What is the one thing that any serious All Star Cheer athlete can do that will consistently make their skills hit cleaner, more stable, and more confident every single time?
Possibly the #1 question of all time!
Even though cheerleading includes many skills, there actually is one habit that sits at the center of all great performances.
Ready? Drum roll please…
That habit is learning how to control your body with strong, steady technique, even when you feel nervous or rushed.
This may sound simple, but it affects everything you do on the mat.
Let’s break down why this matters so much.
Every cheer skill, from stunting to tumbling to jumps, depends on how well you hold your body in the right shapes.
Flyers need tight legs, locked ankles, and steady cores.
Bases need solid grips, low hips, and straight backs.
Tumblers need strong arms, firm hollow body shapes, and clean takeoffs.
Even motions in dance sections look better when an athlete knows how to set their shoulders and control their timing.
When your technique is solid, everything else becomes easier.
But the real challenge is not learning the technique once.
The real challenge is being able to use it when you are tired, scared, excited, or performing in front of loud crowds.
Many athletes can hit skills in practice, when the room is calm, but then struggle on the competition mat.
This usually happens because their body reacts to pressure by rushing, panicking, or changing its normal movement patterns.
When that happens, the clean technique they learned in practice gets lost.
The “one thing” that helps every athlete perform better is building automatic body control through slow, steady, repeated practice of the correct technique.
This type of practice makes your body remember the shapes and motions so well that you can use them even when your mind is stressed.
Coaches sometimes call this “muscle memory,” and it is really your brain learning to choose the right movements without you having to think too hard.
To build this kind of control, athletes need three key habits…
First, they must practice skills slowly at least part of the time. This helps the body feel the exact shapes instead of rushing through them.
Second, they should repeat those skills many times with the same technique, so the movement becomes natural.
Third, they must stay aware of their breathing. Good breathing keeps the body relaxed and helps prevent the shaky, panicked feeling that causes mistakes.
Once an athlete develops this level of control, everything improves.
Stunts feel lighter because everyone in the group moves with the same timing.
Tumbling becomes more powerful because your body stays tight and organized.
Jumps look cleaner because your arms and legs move together instead of fighting each other.
Even full routines feel more confident, because each skill connects smoothly into the next.
By focusing on building steady body control through correct technique practiced again and again (especially when you are calm), when pressure hits, your body will fall back on what it knows best.
If what it knows is strong, clean technique, then your skills will hit – EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!
