I’m sure there are alot more injuries than anyone knows, after all most states don’t require injuries to be reported. If football can require helmets, padding etc., why can’t cheerleading require throws to be limited to a safe height? I think that many parents are unknowingly exposing their children to undue risk with these programs. Certifications are nice but don’t mean much if regulations can’t even enforce basic common sense.

I agree completely. I unknowingly put my child at risk. I unfortunately, found that to be true when her last most serious injury was catatrophic. Parents aren’t going to complain about certain injuries that in my daughters case she had wrist problems, ankle, and the knees were the most serious,(in the joint department) she needed physical therapy and was in a lot of pain. That’s something you look at as part of a sport but what happens when they get older? Once you damage a joint, the pain comes and goes. Then she was kicked a lot being a backspot, she related to Lauren Changs death, she was in the same position. You get kicked constantly my daughter said. My daughter had a concussion in the beginning of the season, a minor one, if you want to call a concussion minor, but it was during practice and you feel that things like that can happen. But then the last injury, which I spoke about in my post “truth hurts” took place two month before Lauren Changs competition and with the same event planner, Spirit Cheer, that Varsity proudly just merged with. Varsity owns USASF, AACCA and about everything else relating to cheerleading. Why they would do that makes you wonder, they merge with a company that just killed a girl, because they didn’t have a proper emergency plan in place. The 911 call is heartbreaking, with a little girl that ended up calling begging for an ambulance. To think two months before my daughter ends her cheerleading “career” at a Spirit Cheer event, as well, do to their bad call letting them compete. Which I reported but no one cares that belongs to Varsity. So, if they don’t want to push for rules and regulations, we need to! I tried pushing through them and that’s useless. They will not change anything, I was told. Lastly, the word “career” is what is really sad. This is supposed to be a fun sport, it’s not a career and nothing is worth your life.

I defend this sport with everything in me.  I used to cheer and loved it.  I was also a coach for a few years.  There are dangers in cheerleading just like in any sport.  Cheerleading is a competetive sport as well as entertainment.  You have to practice a two minute routine for months to get it perfect . 

Cheerleading pushes you to be your best and that’s what it makes it so rewarding. 

The amount of time Cheerleaders spend at practices, the gym, games and competition, it really makes it a way of life.  I think when most mistakes are made it’s when the girls are worn out from practices. I know several girls who cheer for two or three different squads.   I don’t think you can prevent these accidents by giving them regulations to follow.  You have to remember you not only get hurt from the builds but the tumbling too. Would you regulate that as well?  How about the sidelines when the ball travels over by the cheerleaders and the football team follows and rams into the girls?  That’s happened to us while we were cheering before.  You can get hurt from anything.  Live life to the fullest and do what you’re passionate about!

As an All Star Coach, I believe that safety in cheerleading is the responsibility of the coach and it is the responsibility of the cheerleaders to listen to the coach and follow safety rules. In my program, if a cheerleader/or parent is not listening to me or not following the safety rules, she is asked to leave. Safety is the key to success. I base my program on safety, and it will always be that way. I make a choice daily that I will not ever push my kids to perform at levels that they are not ready for for two reasons. The first is that I do not want to cause even the most minor injury to a child and the second is because I don’t think I could live with hurting a child. Winning is great, but at what cost to how many people is the question. You can have a winning team without causing life long injury to these kids IF you are safe about it. Yes, injury will happen in every program…but has every program put in place a policy that puts the kids first or the win first. Those who put the win first will always have more injuries. My advice to parents, find out the injury rate before placing your child in a program. It is also important that parents (as many do) not coach their children or push them to be on higher level teams. It makes me sad when I see a 10 year old flyer on a level 5 team of all 18 year olds that practice 5 days a week…where is that childs childhood going. They may feel special now, but what are they really learning and what are they missing and how high are they flying into the air? Is it truely worth it?

My daughter was in a competitive cheerleading accident. WE are 18 months from the accident and she has Mild Brain Injury. I hate to use the word mild when her quality of life is poor. She can’t work, go to school, visual issue, vertigo, insomia, anxiety, depression, change in personality, has problems with lights, noice, and crowded room. Something as simple as going to the store is a melt down. She is forgetful, trouble focusing, damage to the mustle in neck and back, weight loss,confussion, and the list goes on. To see her, she looks normal. Her accident happened when a coach put in a spotter who normaly didn’t spot. She got scared and backed away and my daughter hit the mat from coming down from a stunt. A stunt that she was thrown in the air.
The coach never even made a call to us, her parents that this accident happened. A fellow student did while she was put in a hallway bench not knowing who she was or where she was at.

Please talk to the cheerleading coach! There are a lot of wonderful coaches out there who would have never put a child in danger. We trusted. We learned the hard way. Please communicate!! Cheerleading is an awsome sport with very talented people.

I don’t believe there is really any safe way to throw a girl in the air 25 feet with concrete, flooring or hard ground to hit if someone fails to catch you. I think as spectacular as this sport is to view, some of the stunts should be forbidden. It’s really unsafe and the dangers really outweigh any good that could possibly come from completing the stunt. It only takes one mistake to change your life. My daughter was not caught on one of these stunts and she nearly died. Her arm was required surgery and she had no use of it for months and had to have physical therapy. She will always have a metal bracket in her arm now because of it and she may have to have surgery again. All I could think of when this happened and really still today was that I could have lost her forever or she could be paralyzed. What’s it going to take to get people to stop encouraging such dangerous activities?

I am a high school and competitve cheerleader. It is extremely dangerous. But when you love something so much you don’t really care. I have cheered since I was 3. I have broken my foot 8 times, a knee, both sides of my wrist twice, my toe four times. It is extremely dangerous, I have fallen from 25 feet on my back, it is pretty painful. But I have stuck it out for several years, I am a talented tumbler, I sprain things every practice pretty much. I love it to death, but it doesnt make it any less dangerous.

If it is so dangerous then they should wear protective pads and such but that most likely won’t happen. If there were regulations what whould they regulate? the hight of a toss? people should use their common sense adn do it them selves.

I was pretty annoyed watching this show today. I can understnad safety concerns. EVERY sport has its dangers. Cheerleading is very athletic and has risk. I was a varsity competition cheerleader through high school (Oregon school). I took many falls. However, I never had a big injury. I think what is very important here are these key things:

• Stunts need to be taught in sequences.
• Additional spotters need to be there.
• A coach needs to be well trained and safety conscience.
• NEVER proform a stunt if ANYONE in the group isn’t ready. Nerves = Injury.

I understnad that even if all thses steps are taken injury still might happen. But, once again that can happen with any sport. Cheerleading is a great and one of a kind sport. I think that participants (including coaches and parents) need to be aware of the proper way to safely teach and proform stunts.

I am wanting to send a message to Rechelle, the guest who became disabled during cheerleading.  I am the mom to a young man, 21 that was born with Spina Bifida.  He is a paraplegic from L2 down and has been paralyzed since birth.  This has never stopped him from doing anything he wanted to do.  He has been active in horseback riding since he was 2 yrs old and has water skiied since he was 4.  A couple years ago, he was able to do his dream of snow boarding!!!  These are all things that we never thought would be possible.  The sport and outdoor activities have been broadened so that almost any sport has been adapted to assist the disabled in participating.  We work with a nation wide group called Turning Point Nation (go to www.turningpointnation.org) they have nationwide activities, trips, events that encourage all people with disabilities to participate in outdoor sporting events.  Please contact me at anytime if you want to talk.  Take care and may God bless you and return you to the full health you enjoyed prior to your accident.  With love from Texas.

Cheerleading is a sport (even if it is not yet officially considered one in California). It is a sport which produces routines made from elements of tumbling, dance, jumps and stunting. With an estimated 1.9 million participants in allstar cheerleading in the United States alone, cheerleading is, according to Newsweek’s Arian Campo-Flores, “the most quintessential of American sports.”¹ The growing presentation of the sport to a global audience has been led by the 1997 start of broadcasts of cheerleading competition by ESPN International and the worldwide release of the 2000 film Bring it On.

As a former cheerleader and a Mom to three Cheerleaders, I have been to the emergency room on one occasion and to the doctors office on several occasions due to cheerleading related injuries. I would have to admit that I have learned that finding the right gym and the right coaches (ones who you can trust with training your children) is very important. I am blessed enough to be a part of the best gym in southern california – FIERCE ALL STARS (yes our level 5 girls were on the show today). I am proud of the team spirit my children have learned and look forward to our next competition next week in long beach!

Be Fierce…..So Fierce!

I would like to say thank you to cheercoach tracy. I wish my daughter had a coach like you. To the mom bbunch, I feel your pain, my daughters accident was last Feb. She didn’t know who she was, had to write up and down her arms to remember or she would forget(still does). She has good days and bad. The meds help her memory, and the vision problems come and go. And she goes through the rest you are saying. It’s horrible to watch. I think this show is great getting the word out. We don’t want to stop cheerleading. One girl said she was injured a bunch of times, but she loves it and still does it. My daughter felt/feels the same way. It’s addicting which is very powerful. I wish I understood that more. If the specialist didn’t tell her to stop or she would die, she would have wanted to go back. The coaches treated her poorly too for getting a traumatic brain injury,a quitter is what they called her, because now they have to train someone else. My daughter has post-traumatic stress also. The guilt they feel for letting their team down. She was hurt due to adding a crossover in last minute, when a teammate was rushed to the ER during warm-ups. The girls were hysterical thinking she was going to die. These girls were not stable to compete. The coaches, owners, and event planner didn’t even see my daughters injury. The owner told me they didn’t know because all the girls were crying so loudly. The coaches, owners and event planner Spirit Cheer let it happen. The bottom line is, the girls all love it or they would never practice as hard and as much as they do to become as great. But there are things they can change like the ages for starters, 10-18 is too much of a gap, no crossovers unless they practice with them, some common sense about emotional and physical well-being. My daughter was hit full force in the head to catch her flyer(the crossover they had never practiced with) so she wouldn’t get hurt. This is no activity, that’s why something needs to be done nationwide to protect these girls. The stunts and tumbling in each level need to change. Go to the USASF website and print out the age grid and level rules(I heard they want to change the age grid and it’s an even bigger gap), it’s just too much when they would be having fun doing less dangerous stunts. High school as well, although the age is fine. They barely cheer when competing, that’s like a few seconds of the routine, it’s all acrobatics and gymnastics, are these coaches trained for that? After much research, the answer is not by the USASF and AACCA they aren’t. The one’s that do put safety first at all times will do well. Maybe not win first place everytime but the girls are still having fun and for a coach to worry about losing a trophy which will risk their chances of going to more nationals, is selfish and should not be coaching!!

Many people have pointed out that cheerleading is a sport like any other and I have to agree. I also see the cause for worry as cheerleading is very dangerous. I have a connective tissue disorder and a hypermobility syndrome, for me cheerleading was a sport I could do. I was unable to do most stunting but was able to do some. It is NOT without risks. I sprained every muscle in my back, and have sprained my ankle 2 times.
For me all this was worth it. I was doing something I loved. I was also getting to show school spirit. For me it was a way to show my true self. In school I was quieter, but when I got out on the track I was loud and proud. I was energetic and leading the school. It was a way to shine. Although this sport may be dangerous, you also have to think about how you can reduce the dangers. First of all, NO GIRL SHOULD EVER GO UP IN A STUNT SHE DOESN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH! Secondly,Every girl should feel like she can speak up on a team, like they have a say, like their opinion is valued. Really it is up to the coach and the cheerleader together. No one person is responsible. Ideally a stunt should be put up a set number of times perfectly before it can be put up at a game. In practice there is less distraction, than in a game. Speaking as a former cheerleading captain I have to say, there are risks, but there are also ways to combat those risks. Also to me at least the fun of cheering on my team far out weighs any potential risk.

I have to say one more thing. Many people are talking about regulating the height of throws. I would like to know how that would happen? Really, its not practical. In theory it is a good idea, but there is no way to really measure how high girls are being thrown.

Parents can do the following to help reduce the risks in cheerleading:

download the only catastrophic emergency plan for cheerleading available at www.nationalcheersafety.com/emergencyplan.pdf

Read and study about critical height, biomechanics, physics of flight, USAG rules on surfaces allowed for floor tumbling, and get to know your athletes coach and style of coaching.

Make sure your childs coach is CPR, first aid, AED certified.

Reprt your athletes injuries to www.cheerinjuryreport.com and do your part to assist research doctors in preventing future injuries.

Get medical treatment for any injuries your athletes does sustain and do NOT allow them to return to play before a doctor releases them.

Make sure your athlete has a sports physical that includes a heart screening EKG and Echo.

I havent been a cheerleader ever but I am a gymnast of 13 yrs now. I think that cheerleading is just as dangerous as gymnastics. I am in my senior year in High school and am planning to go to college, but they have no gymnastics team. So cheerleading is my only option if i want to continue with any gymnastics, at least then i get to tumble. I am nervous, because i will prob be a flyer because i am small, falling doesnt bother me it is only the pain that comes with it. I have done a tumbling pass in a meet and flew off the floor because of the landing, luckly I landed on my teammate, lol but she wasnt that happy about it. To be in any of these sports you have to be some sort of a dare devil, but with in limits..

First of all – I want to say that I have complete empathy for anyone that has EVER been hurt in this sport (because that IS what it is!!)

The thing is this:  First, (just like the qualified coach on this posting said, “you need to know all about your coach and the gym you are involved in”!  Never be part of a gym that would make you pull in a new stunt person at the last moment, etc.  (we all know the signs) and then that the gym and the coaches are well qualified and equiped. 

My second issue is that I HATED this episode of the Doctors.  About the only thing I believe they “got right” was that Cheerleading needs to be made a sport and regulated.  Oh wait – someone in the audience said that.  I watch this show EVERY day and this was about the Least “investigated” ever.  They didn’t even know the correct terminology for the “flips”, as they called them or any thing else that came out of their mouths.  They set up there every day and use all the most correct verbage on everything else.  and if you are going to do a investigation on something that is coming so big, then do the true research on it. 

The dropping of the watermellon was retarded (no other way to put it!)  My question is, " how often are our cheerleaders on concrete flooring, thrown up 30 feet, and dropped with out anyone there to catch them AT ALL?  And if you DO have a answer to that, then you are at the WRONG gym anyway!!!!!!!!!!! 

We have been working for so long and so hard for people to take this sport seriously, and for them to not put the same amount of correct info in to this show, only makes the sport look as bad as some WANT to see it!

I know there are injuries in cheer.  And I am the FIRST to stand up and say we need the regulations and etc.  But let’s hold these shows accountable for their investigations, or lack of – so we CAN be taken seriously!!!!

Knowitnow….I guess we both can relate to this type of cheer injury. Brain injury isn’t always seen in the ER. A week after the accident the signs came out in a rush of heartache. No one, not even the hospital, told us what to look for. They told us to wake her up throughout the night. That was it. I don’t want to cut the sport or coaches down because there are so many GREAT ones…but something should be done. I don’t have all the answers. I do know that during meets…they double up on spotters. They should do that everyday those girls are being thrown into the air.

I hope your daughter does well…and I send you my best. I’m in the same boat. We give birth to healthy babies and are so thankful…not knowing down the road that an accident would turn your world upside down.

We try to remain possitive. We lifted up our boot straps and go forward the best way we can. It’s with a heavy heart that this could have been avoided had we had a cheer coach that took every step to make it safe for our daughter to do these stunts. It’s with these types of accidents that more spotters are needed, an emergency plan in place, qualified coaches, and qualified spotters. IT won’t stop all accidents, but a brusie here and there beats brain injury.

I wasn’t able to see this episode, but I was a cheerleader for 14 years (from Little League through college – Buffalo State). I also coached for almost 2 1/2 years (until I found out I was preganant). I coached the youngest girls in our organization, so most of my girls had never cheered before. I never started throwing them in stunts right away and I never forced a girl to go up who was afraid. Our stunts always started very low with everyone who was not directly involved in the stunt as spotters (including myself and my assistant). Having all the girls spot made that they were all trained to do so and I often used 2-3 girls standing behind each base until the group could prove that they could do the stunt successfully approx. 20 times in a row (not necessarily all in the same practice). I also never let any girl stunt who came to me with any complaint of pain or illness because I wasn’t willing to take the chance of something happening (which would upset some of my girls who were just trying to get out of sidelines). As a result, I never had a single injury to any of my girls.