For many schools, it's cheer competition countdown! One of the struggles I've had as a coach is determining at what point we should keep certain skills in the routine, or take them out. Many times, I hang onto the hope my team will hit certain skills. I tend to wait when I will actually take out skills, if we don't have them. Then, we are changing the routine very close to competition, which causes stress leading up to competition.
Here are some ways to make sure your team is ready by the time the competition comes and you, as a coach, can make these decisions.
Start with the first day of your competition and work backwards. For this example, let’s say you are four weeks from the competition. The following timeline will count the weeks backwards from the week of the competition to four weeks from the competition.
Two to three weeks before the competition is when you need to decide if you can or need to make adjustments to the routine.
Your team needs to know these deadlines. Oftentimes, if they know the stunts or pyramid will be simplified, it can be a motivator to actually hit all the elements.
Writing these goals out for yourself and for your team will make a big difference as you prepare for competition. I recommend you be even more specific on what you want to accomplish, such as what day(s) you will clean the dance and jumps, etc. Some weeks you will hit all your goals and other weeks you will not. Regardless, you will stay on track with your routine and be more confident for your first competition.
Good luck!!!
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