Sports Girls Play

Girls youth sports news, tips and resources for raising a happy, healthy athlete

  • Home
  • About / Contact
  • Resources
  • Shop for Girls Sports Gear
  • Disclosures

Is Cheerleading the Most Dangerous High School Sport?

Did you know that 65% of all the catastrophic injuries in girls high school sports in the past 25 years are Cheerleading injuries? Did you know that when it comes to high school sports as a whole that Cheerleading is 2nd only to football for the most number of injuries?  According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research annual report it is.

Cheerleading used to be all about the cheers, the chants, the jumps and if you had a former gymnast on your team, the tricks. Now, there seems to be a greater emphasis put on the stunting, tumbling and more difficult tricks. Many of the high school cheerleaders are training on basketball courts, hallways and backyards as opposed to training facilities with appropriate matting, training aids (like trampolines and pits) or trained/certified coaches.

If cheerleading is going to continue to grow and become more of a “sport”, then it needs to have the same types of guidelines for training, coaching and safety in place like other scholastic sports. Every sport has its risks and kids can get hurt doing any sport, however, the numbers revealed in the report are definitely alarming and should send up flags that cheerleading as a high school and college sport needs to revamped. I’m not saying it needs to be eliminated – because at the high school and college level, I think it is pretty cool. They just need to re-evaluate the programs to try and reduce some of the risk factors.

What’s your take? Here are some additional articles on cheerleading injury statistics and safety:

  • Sports Injury Research – Cheerleading Riskier than Football
  • Cheerleading changed by injury
  • Cheerleading Injury Statistics
  • Cheerleading Safety
  • Preventing Cheerleading Injuries

 

June 12, 2009 4 Comments

Dakota Fanning Dishes on Being a Cheerleader

Dakota Fanning Cheerleader The June 2009 issue of American Cheerleader (on newsstands now) features a full interview with teen celebrity turned girl next door/high school cheerleader, Dakota Fanning. Excerpts of the interview can be found online at American Cheerleader. In the interview, Dakota talks about what she likes most about cheerleading – namely stunting:

AC: What do you like most about cheer?
Dakota: I love stunting! I’m a flyer and I just love that. Also, you make so many friends in cheerleading. Sometimes it’s a long way to games, and we have to travel for hours on a bus, and you kind of bond with your teammates. I think that’s really nice.

AC: What is it about stunting that you love so much?
Dakota: You know it really came naturally to me when I first started doing it. It’s probably my most favorite thing about cheerleading—I’m the one who’s always like, ‘OK, let’s stunt now.’ I really love doing toe touch Baskets.

As usual the debate as to whether cheerleading is a sport continues, but as far as Dakota is concerned, cheerleading is a sport – and one she really enjoys.

Photo courtesy of PopCrunch

sports girls play

May 29, 2009 Leave a Comment

Cheerleading – Is it a sport?

Cheerleading

Do you consider cheerleading to be a sport?

I know there are a lot of people that just can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that cheerleading could even be considered a sport, but I have to say, yes it is.

Cheerleading takes strength, flexibility, stamina, and training. It is an activity that requires movement and repetition. Cheerleaders work together as a team (in most cases) and the basis of most cheer moves is gymnastics.

Now it is your turn! What do you think? Sport or activity?

sgp_hr.jpg

August 14, 2007 16 Comments

« Previous Page

Find Your School. Shop Your Gear.

School Banner

Recent Posts

  • FANCHEST – A Unique Gift for College Bound Athletes
  • Ways to Keep Kids in Sports Longer
  • Sports Girls Essentials – Recovering from a Tough Workout
  • Gifts for Girls Who Play Volleyball
  • Printable Instructions for Common Uses for KT Tape

Reader Favorites

  • Free Printable Training Journal Page
  • Tips for Dealing with Gymnasts’ Hand Rips
  • Hairstyles for Gymnastics and Cheerleading
  • Getting Past I Quit
  • Mouthguards Are A Must For Field Sports
  • Coaching Tips: Sandwich Your Corrections
  • The Power of Youth Sports
  • kids science kits

Sports Girls Love

Got Running Pains? Biofreeze - It's like ice, but better! Shop Now Evolve Fit Wear Banners College Ladies Gear at Fanatics.com

KT Tape | Kinesiology Therapeutic Tape | Train Longer. Finisher Stronger. | Shop Now

Categories

  • Athlete Profiles
  • Athletics
  • Basketball
  • Books
  • Celebrities
  • Cheerleading
  • Coaching
  • College Sports
  • Competition
  • Deals
  • Diving
  • Everyday Fitness
  • fashion
  • Fencing
  • Field hockey
  • Fun Friday
  • Fundraising
  • Gear
  • gifts
  • Golf
  • Great Resources
  • Gymnastics
  • High School Sports
  • Ice Hockey
  • Ice Skating
  • In the News
  • Injuries
  • Lacrosse
  • Life Lessons
  • Movies
  • NCAA
  • Nutrition
  • Olympics
  • On TV
  • Pan American Games
  • Parenting
  • Resources
  • Rowing
  • Running
  • Sailing
  • SGP Go-Getters
  • Shows
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Strength Training
  • Swimming
  • Taekwondo
  • tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Volleyball
  • Wednesday Workout
  • winter olympics
  • Winter Sports
  • Wordless Wednesday
  • Youth Sports

Let’s Connect

Email us Like us on Facebook follow us on Twitter

Copyright © 2018 · Jane Theme By, Pretty Darn Cute Design