Upward Cheerleading for Basketball Coach Cheerbook ©2013 Upward Unlimited. Upward® is a registered trademark of Upward Unlimited. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION®. Copyright© 1996, 1998 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica. ©2010 Orange. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations in this publication are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSON® NIV® ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. Table of Contents 3 Introduction 3 Upward Cheerleading Coach App Section One: Practice 6 Practice Chart Section Two: Games 66 Game-Day Format 12 Welcome and Games 13 Cheerleading Fundamentals Section Three: Forms 14 Warm-ups and Stretching 68 Star Distribution Form 17 Motions 69 Game-Day Cheer List 21 Motion Drills 22 Jumps 25 Cheers 29 Chants 33 Pom Routines 42 Mid-Practice Huddles – Devotions 43 Practice 1 55 Practice 7 45 Practice 2 57 Practice 8 47 Practice 3 59 Practice 9 49 Practice 4 61 Practice 10 51 Practice 5 63 Last Practice Devotion 53 Practice 6 2 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Mission Statement Introduction Welcome to Upward Cheerleading! As a coach, you will have an incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the cheerleaders on your squad this season. Because your role is so vital to delivering the best sports experience, your league will equip you with all the resources you need as you invest your time and talents in the lives of children and families. This coach cheerbook outlines basic skills of cheerleading, such as motions, jumps, cheers, chants and pom routines. It also includes practice devotions for the mid-point of each practice as well as information on cheerleading format for game days. Be sure to check out the coach resources on MyUpward.org. There you will find the Coach’s Sideline, a weekly practice plan customized for your squad’s age group. Each one contains an individual skill focus with corresponding drills, squad meeting topics and the appropriate mid-practice huddle devotion. An additional resource for you is the coach training guide. This guide details the role and responsibilities of an Upward Cheerleading Coach. If you did not receive a coach training guide at the coach training conference, please see your cheerleading commissioner or league director. Upward Cheerleading Coach App As a coach, it’s important to stay organized and prepared for both practices and games. Upward Sports now has a way to make coaching easy through the Upward Cheerleading Coach App. With this app, you will be able manage your squad in a simple, paperless way throughout the season. Here you will able to: › Manage cheerleader/guardian information › View practice plans › View this season’s cheers and chants › Assign and track star distribution on game day The Upward Cheerleading Coach App is available on iPhone (iPad compatible) and Android phones. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 3 4 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 5 Section One: Practice As a coach, it is essential that you are prepared for practice. Being prepared will make your practices fun, efficient and meaningful. Below is a practice timeline to help you and your cheerleaders have a productive practice: 1. Welcome and games (5 minutes)-see pages 12-13 2. Warm ups and stretching (10 minutes)- see pages 14-16 3. Skills and motions (10 minutes)- see pages 17-24 4. Mid-Practice huddle-Devotions (8 minutes)- see pages 42-64 5. New material (20 minutes)- see pages 25-41 6. Post-practice meeting (5 minutes) Practice Chart On the following pages you will find practice charts for the first five practices of the season. These charts are provided here to help you structure your first five practices. However, all eleven Coach’s Sidelines are located at MyUpward.org. We recommend you print these out before your season starts so you are fully prepared. To view all Practice Plans, please visit Coach Sidelines on MyUpward.org. 6 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Coach tip: For an advance practice plan, please visit Coach Sideline’s on MyUpward.org. Practice 1 Welcome and Games (5 minutes) Warm-up & Stretch (10 minutes) K5–2nd Grade Play the Name Game (see page 12) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review and Fundamentals (10 minutes) Teach the following motions: Touchdown Low Touchdown High V Low V T Motion Right L Left L Clasp Mid-Practice Huddle (8 minutes) Devotion 1 (see page 43) New Material (20 minutes) Motion Drill 1 (see page 21 and check out 60 second spirit for visual demonstration) Chant: Here We Go (see page 30 or DVD) Post Practice Huddle (5 minutes) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Update parents with email addresses, phone numbers, welcome letter, and upcoming practice times. (See pages 18–20 for a visual demonstration) Teach the proper jump form and a Spread Eagle Jump. (see page 23) 3rd–6th Grade Play the Name Game (see page 12) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Teach the following motions: Touchdown Low Touchdown High V Low V T Motion Right L Left L Clasp Right Diagonal Left Diagonal Broken T Candlesticks Daggers Right Punch Left Punch Clap Devotion 1 (see page 43) Motion Drills 1 & 2 (see page 21 or 60 second spirit for a video demonstration) Chant: Here We Go (see page 30 or DVD) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Update parents with email addresses, phone numbers, welcome letter, and upcoming practice times. (See pages 18–20 for a visual demonstration) Teach the proper jump form and a Spread Eagle Jump. (see page 23) Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 7 Section One: Practice Coach tip: For an advance practice plan, please visit Coach Sideline’s on MyUpward.org. Practice Welcome and Games (5 minutes) Warm-up & Stretch (10 minutes) Review and Fundamentals (10 minutes) K5–2nd Grade Play the Cheerleading Coach Says Game (see page 12) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Teach the following motions: Touchdown Low Touchdown High V Low V T Motion Right L Left L Clasp 2 Mid-Practice Huddle (8 minutes) Devotion 2 (see page 45) New Material (20 minutes) Post Practice Huddle (5 minutes) Motion Drill 2 (see page 21 or check out 60 second spirit for visual demonstration) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Cheer: Pump It Up (see page 26 or DVD) Give each cheerleader a Green Practice Star for participating in Scripture Learning. Cheerleaders should display stars on their megaphone. (See pages 18–20 for a visual demonstration) Teach the proper jump form and a Spread Eagle Jump. (see page 23) 3rd–6th Grade 8 Play the Cheerleading Coach Says Game (see page 12) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review motion drills, chant, and jumps. Teach a Tuck Jump. (see page 23) Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Distribute practice cards to each cheerleader at the end of practice. This card will contain a scripture verse and information about TeamUpward.com Devotion 2 (see page 45) Cheer: Victory (see page 27 or DVD) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Pom Routine: John 3:16 Teach two eight counts. (See DVD to learn, page 36 to review, and Cheertune CD for music.) Distribute practice cards to each cheerleader at the end of practice. This card will contain a scripture verse and information about TeamUpward.com Give each cheerleader a Green Practice Star for participating in Scripture Learning. Cheerleaders should display stars on their megaphone. Section One: Practice Coach tip: For an advance practice plan, please visit Coach Sideline’s on MyUpward.org. Practice Welcome and Games (5 minutes) Warm-up & Stretch (10 minutes) Review and Fundamentals (10 minutes) K5–2nd Grade Play the Cheerleader Tic – Tac – Toe Game (see page 13) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review motion drills, cheers, chants, and jumps. 3 Mid-Practice Huddle (8 minutes) Devotion 3 (see page 47) Teach a Toe Touch Jump. (see page 24) Encourage your cheerleaders to use their cheer voices and to smile throughout practice and games. 3rd–6th Grade Play the Cheerleader Tic – Tac – Toe Game (see page 13) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review cheers, chants, jumps, and pom routines. Teach a Toe Touch Jump. (see page 24) Encourage your cheerleaders to use their cheer voices and to smile throughout practice and games. Devotion 3 (see page 47) New Material (20 minutes) Post Practice Huddle (5 minutes) Chant: Let’s Win (see page 30 or DVD) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Pom Routine: Joyful Teach two eight counts. (See DVD to learn, page 34 to review, and Cheertune CD for music) Give each cheerleader a Green Practice Star for participating in Scripture Learning. Chant: Let’s Win (see page 30 or DVD) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Pom Routine: John 3:16 Finish teaching pom routine. (See DVD to learn, page 36 to review, and Cheertune CD for music.) Give each cheerleader a Green Practice Star for participating in Scripture Learning. Perform this pom routine using a creative formation from our “formations page” at your next halftime. Remind your squad about TeamUpward.com Remind parents about upcoming practices and games. Remind your squad about TeamUpward.com Remind parents about upcoming practices and games. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 9 Section One: Practice Coach tip: For an advance practice plan, please visit Coach Sideline’s on MyUpward.org. Practice 4 Welcome and Games (5 minutes) Warm-up & Stretch (10 minutes) K5–2nd Grade Play the Line Up Game (see page 13) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review and Fundamentals (10 minutes) Review cheers, chants, pom routines, and jumps. Mid-Practice Huddle (8 minutes) Devotion 4 (see page 49) Teach how to correctly show spirit after every performance. (Check out Coach Sideline on MyUpward.org and practice 4 ways to teach spirit.) Play the Line Up Game (see page 13) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review cheers, chants, pom routines, and jumps. Teach how to correctly show spirit after every performance. (Check out Coach Sideline on MyUpward.org and practice 4 ways to teach spirit.) Teach a Herkie Jump. (see page 24) 10 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Post Practice Huddle (5 minutes) Chant: Hustle (see page 31 or DVD) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Pom Routine: Joyful Finish teaching pom routine. (See DVD to learn, page 34 to review, and Cheertune CD for music) Give each cheerleader a Green Practice Star for participating in Scripture Learning. Perform this pom routine using a creative formation from our “formations page” at your next halftime. Teach a Herkie Jump. (see page 24) 3rd–6th Grade New Material (20 minutes) Devotion 4 (see page 49) Chant: Get Tough and Win (see page 32 or DVD) Pom Routine: See DVD for choices. Teach two eight counts. (See DVD to learn, pages 34–41 to review, and Cheertune CD for music.) Remind your squad about TeamUpward.com Remind parents about upcoming practices and games. Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Give each cheerleader a Green Practice Star for participating in Scripture Learning. Remind your squad about TeamUpward.com Remind parents about upcoming practices and games. Section One: Practice Coach tip: For an advance practice plan, please visit Coach Sideline’s on MyUpward.org. Practice 5 Welcome and Games (5 minutes) Warm-up & Stretch (10 minutes) K5–2nd Grade Play the Shoe Game (see page 12) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review and Fundamentals (10 minutes) Review cheers, chants, pom routines, and jumps. Mid-Practice Huddle (8 minutes) Devotion 5 (see page 51) Formation Change: Practice performing a cheer in Formation A and show spirit while moving to Formation B where cheerleaders will perform a pom routine. Use our “formations page” for ideas. This will make a great halftime routine. 3rd–6th Grade Play the Shoe Game (see page 12) Warm-up and Stretch (see chart on page 14) Review cheers, chants, pom routines, and jumps. Formation Change: Practice performing a cheer in Formation A and show spirit while moving to Formation B where cheerleaders will perform a pom routine. Use our “formations page” for ideas. This will make a great halftime routine. New Material (20 minutes) Post Practice Huddle (5 minutes) Chant: Take Control (see page 31 or DVD) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Pom Routine: See DVD for choices. Teach two eight counts. (See DVD to learn, pages 34–41 to review, and Cheertune CD for music.) Give each cheerleader a Green Scripture Star for participating in Scripture learning. Cheerleaders should display stars on their megaphone. Distribute practice cards to each cheerleader at the end of practice. This card will contain a scripture verse and information about TeamUpward.com Remind parents about upcoming practices and games. Devotion 5 (see page 51) Chant: Clap It Out (see page 28 or DVD) This cheer is long, so you may want to have two practices to teach it. Teach words first, then motions, and be sure to review until everyone looks synchronized. Pom Routine: Continue to work on a pom routine. (See DVD to learn, pages 34–41 to review, and Cheertune CD for music.) Remind your squad about skills learned at practice. Give each cheerleader a Green Practice Star for participating in Scripture Learning. Cheerleaders should display stars on their megaphone. Distribute practice cards to each cheerleader at the end of practice. This card will contain a scripture verse and information about TeamUpward.com Remind parents about upcoming practices and games. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 11 Section One: Practice Welcome and Games Always start your practices with a welcome game to get your squad excited about the practice. Below are some fun games you can play with your squad, or you can create your own welcome games. Name Game Equipment needed: Five small balls (or use poms) Have cheerleaders stand in a circle and create a pattern by throwing one ball. Prior to throwing the ball, each cheerleader has to say their own name and then throw it to another cheerleader. The last person to receive the ball will throw it back to whoever began the pattern. Once the pattern is established, try speeding it up and see how quickly you can complete the pattern while still saying the names prior to throwing the ball. After they have mastered the speed, try adding balls to see how many you can get going at the same time. Cheerleading Coach Says This game is played just like the traditional game of Simon Says except that the things “Coach” says to do are cheerleading-related. For example, you could say “Coach says, ‘Do a High V!’” or “Coach says, ‘Do a toe touch!’” You could also let the cheerleaders take turns being Coach. This game encourages the learning and improvement of motions and jumps. Shoe Game Have everyone take off their shoes and put them in a pile in the middle of the room. Mix the shoes up. Divide the cheerleaders into two groups. See which group can find their shoes and put them on first. When they have their shoes on, the team done first must quickly sit on the floor. 12 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Cheerleader Tic-Tac-Toe Set up nine chairs in three rows. Divide the squad into X’s and O’s. Just like in regular tic-tac-toe, the X’s and O’s alternate, except they sit in the chairs instead of drawing it out on paper. Ask questions about the rules of basketball or cheerleading. The cheerleaders must raise their hands to answer. If they answer correctly, they sit on one of the chairs. The first team to get three in a row--diagonally, vertically or horizontally--wins. Line Up Divide the squad into two groups, which will compete against each other to complete the challenge. Challenges could be lining up according to birthdays, alphabetically by first name or last name, age or other criteria. Then try the same challenges without talking. For additional welcome games and activities, please visit MyUpward.org. Cheerleading Fundamentals Being prepared for practice is imperative. You will need to not only know what to teach, but how to teach it. In the following pages, you will find specific skills to aid you as you prepare your cheerleaders for games. Refer to your cheer coach DVD for visual demonstrations of each of the items covered in this section. Additional resources are available at MyUpward.org. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 13 Section One: Practice Warm-ups and Stretching Warm-up exercises and stretching are necessary before any sports activity. Prior to each practice, use the following guidelines to lead your squad: · Warm up to a fun song with built-in instructions. · Choose a fun song from our coach’s resources at MyUpward.org, or select a song of your choice and choreograph your own warm-up routine. · Check out warm-ups in Coach Sidelines on MyUpward.org for a visual demonstration. · Play a fun game with commands. Here is an example of a fun warm-up game: Captain’s Coming! The coach plays the role of the Captain. The Captain will call out any one action listed below and each cheerleader will have three to four seconds to start performing the action: COMMAND 14 ACTION “Captain’s coming” Everyone stands frozen in a salute until the captain says, “At Ease!” “Ship” Cheerleaders run to the right “Sailors” Cheerleaders run to the left “Man overboard” One person drops to a knee while the other stands behind, putting a hand on their shoulder “Three men rowing” Three cheerleaders get in a line and pretend to row a boat while singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” “Four men pointing north” Four cheerleaders get into a circle and point up “Hit the deck” Cheerleaders fall to the floor on their stomachs “Pirate attack” Captain tries to tag the cheerleaders as they try to escape Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice The following is another simple but effective layout for warm-up activities: · Running: One minute around the room. If you have limited space, run in place. · Jumping jacks: 20-30 · Trunk twists: From a standing position, twist back and forth 10-20 times to loosen backs. · Shoulder circles: With arms by your side, lift your shoulders and take them back down, creating a circular motion 10-20 times. · Arm circles: Hold arms out in a T-motion and circle them 10-20 times. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 15 Section One: Practice Stretching is a vital part of cheerleading because good flexibility helps prevent muscle injuries. Stretching should be done before every practice and game. Below are some stretches you can perform at each practice. 16 Neck Stretch: Sit or stand with arms by your side. Tilt head to the right and hold for eight seconds, then tilt head to the left and hold for eight seconds. Hamstring Stretch: Sit on the floor with right leg straight out in front. Bend left leg and cross it over the right one. Pull the left knee across your body toward opposite shoulder. Reverse. Calf-Muscle Stretch: Lean toward and support yourself against a wall while keeping your leg straight. Press your heel to the floor. Reverse and stretch other calf muscle. Quadriceps Stretch: Support yourself against a wall or stationary object. Pull one heel up behind your body and hold. Repeat with other heel. Triceps Stretch: Bring one arm up beside your head, bending it at the elbow while reaching across with the other arm and hold. Repeat using other arm. Shoulder Stretch: Reach one arm across your chest, holding it at the elbow with opposite hand. Reverse. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Motions Learning motions properly is necessary for your squad so that cheers will be done precisely and accurately. Sharp, tight, clean motions are essential for all cheerleaders. You may want to use this section as a reference when creating motions to your own cheers or to the chants found on pages 25-32. When practicing motions, make sure your cheerleaders follow these guidelines: · Keep motions in front of you: If you hit a motion properly, you should be able to see your arms and fists in your peripheral vision while looking forward (with the exception of a Touchdown motion). · Watch arm levels: Keep shoulders relaxed. A T-motion should be level and a High V or Low V should look like a “V.” · Use proper fists direction: The thumb should always be on the outside of the fingers, but should not extend above the knuckles. The side of the fist facing the crowd depends on the motion being performed. For example, the pinkie side of the fist faces the crowd when performing a Tabletop. However, the index-finger side faces out for a high V-motion. · Keep wrists flat (not bent or cocked): Your wrists should be perfectly flat, as if they were extensions of your arms. · Use proper hand placement for claps: Keep elbows in and clasped hands right below your chin. Cheerleaders should avoid the following: · Bent wrists (wrists should be perfectly flat, as though they were extensions of the arms) · Bent elbows (when arms are supposed to be straight) · Misplaced arm levels · Over-extension of arms (always make sure fists can be seen out of the corner of the eyes) · Improper fist direction (varies according to the motion the cheerleader is performing) · To maintain sharpness with motions, your cheerleaders should avoid: · Bouncing or swinging their motions · Inserting extra motions or movements Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 17 Section One: Practice Clapping Two clapping positions can be used. Clasp Similar to a clasp, but hands are flat against each other. Side Lunge Left Punch Front leg is forward with knee bent, in line with the ankle. Back leg is straight. Front lunge is another variation of this stance. 18 Clap Hands are held together below the chin. Right arm rests on the hip. Left arm is extended straight up by the ear. Both hands are in fists. Right Punch: Right arm is up and left hand on the hip. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Ready Position Feet are positioned shoulderwidth apart while hands rest on hips. This will be the position in which most cheers are called. Touchdown Extend both arms straight up by your ears. Hands are in fists. Bring the arms straight down for a Low Touchdown. Section One: Practice High V Both arms are raised at an angle to create a V shape. Hands are in tight fists with arms forward enough to be seen out of the corner of your eyes. T Motion Extend both arms out to the side of your body to create a T shape. Hands are in tight fists, with arms forward enough to be seen out of the corner of your eyes. Many motions can be specific to the right or left side. All motions are only shown in one direction, but those marked with an * can also be done in the opposite way they are shown. Low V This is similar to the High V, but both arms are lowered to create an upside-down V shape. Hands are in tight fists, with arms forward enough to be seen out of the corner of your eyes. Broken T This is similar to the T motion except that both elbows bend inward, bringing fists toward the chest. This motion can be specific to the right or left arm by only using half of the Broken T. Dagger Bend both arms at the elbow. Hold arms parallel to each other and tight to the chest. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 19 Section One: Practice Candlesticks Arms are straight out, parallel to each other and the floor. Fists should face inward, as if holding a candle in each hand. Bow-n-Arrow Right arm is in a Broken T while left arm is in a T motion. (Pictured is a Right Bow-n-Arrow.) 20 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook L Motion Raise one arm to a T position. Extend the other arm straight up by the ear. (Pictured is a Right L.) Diagonal One arm is in a High V position while the other is in a Low V position. (Pictured is a Right Diagonal.) Section One: Practice Motion Drills Below are two eight-count drills that include a series of motions. The purpose of this motion drill is to help cheerleaders put their knowledge of motions to counts and rhythms. Often cheerleaders who know every motion forget the placement and sharpness when performing. Encourage them to make the transition from one motion to the next sharp, clean, quick and simple. Start slow so that each motion is correctly performed with each count: MOTION DRILL 1 MOTION DRILL 2 1. Touchdown 1. Right Diagonal 2. Low Touchdown 2. Left Diagonal 3. High V 3. Broken T 4. Low V 4. Candlesticks 5. T-motion 5. Dagger 6. Right L 6. Right Punch 7. Left L 7. Left Punch 8. Clasp 8. Clasp For a video demonstration of these motion drills, go to the cheer resources of MyUpward.org. Incorporate push-ups in your warm-up program to strengthen arms, since strong arms produce strong motions. Even when your cheerleaders are learning a new routine, cheer, chant or jump, have them practice sharp motions. The way they practice is the way they will perform on game day. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 21 Section One: Practice Jumps Jumps are another key element of cheerleading. Performing more jumps will build your cheerleaders’ stamina, endurance and flexibility. The following drills will help to improve their jumps’ height and form. Focus on one jump per practice and encourage your cheerleaders to perform jumps at games after every cheer, chant and pom routine. As you teach, stress good form over height of the jumps. Jumps should be done in the following manner with appropriate counts: 1. Arms in a High V and feet together. 2. Swing arms around. 3. Slightly bend your knees, placing your weight on the balls of your feet. Lift arms to a T-motion while hitting the appropriate jump. 4. Squeeze legs together for a “feet together” landing with arms by your side. 5. Stand up with feet together and hands on hips or by your side. 1 22 2 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 3 4 5 Section One: Practice Spread Eagle Help cheerleaders perfect their overall jump form by teaching this drill with Spread Eagle first before moving to another jump. 1. Arms in a High V and feet together. 2. Swing arms around. Slightly bend your knees, placing your weight on the balls of your feet. 3. Swing arms out and around to a High V, keeping your back straight. Spread legs with toes pointed, knees facing forward. 4. Squeeze legs together for a “feet together” landing with arms by your side. 5. Stand up with feet together and hands on hips or hands by your side. Tuck Jump 1. Arms in a High V and feet together. 2. Swing arms around. Slightly bend your knees, placing your weight on the balls of your feet. 3. Keep legs squeezed together and back straight while bringing your legs up to your chest. High V with arms. 4. Squeeze legs together for a “feet together” landing with arms by your side. 5. Stand up with feet together and hands on hips or arms by your side. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 23 Section One: Practice Toe Touch 1. Arms in a High V and feet together. 2. Swing arms around. Slightly bend your knees, placing your weight on the balls of your feet. 3. Swing both arms out to a T-motion while lifting both legs in a split high as they will go. 4. Squeeze legs together for a “feet together” landing with arms by your side. 5. Stand up with feet together and hands on hips or arms by your side. Herkie The example below is for a right herkie: 1. Arms in a High V and feet together. 2. Swing arms around. Slightly bend your knees, placing weight on the balls of your feet. 3. Swing right arm out to a T-motion, placing the left arm on your hip while lifting the right leg out to the side as high as it will go. Keep the left leg into a hurdle position to the side and slightly behind your body. 4. Squeeze legs together for a “feet together” landing with arms by your side. 5. Stand up with feet together and hands on hips. 24 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Cheers It is time to get loud and to have some fun! This section will provide you with a base of cheers to use during the basketball season. Squads are not required to use all cheers and chants provided in this book. New cheers and chants are also found in the Coach’s Sideline (located at MyUpward.org). Remember that all cheers are to remain positive and uplifting. Refrain from using terms such as beat, kill, fight or defeat. All cheers, chants and pom routines provided in this book are also demonstrated on your cheer coach DVD. Your DVD has additional cheers and chants that are not listed on the following pages. You can also find even more cheers and chants in the Coach’s Sideline (located at MyUpward.org). When teaching cheers, follow these guidelines: 1. Teach the words first. 2. Have cheerleaders repeat the cheer or chant until everyone is familiar with the words. 3. Teach the cheer, chant or pom routine. 4. Review slowly, but still focus on sharp and precise motions. 5. Once everyone has the overall knowledge of the cheer or chant, practice it at a full speed. Look for correct motion placement and sharpness, while emphasizing squad synchronization from the very beginning. 6. Do not move on to a new cheer or a chant without perfecting technique first. Teach cheerleaders to end each cheer, chant and pom routine by showing spirit! Encourage them to yell things such as, “Go, Upward!” “Shoot Two!” “Let’s go, Red and Black!” and other similar phrases. Have them practice three to four short phrases after every cheer. Insert your team colors. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 25 Section One: Practice Claps are to be done in the CLASP position unless otherwise noted. PUMP IT UP WORDS 26 MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Blue Step forward, Right High V Pause Clasp Come Left Bow and Arrow On Right Bow and Arrow Come Left Bow and Arrow On Right Bow and Arrow White Right High V Pause Clasp Pump it up Pump up Pump it up Pump up Upward Clean Pause Clasp Let’s go Group 1: step back, T Motion Let’s go Group 2: step back, T Motion Blue Right High V And Clasp White Left High V Blue Right High V And Clasp White Left High V Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice VICTORY WORDS MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Upward High V, prep for jump Fans Circle arms around Get on High V, Spread Eagle Your feet Land, feet together Stand Jump out, hands on hips Up for a Hold Vic High V Tory Break, High V and take it back out Shout Step forward, Daggers It Hold Out Step together, Touchdown Yell Hold Go Right High V Big Blue Break, and take it back out to a Right High V Pause Clasp Go Left High V Big Blue Break, and take it back out to a Left High V Pause Clasp Go Right High V Big Blue Break, and take it back out to a Right High V Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 27 Section One: Practice CLAP IT OUT WORDS 28 MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Here Low V, step forward We Break Go Low V, step together Pause Clasp Pause Clasp Clap It Clasp Right Out Clasp Left Pause Clasp Pause Clasp Blue Right High V And Clasp White WORDS MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Us Low V, step together Left High V Pause Clasp Pause Clasp, step together Pause Clasp Now Low V, step forward Shout it Clasp Right Out Clasp Left Yell with Break Pause Clasp Pause Clasp Blue Right High V And Clasp White Left High V Blue Right High V And Clasp White Left High V Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Chants: Chants, also known as “sidelines” are so much fun to perform on gameday. Chants are shorter then cheers and are recited three times. However, the crowd is usually a good indicator of when to end a chant. In the next few pages, you will find some fun chants that are designed for all age divisions. More chants are located on MyUpward.org and on your coach DVD. Use the coach DVD for visual demonstration. When learning and teaching chants: › Learn the words first › Repeat the chant until everyone is familiar with the words and rhythm › Learn the motions › Practice it at a full speed and with sharpness Always look for correct motion placement and sharpness, while emphasizing team synchronization. Do not move on to a new chant without perfecting technique. Insert your team colors. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 29 Section One: Practice HERE WE GO WORDS MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Here Right foot forward, swing arms back We go Swing arms up Pause Clasp Pause Clasp Blue and Right High V White Left High V Pause Clasp Pause Clasp Let’s Low V Go Clasp Upward High V LET’S WIN WORDS 30 MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Upward Hold sign out in front Let’s Bring sign in Pause Shake left Pause Shake right W W sign goes up I I sign goes up N N sign goes up Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice HUSTLE WORDS MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) H Row 1–Cross right arm over left U Broken T S Step Together, T Motion Pause Clasp Pause Clasp T Row 2–Cross right arm over left L Broken T E Step Together, T Motion Pause Clasp Pause Clasp Hustle Right Punch Pause Break Right Punch back Hustle Right Punch TAKE CONTROL WORDS MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Upward Sit to the right, Arms by your side Let’s Step Together, Clasp Roll Step left, Roll arms Pause T Motion Defense Clasp Forward Pause Step Together, Clasp Take Control High V Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 31 Section One: Practice GET TOUGH AND WIN WORDS 32 MOTIONS (K5-6th GRADE) Upward T Motion, step out Let’s Clasp Go Right Punch Get Clasp Tough and Tough Motion Win Right Punch, step forward Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Pom Routines After your cheerleaders have learned enough cheers and chants to provide a significant base to use during each game, consider teaching them a pom routine that can be performed at halftime or during the awards celebration. Here are some points to consider as you prepare to teach pom routines: · Be sure to teach the placement of each pom routine motion. · Evaluate your squad’s performance. If there is a step too difficult for your group, simplify it before continuing. The goal is to master clean and simple routines. · Consider teaching two eight counts PER practice. Review each one until everyone has learned the routine and it looks synchronized. Continue to teach the rest of the routine at your next practice. · Once the cheerleaders have learned the entire pom routine, make necessary corrections to improve motions and motion placement. The best way to do this is to count aloud, “Five, six, seven, eight, one” and have your squad freeze on count “one.” Make the necessary corrections and repeat the drill for “one” again. Do not go on to count “two” until everyone has correctly performed count “one.” Repeat for count “two.” When everyone has learned count “two,” add that to count “one.” Repeat the process for the entire routine until it is perfected. · Allow half of your squad to watch while the other half performs the pom routine. This is a great way to encourage your cheerleaders. The feedback from their own teammates will inspire and excite them for their big performance. Get creative and add some fun to your pom routine by using a creative formation from the formations page on MyUpward.org. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 33 Section One: Practice The pom routines listed on the following pages can be performed to the music on your Cheertunes CD, located in the inside of the front cover of this coach cheerbook. The coach DVD (found on the inside back cover) includes visual demonstrations of all pom routines listed below. It breaks down how to perform each count, reviews the entire routine without music and then shows how to perform each pom routine with music. The following instructions can be used as a guide while watching the coach DVD. These pom routines are listed in order of difficulty. Joyful (Recommended K5-2nd) Formation A: Formation B: XXX X X X Transition to: First 8-count Start in Formation A (see above) 1. Cross and grab left wrist with right hand 2. Push straight down, still holding left wrist 3. High V 4. Roll into a Low V 5. Right Dagger 6. Left Low Touchdown 7. Right Dagger 8. High V Jazz Hands, look up 34 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Second 8-count 1. Cross and grab left wrist with right hand 5. Right Dagger 2. Push straight down, still holding left wrist 6. Left Low Touchdown 3. High V 7. Right Dagger 4. Roll into a Low V 8. High V Jazz Hands, look up Third 8-count Transition to Formation B (see diagram on previous page) 1. Begin to move to a vertical line, shake poms in front of chest 5. Continue to move to vertical line 2. Continue to move to vertical line 3. Continue to move to vertical line 7. Stand in vertical line and shake poms 4. Continue to move to vertical line 8. Continue to shake poms 6. Continue to move to vertical line Fourth 8-count Next eight count are side to side moves: 1. Every other row move to the right or left 5. Switch 2. Switch 6. Switch 3. Switch 7. Switch 4. Switch 8. Switch Ending sound effect everyone drops, hands on the floor and look down. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 35 Section One: Practice John 3:16 (Recommended for 3rd-4th) Formation A: Formation B: X X X X X X Formation C: X X X First 8-count Start in Formation A (see above) 1. Hold 5. Low V 2. Hold 6. Clap 3. Low V 7. Low V 4. Clap 8. Clap Second 8-count 1. Step forward on right, cross right arm over left in front, head down 2. Break into a T Motion, Step Together 36 5. Wrap arms around your head 6. Bring hands and chest down to knees 3. Point to yourself 7. High V in Jazz hands and jump out 4. Point to yourself 8. Hold Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Third 8-Count 1. Reach out with right hand while left hand is placed on right bicep, step forward on right foot 6. Hold 7. Box with both arms (this is an opposite group visual) 2. Bring left foot to the right, bring right hand in front of face a. Row 1: Step to the right, and hit right then left 3. Take right palm and face it outwards, look to the right b. Row 2: Step to the left, and hit left then right 4. Face to the left, palm facing out 8. Box to the opposite side 5. Look to the front Forth 8-Count 1. Box to same side 2. Cross and uncross to the right 5. Extend the right arm and point in front of you 3. Cross and uncross to the left 6. Point to the right 4. Right arm over left on your chest and lean back to the right 7. Point to the left 8. Point to the right Fifth 8-Count Move to Formation B 1. Point straight up 5. Move to two lines and shake poms 2. Bring hands together, shake poms and move to two lines 6. Move to two lines and shake poms 3. Move to two lines and shake poms 8. Move to two lines and shake poms 7. Move to two lines and shake poms 4. Move to two lines and shake poms Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 37 Section One: Practice Sixth 8-Count Move to Formation C 1. Front row and back row switch 3. Continue to move a. Front row shake poms from a Low V to a High V 4. Continue to move b. Back row shake poms from a High V to a Low V 6. Continue to move 2. Continue to move 5. Continue to move 7. Continue to move 8. Continue to move Seventh 8-Count Move back to Formation B 1. Front row and back row switch 4. Continue to move b. Back row shake poms from a High V to a Low V 6. Continue to move 2. Continue to move Ending pose 1. Front row High V, back row Low V 38 3. Continue to move a. Front row shake poms from a Low V to a High V Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 5. Continue to move 7. Continue to move 8. Continue to move Section One: Practice Obedience (Recommended for 5th-6th) Formation A: X X X First 8-count Start in Formation A 1. Hold 5. Jump apart 2. Hold 6. Hold 3. Hold 7. Hold 4. Hold 8. Hold Second 8-Count 1. Right arm punches forward, left arm in a Dagger And: Left arm punches forward, right arm in a Dagger 5. Break arms into a Right Diagonal (right arm is a High V and left arm is in a Low V) 2. Right arm punches forward, left arm in a Dagger 6. Break arms into a Left Diagonal (Left arm is a High V and Right arm is a Low V) 3. Hold 7. Broken Right Diagonal 4. Hold 8. Switch to a Broken Left Diagonal Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 39 Section One: Practice Third 8-Count This is a ripple. 1. Group 1: Step back to a right angle arms in Candle Sticks Group 2: Hold 2. Group 1: Clean arms by side and step together Group 2: Hold 3. Group 1: Hold Group 2: Step back to a right angle, arms in Candle Sticks 4. Group 1: Hold Group 2: Clean arms by side and step together 5. Everyone step forward to the right, cross and uncross arms to the right 6. Step to the left, cross and uncross arms to the left 7. Clean feet apart 8. Hold Fourth 8-Count 1. Arms in a Dagger 2. Swing left to a Low Touchdown 5. Right arm in a T, Left arm cleans 3. Swing left up to Daggers 6. T Motion 4. Swing left to a Low Touchdown 7. Clasp straight above head 8. Bring straight down to Clasp Fifth 8-Count 1. High V 5. Hold 2. Cross in front of you 6. Hold 3. T Motion, Toe Touch 7. Hands and knees hit the floor, look down 4. Land with feet together , arms by your side 40 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 8. Hold Section One: Practice Sixth 8-count 1. Right knee comes up, right over left hands on thigh 2. Hold 3. Stand, Clean 4. Hold 5. Lift left shoulder and knee 6. Lift right shoulder and knee 7. Step out, left Low V 8. Box arms, face right and point up Seventh 8-Count 1. Clean 2. Hold 3. Feet apart, Right arm punches forward, left arm in a Dagger 4. Right arm punches forward, left arm in a Dagger 5. Break arms into a Right Diagonal (Right arm is a High V and Left arm is in a Low V) 6. Break arms into a Left Diagonal (Left arm is a High V and Right arm is a Low V) 7. Broken Right Diagonal 8. Broken Right Diagonal Eighth 8-Count 1. Group 1: Step back to a right angle with arms in Candle Sticks 2. Group 1: Clean arms by side and step together 3. Group 1: Hold 5. Everyone step to the right, cross and uncross to the right 6. Step to the left, cross and uncross to the left 7. Clean 8. Hold 4. Group 1: Hold Ending Pose 1. High V Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 41 Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddles (Devotions) As an Upward Cheerleading Coach, you are not only teaching skills for cheerleading but also values for life. The mid-practice huddle, or devotion time, allows you to incorporate biblical principles into the sports experience and help young athletes grow spiritually. The chart below shows the virtues and verses for each group of practices and is designed to assist you as your organize and prepare for your mid-practice huddle. Practice Number 42 Virtue Verse Practice 1 None (“Get to Know You” time) None (Scripture learning begins at Practice 2) Practice 2-4 Honesty The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) Practice 5-7 Patience The end of a matter is better than its beginning. So it’s better to be patient than proud. Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIrV) Practice 8-10 Kindness Do to others as you want them to do to you. Luke 6:31 (NIrV) Last practice of the season Gospel Presentation For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV) Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 1 Coach: › Gather the cheerleaders together and get them to sit in a circle. › Toss a pom (or any object on hand) to a cheerleader and have them share their name and the place they would go if they could go anywhere in the world for a week. › Be sure each cheerleader gets a turn to share. Once everyone has shared their name and where they would like to go, instruct cheerleaders with the following: We all have our favorite places to go. But I wonder what you think about a few other places you’d like to go for a week. I want you to give each a “thumbs up” if you like it, or a “thumbs down” if you don’t. Ready?... › The jungles of Brazil › The Moon › The trash dump › The South Pole › The Swiss Alps › The Caves of New Zealand › The Chocolate Factory That was fun! Getting to know each other better is something that we’ll do a lot of this season. As a team, we’ll work hard to encourage one another to do our best at practices and games! As you cheer during each game this season, you will be rewarded afterward with different colored stars that each means something special. Your actions, attitudes and words on game day will determine what star you will get. These are the game day stars and what they mean: › The blue star represents EFFORT: What does it mean to show effort? It means working hard to try your best at all times. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 43 Section One: Practice › The gold star represents SPIRIT: What does it mean to show spirit? It means doing all your cheers with excitement, eagerness and good voice inflection. You show others on your squad respect and treat them the way you want to be treated. › The gray star represents CHEERS: How do you cheer well? You work together well with the rest of the squad while doing the motions and jumps and saying the correct words along with the others. › The red star represents LEADERSHIP: What does a leader do? A good leader helps the squad stay focused and calls cheers well before the rest of the squad does them. › The white star represents CHRISTLIKENESS: What does it mean to be Christlike? Being Christlike means to do your best to imitate Jesus in every way – through words, attitude and actions. It means loving others and following God’s Word in the Bible; choosing God over the temptations in the world around you. At each practice we will stop to have a Mid-Practice Huddle. We will learn about God and learn a verse from the Bible together. During this time you will have a chance to earn a green star. › The green star represents SCRIPTURE LEARNING: What is a Scripture? Scriptures are verses from the Bible. How can I learn scripture? At different practices this season I will give you a practice card that has a Scripture verse on it. Memorize it, think about it, and talk about it with others. Come prepared to say it during practice and learn more about it! Before we get back to practice, I want to tell you all about a great website that has been designed just for you! TeamUpward.com is your place to play cool games and watch fun videos. One of the best things about TeamUpward.com is there are videos where a former college cheerleader instructs you on how to improve your cheerleading skills. You really need to check it out. Our team is going to have a great season! Let’s pray and then get back to practice. (Lead squad in short prayer as you thank God for all the cheerleaders and a great season ahead.) 44 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 2 Practice Card Reminder: At the end of this practice, remember to distribute the practice cards entitled “Practice 2.” INTRODUCE: › Virtue: HONESTY - Choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. › Scripture Verse: The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) Bottom Line: You can lie so much that it’s hard to remember what’s true. Raise your hand if you have ever told a lie. Wait a second. All of you without your hands up—come on! Are you being honest right now? Everyone at some time or another has probably bent the truth a little. Maybe you were afraid that if you told the truth, you’d get in trouble. Or maybe you were afraid the truth would hurt someone’s feelings. Today we’re going to spend some time talking about honesty. Honesty is choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. I would bet that you don’t wake up in the morning and say, “I’m going to tell a whole bunch of lies today!” In fact, I’ll bet when you’re first tempted to lie that most of you try hard not to. And I would also guess that the first lie you tell usually isn’t a big one. Let’s say your mom comes in to find that someone has left the backdoor wide open and your cat is nowhere to be seen. When she confronts you to ask if you were the one, your stomach does a flip remembering a few hours earlier when you ran outside to play, knowing that you left the front door wide open. But that scary look on your mom’s face makes you lie and say, “Nope, definitely not me, Mom. I did not leave the door open.” Not satisfied with your answer, your mom asks again—giving you the chance to come clean. But instead of being honest, you tell another lie. You blame the incident on your brother. And to really make sure she believes you, you go one step further to say you’ve been inside playing all day. So one lie leads to another. That’s almost always the way it goes. Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, growing bigger and more dangerous with every rotation, one Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 45 Section One: Practice little lie turns into one giant mess—a mess so big you have to keep lying just to stay ahead of it. And pretty soon, you’re so mixed up in your cover-up that you’ve forgotten what’s true and what’s part of your made-up story. You’ve forgotten that all this effort is for something as small as leaving a door open. But God has a better way. He knows that when we lie, we break trust with the person we’ve lied to. And if you can’t be trusted, you lose friendships. You disappoint your parents. Even your little brother ends up hurt. So it’s always best to start out telling the truth. But that’s not easy. So why don’t we pray and ask God to help us with that this week? 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. In what way is a little lie like a snowball rolling down a giant mountain? 2. How does it make you feel when you’ve told so many lies just to cover up one thing? Prayer: › Thank God for reminding your squad how important it is to start out by telling the truth. › Ask him to help your cheerleaders be truthful in words and actions so that the people they care about can trust them. › Thank him for the reminder that one little lie can lead to a whole lot of trouble. 46 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 3 COACH: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE PRACTICE CARDS AT THIS PRACTICE REVIEW: › Virtue: HONESTY - Choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. › Scripture Verse: The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) Bottom Line: When you are truthful and make things right, you build trust. As you probably remember, we’ve been talking about what it means to be honest. You and I have a choice everyday to tell the truth and be honest in our actions. But sometimes we’re tempted to bend the truth or flat-out lie to get something we want. There’s a guy from the Bible who knew all about being dishonest. In fact, dishonesty was sort of his job. See Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Back in those days, everyone hated tax collectors because they were thieves. They’d charge people more money than they really owed and then pocket the extra money for themselves. One day, Jesus was on his way to Jericho—where Zacchaeus lived. Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and wanted to see him for himself. Now if you’ve heard this story before, you might remember that Zacchaeus wasn’t very tall. In order to see Jesus, Zacchaeus climbed up in a sycamore tree. When Jesus walked by, he looked up at Zacchaeus in the tree and said, “Zacchaeus, I’m coming to your house today.” Well, of course, everyone who heard this couldn’t believe it! Zacchaeus was one of the most hated men in Jericho. No one wanted to be his friend, much less go to his house for dinner. Of all the people Jesus would choose to spend time with, he was going to visit this thief’s home! I imagine even Zacchaeus was surprised. But that meeting changed everything. The Bible tells us that Zacchaeus immediately knew he’d been wrong. He decided to give half his wealth to the poor and to pay back anyone he owed four times the amount due! Whoa, talk about a complete change of heart! Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 47 Section One: Practice This true encounter with Jesus shows you and me that it’s never too late for any of us to begin to be honest. Even if you’ve really messed up, even if you’ve made a mess of things, there’s still a chance to make things right. Because in the end, honesty is always the wise choice. And when you do choose honesty, you can begin to build trust with the people you’ve hurt. Just like Zacchaeus, we can choose to be truthful and make things right; we can choose to start earning the trust of those around us. Let’s thank God today that even when we mess up, we can still turn things around by choosing to be honest. 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. How do you think the townspeople of Jericho reacted when Zacchaeus showed up on their doorsteps with four times the amount of money he owed them? 2. Just like our memory verse says, God “delights in people who are trustworthy.” Why do you think that is? Who else might enjoy being around trustworthy people? Prayer: › Thank God for never ever giving up on us. › Ask him to forgive your cheerleaders when their dishonest, just like Jesus forgave Zacchaeus. › Ask him to help your squad make things right when they we mess up so that they can be trusted by the people around them. 48 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 4 COACH: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE PRACTICE CARDS AT THIS PRACTICE REVIEW: › Virtue: HONESTY - Choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. › Scripture Verse: The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) Bottom Line: When you are not truthful, you can hurt the people you care about. Can anyone tell me what we’ve been talking about the last two practices? (Pause for responses.) That’s right, honesty. We’ve learned that honesty is choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. I’ll bet if I asked each of you, you would say that you’d prefer that your friends tell the truth, right? But did you know that God has an opinion on it? There’s a very clear verse in the Bible that tells us exactly how God feels about honesty. Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) says, “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.” Did you hear the first part? God “detests” lying lips. “Detests” is a really strong word. Think about something you really dislike, like brussels sprouts or homework on the weekends. Now multiply that dislike by about 100. That would get you close to what “detest” means. God detests it when we lie. And do you know why? Because God knows that when we lie to others, it breaks that relationship. He knows that when you aren’t truthful, you can hurt the people you care about. But thankfully, that’s not all God has to say on the subject. There’s a second part of this verse. God delights in people who are trustworthy. “Delights” is another really strong word. Think about something that makes you really happy, like ice cream sundaes, or scoring the winning point or Christmas break. Now multiply that feeling by 100. That is what it means to “delight” in something. And the Bible says that God delights in you when you choose honesty over dishonesty. Your relationships grow stronger. You become someone who is trustworthy. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 49 Section One: Practice So what kind of friend would you rather be? What kind of relationships would you rather have? And how would you prefer God think about you when it comes to being honest? I’d certainly rather have strong relationships with people who trust me. And I’d much rather know that God is delighted with me for choosing to be truthful. So why don’t we ask God to help us choose honesty this week? 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. Have you ever discovered that someone you care about has lied to you? How did it make you feel? 2. “For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth.” Do you agree with this quote by author Bo Bennett? Why or why not? Prayer: › Thank God for giving us the Bible to show us how to live. › Thank him for reminding your team how important it is to choose to be honest. › Ask him to help you to choose honesty this week. 50 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 5 Practice Card Reminder: At the end of this practice, remember to distribute the practice cards entitled “Practice 5.” INTRODUCE: › Virtue: PATIENCE - Waiting until later for what you want now. › Scripture Verse: The end of a matter is better than its beginning. So it’s better to be patient than proud. Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIrV) Bottom Line: Trust God while you wait. “You’ll have to wait until you’re older.” “No dessert until you eat your dinner.” “Maybe you’ll get it for Christmas.” Do you ever feel like all you do is wait? Waiting can be hard. Most of us just want what we want right when we want it! That’s when we need patience. Patience is waiting until later for what you want now. But what if you looked at things differently? What if instead of always wishing for what was coming next, you decided to be happy about where you are right now? And what if you went one step further and tried to see what you could learn by waiting? I’ll give you an example on cheerleading. What if our entire squad decided we were tired of all this practicing every week? What if instead of taking this time each week to practice, we just came to the game unprepared, hoping for the best? Do you think we’d perform well? Do you think our squad would succeed without putting in the work and waiting until we’re ready? My guess is probably not! The truth is, we need practice. We need to learn our cheers, jumps and motions, working together as a team to become better on game day. While it might seem like more fun to just do whatever we want, the discipline and patience it takes to practice will ultimately help us to perform better when it’s time to do so on game day. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 51 Section One: Practice God created us to learn new things—to grow and become better. Having patience means that you understand it takes time to learn new things. And in the meantime, God wants us to trust him even when we want to rush ahead, even when we want it now and even when we don’t love waiting. We need to trust God and see what we can learn while we’re waiting. 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. Are you waiting for—or looking forward to—something now? Share with the group. 2. Why is it important to wait for that thing? What could you learn while waiting that you might never discover if it happened right away? Prayer: › Thank God for reminding your squad how important it is to trust him. › Acknowledge you want to be patient and not rush ahead of what he wants you to learn. › Ask him to help your cheerleaders to practice patience this week. 52 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 6 COACH: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE PRACTICE CARDS AT THIS PRACTICE REVIEW: › Virtue: PATIENCE - Waiting until later for what you want now. › Scripture Verse: The end of a matter is better than its beginning. So it’s better to be patient than proud. Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIrV) Bottom Line: When you think you can’t wait, don’t forget what’s true. Can anyone tell me what we started talking about last week? (Pause and allow a child to answer.) You got it! Patience—waiting until later for what you want now. Sometimes it’s easy to think we know better. Sometimes we choose to be impatient because we just can’t wait! There’s great example of this from the Bible. Moses had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt through some pretty amazing circumstances. Now they were wandering in the desert, heading for the Promised Land. All this wandering was getting old, and the people were frustrated. They were tired of all this traveling, and Moses was gone - again. He was up on Mount Sinai, talking to God. They didn’t want to wait on Moses. They were ready to get wherever they were going. So they told Aaron, Moses’ brother and sort of second-in-command, “Let’s make our own god. This guy, Moses, the one who brought us out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” In other words, he’s not coming back fast enough for us so let’s take matters into our own hands! They took all their gold jewelry, melted it in the fire, and Aaron molded that gold into a golden calf. And here’s the really crazy part. Once their golden cow statue was complete, all the Israelites started bowing down and worshiping it as if it was a real god! Can you believe that? Their impatience led them to take matters into their own hands in a crazy way! When Moses came down off the mountain and saw them carrying on, knowing that they had completely disregarded what God—the real God—had done to save them, Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 53 Section One: Practice he was furious! Their impatience led them to completely forget what they knew to be true! They had seen God save them, they had watched in amazement as he parted the Red Sea and provided food for them to eat in the desert. But in that moment, they forgot everything they had seen God do and they let their impatience take over. You and I can learn something really important from this crazy story. When you think you can’t wait, don’t forget what’s true. Don’t be like those Israelites who decided their way was better. When you feel yourself starting to become frustrated and impatient, ask God to help you remember this lesson. Why don’t we ask God to help us with that right now? 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. Have you ever been glad you waited for something instead of getting it right when you wanted? 2. What might be some reasons God wants you to wait for something? 3. How does it change things when you think about the times God has taken care of you in the past? Prayer: › Thank God for the lesson your squad learns from the example of Moses. › Thank him for being in control and knowing what will happen in every situation. › Ask him to help your cheerleaders choose patience this week. 54 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 7 COACH: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE PRACTICE CARDS AT THIS PRACTICE REVIEW: › Virtue: PATIENCE - Waiting until later for what you want now. › Scripture Verse: The end of a matter is better than its beginning. So it’s better to be patient than proud. Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIrV) Bottom Line: When you think you can’t wait, don’t lose your cool. Raise your hand if you have a brother or sister. Awesome. Keep your hands up. Now raise your other hand if you’ve ever had trouble being patient with your brother or sister. That’s what I thought. Okay, you can put your hands down. Isn’t it crazy how the people we should be the most patient with—our families—are the people we’re sometimes the most impatient with? Maybe your sister is taking too long in the bathroom. Or maybe your brother still won’t let you have your turn with the video controller. Or maybe you’re tired of your mom saying, “We can go once your brother wakes up from his nap.” Whatever the situation is, we could all use a little more patience. Have you ever gotten so impatient that you flew off the handle? Have you ever gotten so mad because you had to wait on someone that you did something you shouldn’t have? I know I certainly have. Tell the children about a time in your own life when you were impatient with someone and lost your cool. Remember to give an age-appropriate answer for your audience—a story from your own childhood would probably be great! The Bible has something to say on the subject of patience. Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIrV) says, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning. So it’s better to be patient than proud.” Sometimes when we’re impatient, it’s hard to see the end of the situation. What if in my earlier example I could have hit the fast forward button to see how I was about to overreact and fly off the handle, hurting the people I care about? What if I could have seen what I was about to do before I did it and chose a different way Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 55 Section One: Practice to respond? If I could have seen the end of the matter, the end of the situation first, I know I would have chosen to respond differently. Patience teaches us a lot of important lessons. Choosing patience always protects our relationships with others. When you’re patient with your family, or with your teammates or friends, you’re putting others first. So remember this week, when you think you can’t wait, don’t lose your cool. 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. Who in your life shows you patience or waits on you? How would it make you feel if that person lost their cool and stopped showing you patience? 2. To whom is it most difficult for you to show patience? What is one way you could decide to be patient with that person? Prayer: › Ask God to help your cheerleaders to stop before they fly off the handle and think about the best way to respond—in a way that is patient and kind. › Thank him for always being patient with you. 56 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 8 Practice Card Reminder: At the end of this practice, remember to distribute the practice cards entitled “Practice 8.” Introduce: › Virtue: KINDNESS - Showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. › Scripture Verse: Do to others as you want them to do to you. Luke 6:31 (NIrV) Bottom Line: Do to others what you want them to do to you. Today, I want to spend a few minutes talking about kindness. Can anyone tell me what kindness means? (Pause to allow one or two children to respond.) You gave some great answers! Kindness is showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. Has anyone ever heard of the “golden rule?” Can someone raise their hand and tell me what the golden rule says? (Pause and allow a child to answer.) Great job! The golden rule basically says to treat others the way you want to be treated! Jesus said it this way in Luke 6:31 (NIrV), “Do to others what you want them to do to you.” If you think about it, this one rule will cover any situation when it comes to knowing how to treat someone with kindness. I’m going to give you a couple of scenarios and then I want you to raise your hand and tell me what you would like for someone to do for you if the situation were reversed. Here we go: Scenario #1 - A new girl begins attending your school. She dresses differently than everyone else and has trouble speaking English. How would you want to be treated if you were the new kid? Scenario #2 - You’re sitting the cafeteria with all your friends when you see a younger kid come out of the lunch line, trip and accidentally drop everything that was on his lunch tray. How would you want to be treated if you were the kid who had tripped and spilled his lunch? Scenario #3 - Your little brother comes and asks you to play with him again. But you’re playing your favorite video game. How would you want to be treated if you were the younger brother? Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 57 Section One: Practice You gave some great answers! My challenge to you this week is to put the golden rule into play. Whether you’re here at practice, at home with your family, or at school—I want you to stop and think, “How would I want to be treated in this situation?” When you have an answer, your challenge is to follow through and do it! But it probably won’t always be easy. So why don’t we pray and ask God to help us with that this week? 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. Choose one of the scenarios we just talked about. What might stop you from treating that person the way you would want to be treated? 2. How can you get past these obstacles to show kindness to everyone? Prayer: › Thank God for giving us the golden rule to help us know how to treat others. › Ask him to help your cheerleaders remember how they would want to be treated and then treat others accordingly. › Thank him for always showing kindness to us. 58 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 9 COACH: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE PRACTICE CARDS AT THIS PRACTICE Review: › Virtue: KINDNESS - Showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. › Scripture Verse: Do to others as you want them to do to you. Luke 6:31 (NIrV) Bottom Line: Treat others the way Jesus would treat them. Did anyone practice the golden rule this past week? Who took my challenge seriously? What happened? (Pause as a child or two responds.) Great job! Last week, we talked about what it means to show kindness. Kindness is showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. Do you know who was the best at showing kindness? Jesus! One day, people started bringing little children to Jesus for him to bless them. But the disciples, Jesus’ friends, decided that this would be a waste of his time. I suppose they thought it was more important for Jesus to be teaching and healing all the adults. So the disciples began to tell these moms and dads to take their kids somewhere else. When Jesus heard this, he became angry and said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them.” Then he spent time listening to and talking with those children. The Bible even tells us that he took them in his arms, just like your mom and dad did when you were little. A big part of showing kindness is choosing to give those around you your time and attention, just like Jesus did with those little children. By listening to what your friends have to say or by spending time playing with your little brother or by actually focusing on the conversation you’re having with your parents around the dinner table, you show others how valuable they are to you. When you choose to give your time and attention, it makes your relationships and friendships grow stronger. That’s what Jesus did. That’s our challenge this week: to treat others the way Jesus would treat them. It means choosing to remember that everyone deserves your time and attention. Even if you’re busy, even if you’d rather do something else, even if you don’t Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 59 Section One: Practice necessarily think it’s all that important. In every situation, in order to show kindness, we need to treat others as Jesus would treat them. Let’s pray and thank God for sending Jesus to show us how to live. 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. Who in your life do you find the most difficult to give your time and attention? 2. What is one way you can show that person your kindness this week? Prayer: › Thank God for this story from Jesus’ time on earth. › Thank him that Jesus chose to spend time with the people around him and showed them that they were important to him. › Ask him to help your cheerleaders treat others with the same kindness that Jesus did. 60 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Devotion 10 COACH: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE PRACTICE CARDS AT THIS PRACTICE Review: › Virtue: KINDNESS - Showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. › Scripture Verse: Do to others as you want them to do to you. Luke 6:31 (NIrV) Bottom Line: Treat others as if they belong to God. As you all know, we’ve been talking about what it means to show kindness. The first week, we talked about the golden rule that says that we should do to other people as you want them to do to you. Last week we talked about our greatest example of what kindness looks like: Jesus. Today, I want to look at kindness from a different angle. I bet we’d all agree that it’s easy to show kindness to the people you care about. But I want you to think about the people in your world who are really hard to show kindness to. Maybe it’s the bully at school. Or maybe it’s the kid who just really bugs you. Or maybe it’s your younger brother who always wants to hang out with you but when he does just ends up wrecking whatever you’re doing. The truth is, there will always be people in your life who are hard to show kindness to. But guess what? God doesn’t pick and choose who he thinks deserves his kindness. Instead, he extends kindness to everyone. Do you know why? Because everyone is important to God. He made you and everyone around you. Even the people who bug you or are mean to you—are valuable to God. And while you might not be able to control what they do or how they treat you, you always have a choice when it comes to whether or not you show kindness to them. Remember, everyone is important to God, and we should treat others as if they belong to God. Since everyone is valuable and important to him, then everyone deserves our kindness, too. Let’s pray and thank God for showing us what it’s like to show kindness to everyone. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 61 Section One: Practice 3RD - 6TH GRADE ONLY Interaction Questions: 1. Who in your life do you find the most difficult to give your time and attention? 2. What is one way you can show that person your kindness this week? Prayer: › Thank God for this important lesson today on kindness. › Ask him to help your squad to treat others the way he does and show kindness to everyone. › Thank him for loving us even when we mess up. 62 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section One: Practice Mid-Practice Huddle - Last Practice of the Season Practice Card Reminder: At the end of this practice, remember to distribute the last practice card to your cheerleaders. Bottom Line: God loves you and gave us Jesus to trust and follow. Introduce: › You are part of God’s Big Story! › Scripture Verse: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV) Introduction: We’ve had a GREAT season! It’s been so much fun watching each of you become better cheerleaders and better friends with each other! We’ve learned a lot about cheerleading…but we’ve also learned a lot about ourselves and about others. Think about the things that we’ve learned during our huddle time this year. Do you remember the three virtues we’ve discussed? What were they? (Allow cheerleaders to answer the question.) First we learned about Honesty. Honesty is choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. We learned that many times when we tell a lie, we try to cover it up by telling another one and another one. However, if we stick with telling the truth the first time, we can build trust between ourselves and others. More importantly, when we are truthful, God delights in us and helps us build strong relationships with friends and family. Then we learned about Patience. Patience is waiting until later for you want now. Sometimes it’s hard to have patience when we want something now. However, God says that if we trust him and wait, there is so much he can teach us. Also, when we are impatient and decide not to wait, we can forget what is true and what God wants in our lives. Another great lesson we learned about patience is that it can protect the relationships we have with others, such as our friends or siblings. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 63 Section One: Practice We also learned about Kindness. Kindness is showing other they are valuable by how you treat them. Our verse about kindness is also known as the “golden rule.” We should always try to treat others that way that we want to be treated. To take that one step further, we should treat others the way that Jesus would treat them. Why is this important? Because we learned that everyone is important to God, and that even though it’s hard, we should treat them the way he would treat them. Listen to this week’s verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV) We have all made mistakes. The Bible tells us that because of sin, we are separated from God. But because God loves us so much, he provides a way back to him. Our verse teaches us that this way is through his son, Jesus. He sent his only Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life on earth and then pay the price for all of our sins on the cross. And because of that act of forgiveness, we can be with God forever. I’ve got something else to tell you. Did you know that you are part of God’s BIG STORY? That’s right…he has a BIG STORY and each one of you are in it! You will learn more about that BIG STORY at the awards celebration. It’s gonna be great! Let’s pray to God and thank him for all he’s done for us. Prayer: › Thank God for an awesome season! › Thank God for teaching us about Honesty, Patience and Kindness. › Thank God for sending his son Jesus for each one of us and always forgiving us when we mess up. 64 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section Two: Games Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 65 Section Two: Games Game Day Game day for Upward Cheerleaders is an exciting time. They have learned and practiced their fundamentals and are now ready to put on their uniforms to cheer in front of all the spectators, players and coaches. As a coach, you should be ready as well. Here are a few key points to remember on game day: · Include your squad in the pre-game prayer huddle with players, coaches and referees. · Cheerleaders are allowed to perform during timeouts and at halftimes. Games consist of six six-minute segments with an eight-minute halftime period. The clock stops briefly at the end of each segment. This can be a great time for cheerleaders to do a quick chant, a cheer or a jump. · Cheerleaders need to be alert to the action on the court to protect themselves from an out-of-bounds ball or player. · If cheerleaders will be standing on the sidelines during games, instruct them to place their poms on the ground as a marker for their position in the lineup. · If you have only one cheerleading squad per hour when two games are being played, have cheerleaders switch courts at halftime. This allows your cheerleaders to cheer for all teams on the court. · Be prepared each game with a list of all cheers and chants that have been learned. You can also make a poster with all the cheers, chants and pom routines as a visual reminder to all cheerleaders. Use signs and posters to get the crowd involved with your cheerleaders when performing cheers and chants or a halftime routine. 66 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section Three: Forms Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 67 Section Three: Forms 68 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section Three: Forms Game-Day Cheer List Use the following pages on game day to make a list of the cheers your squad knows and can perform during the game. You may also want to use this form to keep track of what cheers have been done so you do not often repeat the same cheers. Game 1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Game 2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 69 Section Three: Forms Game 3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Game 4 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 70 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook Section Three: Forms Game 5 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Game 6 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook 71 Section Three: Forms Game 7 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Game 8 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 72 Upward Basketball Cheerleading Coach Cheerbook for using your time and talents to impact the lives of children and their families. Your leadership combined with the information found in this coach playbook and on MyUpward.org will help provide a positive sports experience for every child in your league. Get ready for a great experience, coach! ©2013 Upward Unlimited. Join us on Upward® is a registered trademark of Upward Unlimited. facebook BCL13COBK www.facebook.com/UpwardSports