The Twisting Drill
The twisting drill is literally a drill I use to teach twisting but works amazing for motions as well. For the twisting drill the athlete will stand in relevè (On the balls of her feet) in a hollow body (spine coiled, belly button into your spine) with arms in a high V. Now, I tell the athlete “don’t let me move you” as I turn her body to the right (or left). If done correctly, the athlete will engage her entire body and her body will move in one piece to whichever side she is being guided. Note* The feet should also move the body but not change position in this drill.

How does it work?
When showing this to your squad, demonstrate with one athlete and then have your team pair up and do the drill one minute with one person and then another minute with the other person.

Why is it Necessary?
To get sharp motions we want to make being tight a habit. The twisting drill helps make being tight a habit. Now when you are explaining things your athletes have a baseline or foundation for what they should be feeling in what part of the body.

Smojacks
Smojacks are a variation of jumping jacks that I first learned about watching Smoed on the California All-stars. The smojack requires for the arms to be in a high v when they get to the top while the legs are in straddle on relevè. When in this position the athlete should be squeezing their body as such:

Shoulders: Together ( the shoulders blades should be trying to touch along their back)

Arms: Forearms, triceps, biceps should be flexed

Chest: Up

Abs: Engaged, thinking hollow body

Glutes(rear): Engaged, hips tucked under. There should be no bend at the hips.
Quads & Hamstrings: Flexed

Calves: Flexed
On the close of the smojacks, athletes should “clean” like at the end of the stunt. Every smojack should be sharp and precise. Add 4 sets of 12 smojacks to the middle of each practice and watch your motions do a complete 180.

Kicks
Kicks come in 2 variation for me we have kicks in high v and we have kics in T. Kicks in T are great for advanced teams, because it forces athletes to resist their arms from going up while their legs are driving upwards. Making body control a by-product of doing this variation correctly. If we can control our bodies we can make being sharp a habit. Kicks in high v are great for new cheerleaders and cheer squads because it does 2 things. It teaches them to isolate the movement in their bodies and to control the movement in their body. When doing kids in high v the athlete must drive legs up to their fists that are in high v. The challenge for the athletes is to keep from dropping their arms as they are kicking up. The next challenge with kick up to your high v is keeping the arms from flailing while kicking. Athletes have to think about squeezing their muscles in their arms in order to “lock” them in a nice high v.
Kicks are also done in 2 orientations, linear and lateral, meaning in a straight line (linear) and to the side (lateral). When doing linear kicks athletes will have their arms in T or Touchdown. I always practice both legs in both directions. While it may take a while, it is a worthwhile investment. Kicks help make motions tighter, jumps better, and is a great way to condition.

How Does it work?
For lateral kicks athletes will start in the ready position, arms by their sides. I count them in 5,6,7 on 8 athletes hit a beautiful high v (or T), with the leg that they will be kicking placed back behind and over their base foot with a demi-plie (slight bend of both knees). On (AND) the athlete will stand all the way up on their base leg extend their kick leg out straightening their leg, pointing their toe. Kicking up to in front of their high v. Counting 1 at the top of the kick. As that leg comes down it will come back down to a demi-plie behind and over the base foot; with a slight absorption on (AND) redirecting back into another kick. These kicks should have proper timing and coordination. The first few times they may not, do not let that discourage you, by finding the coordination they are becoming better cheerleaders, and better athletes!

Clean & Bug
The clean & bug is a motions and choreography game that teaches athletes how to count & what the expectations are for being sharp. For this game athletes are going to do one of 2 things, clean or bug (sometimes called a nugget). The bug is when an athlete, while standing up; drops their chest to their knees, looking at their knees, arms wrapped around the back of their legs, getting as small as possible.
Give the athletes counts bug 5, hold, 6,7,8, clean 1, hold 2, 3, 4, bug 5, hold 6,7,8….repeat as long as you like. This drill is amazing for building sharp intense motions. As your squad gets better at this drill, you can modify it, substituting the bug for a different motion or different set of motions.

T-Timers
Traditionally a jump drill, T-Timers, are excellent in creating sharp motions. A T-Timer is when you prep for your jump but instead of doing an actual jump, you straight jump into a sharp T motion. Squeezing your upper body, just like in the twist drill except you are in a T motion instead of a high v. Legs will be mermaid together, pencil straight with toes pointed as soon as they lift off the ground. I like for this drill to be timed like the bug & clean drill. 2 timers for every one 8 count. This helps the athlete maintain the correct arm placement throughout the drill.
There you have it: those are the 5 drills every cheer coach should be doing in their practice if they want their squad to have sharp motions. Twisting drill, smojacks,kicks, clean & bug, and T-timers. By putting these drills in your practices your squads motions are going to stand out and really inspire the crowd, their rivals, and each other! For more tips, and tricks follow me on Facebook Page at Coach Zo. For any questions regarding how to better help your squads, email me at info@distalpoint.com.

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