Become a Better Base




Good Bases are very valuable to any team. Without good bases, it becomes difficult for any flier to trust being in the air and learning anything new. Here are some Tips to help anyone become a GOOD base:

1.) Safety - Make sure the flier always come down safely. Always catch the flier high, always keep your hands up, always keep an eye on the flier, and always focus on the flier's head, neck, and back when she's falling.

2.) Stregnth - Make sure you maintain your stregnth by eating correctly, and exercising/stunting frequently.

3.) Technique - Always remember to use your legs, keep your back straight, and squeeze the flier's foot. Just these little technical things can make a difference between a stunt hitting OR falling.

4.) Understanding - Have an understanding on what the entire pyramid OR stunt is doing. This will help you make adjustments without much confusion. Try listening to what the coach/instructor is saying and you will learn what and what NOT to do.

5.) Focus - Don't loose focus by goofing around in practice. Always keep your eye on what task is at hand.

6.) Drive - You have to want to be a good base and want to get better.

7.) Leader - Lead by example and don't cause problems for the team. Even if you disagree with the coach, never go against them. Try to work with him/her to get problems resolved. It will be best for the team to not have drama in practice.

Check out this additional article:7 Tips to help bases

Get a Higher Toss Stunt




In COED stunting a High Toss is major skill to learn for bases as fliers. It enables you to do many advanced stunts. Here are some tips to make your toss stunt higher:

1. (flier) lean back - Lean slightly back into the base. It will give him an opportunity to feel your center of gravity and get your timing.

2. (flier) jump - Take a good jump off of the ground and don't rely on your base to just throw you.

3. (flier) quick flick - First make sure you flick with your base, then make sure it is quick and strong. Again don't realy on your base to flick by himself.

4. (bases) follow her - Feel her timing and follow her as she bends and jumps.

5. (bases) allow her to jump - Don't lift her too early before she jumps.

6. (bases) jump off the ground - Get you legs into the toss by jumping off of the ground as you throw her.

7. (bases) finish your flick - Make sure you are releasing at full extension and quickness. Don't give a have flick at minimal height. That will give you poor results.

8. (bases) extend - Make sure you are extending your arms when you toss. Don't flick when your arms are bend.

"A Better "SQUISH"



1. (flier) hold yourself - When you come down make sure you grab the bases shoulders firmly to take off the weight and slow yourself down.

2. (flier) Don't push out your bases - Make sure your legs don't go wide when you come down. It will push out the bases and make it harder for them to get you back up.

3. (flier) bend your legs and hold your weight - Tuck your legs up and hold your own weight. If your legs are too straight, then the bases will feel your weight.

4. (bases) control - Resist the flier right away, and don't let her just drop down.

5. (bases) bend with legs - Don't use your back.

6. (bases) don't drop your arms - You will have a harder time getting the flier back up.

7. (spotter) grab high - Grab high for the flier's waist to slow her down.

8. (spotter) throw up - Throw the flier as she comes up to make the lift easier for the bases (NOTE: NOT too hard).

DIP for a HIGH pop



When dipping for the cradle, most bases just shrug with their shoulders and barely bend their legs.. The proper way for bases to dip for the cradle is to use their legs by bending down, then exploding up with their arms. So make sure you DIP for a HIGH pop!

Doing motions in stunts

When doing motions in hands, elevators, and/or any extended stunts make sure there's as little movement as possible. This is done by squeezing your buttocks, rolling your toes underneath, and squeezing your motions into position. Make sure you Don't swing your motions, lean with your upper body, Or loose body control OR you might fall.

How to keep your toe touch from falling back





When throwing your toe touch in a basket, your momentum tends to throw you back as though it is going to over-rotate. Here are 2 tips to stop that rotation: Ride with your arms slightly in front, and snap it forward.
To do a proper Ride in a basket your arms need to be squeezed and place slightly in front of you. If you place them directly above you (after you push off of the basekt) then this will cause your momentum to rotate your body back.

The snapping forward refers to how you pull your toe touch. A toe touch on the ground needs to be executed with your chest up, but in a basket your chest needs to be pulled forward to counter your body from rotating.

Bases, pull your own stunt



Here is a cool way to add to your stunts. Have the base pull a stunt of their own. As your pod goes up to extended one arm stunt, have the main base pull the same stunt underneath. This is very effective with liberties and stretches.

In most cases, girls on your team are not as strong as their male counterparts. So to help girls with single base stunting here are a few tips:



1.) Use your spot - Use your spot to help hold the flier's weight.

2.) Use an extra base - For heavier stunts like 1 armed stunts, you will need to place an extra base on the side of the stunt to help hold the weight.

3.) Use a different way to get up - Toss hands is common for way for guys to get the flier up, but for girls you may need to get up a different way. Try posting up, walking up, OR go from elevator to get the single based stunt off the ground.

4.) Hide your spots and extra bases - To make it look more impressive, try hiding your spotters and extra bases by placing them behind.

5.) Let go - If the base has the stregnth to hold the stunt, then have the spotters and bases help get the stunt up there. Then Once stable, have them let go. It is easier for the base to hold the stunt once it's up and stable, than having them waist energy trying to to get it up.

6.) Practice and exercise - There are many single base stunts that girls can do without any help. Start with a walk in chair and have them practice with proper technique and spotters. ONce successful go from their and see what's possible.

Here are some tips to improve your Jumps:

1.) Stretch - Stretch out beforehand. This will help stretch and warm up your muscles so it's easier to execute your jump.

2.) Work on your approach - A proper approach will help you build momentum and increase the height of your jump.

3.) Height Of Jump - The higher your jump the easier it is to execute it. Click here for Exercises to help you jumps higher.

4.) Flexibility - Being flexibile by stretching out on a daily basis will make your jumps easier to hit.

5.) Technique - Technique is very important. Without it you have NO jump. Make sure you pracice on the ground before trying the jump. This way you get the feeling of what you are supposed to be doing.

6.) Speed - You may have the height, flexibility, and technique, BUT you need to pull your jump and end it quick. Practice on the Ground by kicking you legs up quick and back down quick.

Here are some tips for Toss Stunts:

1.) High Toss - You have to start with a High Toss. Click here for High Toss Tips.

2.) Stay Tight (flier) - As you ride up, stay as tight as possible when the base grabs your foot/feet. You never know what grip he might have.

3.) Give your foot (flier)- (for all 1 foot stunts) Make sure your foot is there for the base to grab. Don't hold it so tight to the other foot making it difficult to grab.

4.) Don't Place (flier)- Let the base grab your foot, don't try to place it in his hand(s).

5.) Grab and Squeeze (base)- When you catch the flier's foot, make sure to grab and squeeze as much as you can. This will stop the momentum, and limit the balancing.

6.) Grab low if necessary (base)- If the toss is too low, grab the flier's foot on the way up and press up. This will build stregnth and stability in your shoulders. Eventually your toss will get higher.

Point your toes

No matter if you are stunting, working on pyramids, doing jumps, OR playing with your baskets, always remember to "Point your toes!". This is one of the more important ways to clean up your cheerleading skills. It will make your jumps look higher, your stunts look elegant, your baskets look grander, and your pyramids look better.