Pros of Sideline & Allstar Cheer: The Great Controversy

 

Sideline Cheer Pros:

1. Tumbling on a flat/dead mat - if a cheerleader can only perform a tumbling pass on a spring floor, then he/she/they do not have that tumbling pass just yet. If they have that tumbling pass on a dead mat, then they have that pass everywhere, on all types of surfaces.

For example, if someone says that they have a back tuck on a trampoline, they wouldn't say "I have a back tuck" as one of their tumbling skills. 

2. Game day presence! Clean and simple. Original and authentic cheer, no crazy hairstyles, themes or intense performance makeup. TV ready for a game. Here to support the team and encourage the crowd to do the same. For example - College Game Day and the happiness and excitement you see on ESPN/TV while watching a game. 

3. Friday Night Lights. Nothing like cheering in front of your whole hometown and school and feeding off of that electric energy of the crowd, fans and family.

4. Teamwork - participation in school activities, Homecoming parades, etc. locker decorations.

5. Better stunt technique (possibly due to the stunt rubric in all star cheerleading, where it limits a team. As long as they perform it well enough and it scores in that range on the rubric, it is fine. In sideline cheer, there's no UCA or NCA, etc rubric, so the stunt technique has to be the best in order to win  in a competition.

 

All Star Cheer Pros:

1. Advanced stunts such as baskets/double downs/etc.

2. Choreography of a routine and cleaning it up over the course of a year until it is perfect to perform. 

3. Athleticism and high stamina on an elevated level.

4. The competitive drive, which transfers to life skills. You want more, so you practice the skills more to improve and move up to the next level.

5. Working with athletes from various schools and socioeconomic levels. 

 

Both prepare a cheerleader for LIFE SKILLS!