likely have you start by learning to do a walk-over and practicing handstands. You can work on these skills on your own so you are ready to advance more quickly when you begin working with an instructor. There are mats that are designed to assist learning back handsprings including the American Athletic Handspring Trainer and the American Athletic Training Wedges. Back handsprings are designed to be done on their own and in tumbling passes. Standing back handsprings are sometimes incorporated into cheers and are often more difficult than round-off back handsprings. A back handspring can take up to a year for a dedicated beginner to do it confidently on her own. If you have previous tumbling experience, that time can be shortened significantly.

For try-outs, you may have to show that you can do a standing back handspring if your squad requires this skill for cheers. Squads are more likely to require this skill if they compete in national cheerleading competitions. You will probably also be required to put together a tumbling pass to perform before the judges. This tumbling pass will require your best tumbling skills and should begin and end with cheering. When cheering in a tumbling pass, as with every time you cheer, it is appropriate to yell from the diaphragm cheers such as “go team” and “we’re number 1”. Yelling from the diaphragm will protect your voice and sound better than screaming. Yelling sounds like “Whoo” is not appropriate for cheering, and most judges will doc your score for doing so.

You will also need to be able to do jumps for cheerleading try-outs. These include the spread eagle, toe-touch, front hurdler, and right herkie and left herkie (also know as side hurdler). Ask the cheerleading coach or someone else like a former cheerleader to help you with technique for your jumps. Important things to remember are to point your toes, place your arms correctly as they should be for the particular jump you are doing, and above all smile, smile, smile. Once you have the technique down you should work on improving the height of your jumps and the height of your legs when in the air.

You will probably be required to learn some new cheers and a dance the week of try-outs. New cheers and dances are generally used to make try-outs fair for all the participants. Everyone has the same amount of time to learn the try-out material. Be sharp in all of your movements. Your arms should remain tight when doing cheers so they do not look sloppy. Cheer loudly, clearly, and not too fast so you are easy to understand. Work on your facial expressions. Pull out that video camera again and record yourself doing the cheers and dance. This will help you see where you can use improvement or to make sure you look happy and confident. Practice all you can so you know the material completely. You don’t want to be the participant who is watching and copying others doing the dance beside you. Ask other people including the cheerleading coach if they will watch you cheer or dance and critique you. This will help you get over the try-out jitters and can be really helpful.

When tryouts come, be prepared. Bring a water bottle, towel, snacks, extra hair bands, your good luck charm, and anything else you think you may need to help you feel prepared and relaxed.

That is it. These are all the skills you will need to know for try-outs. Once you have done all you can do to prepare, try not to be nervous. Just remember to smile all the time and make eye contact with the judges. Be as confident as possible. If you don’t have the best techniques for all the skills, don’t worry. Many times, cheerleaders who can’t do more than a cartwheel make the team over girls with more advanced skills because they are fun to watch and look like they love cheering. Be positive during the try-outs and once again, SMILE!