Dynamic tumbling skills add TREMENDOUS excitement to cheer-routines. The vigor of handsprings & the power of flips add rich variety. What a thrill it is for an audience to see a solo tumbler bound into a long series of rolls, flips and springs. You can hear the "Wow!" from onlookers when all the members of a well-polished squad demonstrate simultaneous standing back flips. What a site! BUT... some days it doesn't happen that way. The flip was low... and Suzy-Q made that FUNNY sound... you know... knees smacking hard against wood. ("Is she crying?") OR... Judy B. Bop bent her legs in her cartwheel, kicked Mary in the cheek, stomped Beth's hand and bounced out the door on her backside. ("Oh, I bet THAT hurt.") Like an orchestra in chaos... everything ends up a little "out of tune."

Here's the situation: It's 20 minutes before the game... the crowd is gathering... the teams are in the locker-rooms and most of your squad is stretching or casually rehearsing some leaps. YOU are wondering about the tumbling, you're wondering ... will the tumbling be "on"... or will there be "chaos? Will there be cheers, or jeers? So, here's a tip to TUNE your tumbling before you perform. HOW? With your own "tumbling-tuning-fork"... THE HANDSTAND

Yes, the handstand! It's so simple, so basic & such a "beginner thing" that most cheerleaders avoid practicing the handstand; after-all, wasn't that what you learned in DAY 1 of your gymnastics class? Yet, that MOST BASIC of positions holds the SECRET to having CONSISTENTLY GREAT TUMBLING. Think about it, in almost EVERY tumbling skill, a body will pass through a handstand position (or a variation of it). That makes the handstand a critical position. Great handstands lead to great tumbling. Consider it a "foundation" skill, a "Cornerstone" to great tumbling, think of it a "tuning fork" for your body.

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