What is the best way to prevent injury as an All-Star Cheerleader?: May 2013

Literal
· Mentorship Log.
· Grace Contreras: 626-333-1145

Anabel Delgado: 626-222-0499

Interpretive
The most important thing I have gained from this experience has to be the relationships I created with my girls and boys. Getting to know each of these young athletes was one of the most rewarding experiences, because each person had a different story. Some of the girls showed promise early on and some showed the potential of being easily taught. The boys were the rockstars of the team, both of them had absolutely zero experience cheering, but came in ready to learn. They caught on quickly and surprised all the coaches with their determination and desire to be the best. These young athletes showed me the importance of relationships in this sport and how they can change the mentality of an entire team with one mood swing. I learned how the emotions a coach gives off, will influence the way the athlete responds to a demand.

Applied
Through coaching these young kids as they learn new skills and perfect the ones they have, you pick up a few things. I picked up ways to make sure these kids stayed safe and through speaking with the other coaches, ways to be a better cheerleader. Almost everytime I looked at the way we practiced, my answers were right there in front of me. It was very reassuring to have them be clear as day, and to be able to insure that these answers were enough to satisfy my EQ. I wish that all seniors get to experience their answers coming to life as they are studying first hand exactly what they want to.

LITERAL

I, Dominic Zavala, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

(b) The people that helped me complete this independent component were my wonderful coaches Jason Brandt and Brady Aguirre.

(c)IC log

(d) In this independent component I accomplished what my team and coaches have set out to accomplish this entire season. We have been approaching each competition hoping to do the very best we can and for no one to get injured while doing so. We had a marvelous season of being undefeated until this last weekend May 4th through the 6th. This competition is called the Summit and it is one of the most prestigious competitions next to Worlds. Over the nation there are only 36 competitions that offer a bid to The Summit, and my team received an at large bid at the very first competition to offer the bids in Vegas. With a perfection score of 95% and scores that were higher than some of the level five teams competing. To be invited to The Summit is the greatest honor our team could have hoped for this season besides winning NCA Dallas. This weekend was one of the greatest time I have had at a competition because it was a new experience for me, being in Florida and competing with the best of the nation. First day my team had a few mistakes with a bobble in a stunt and what is considered a drop on the score sheet. We were all nervous and scared especially when our coaches told us it was our worst performance of the season. At the reveals, which is where you find out if you made it to finals or not, we all thought it was over and that we didn't make it. So when our name was called we all screamed and cried because we were so happy and lucky to get another chance. We practiced that night for 2 hours making sure everything was going to hit and that it was all cleaned up. Every single person on the team had the fire in their eyes so we knew that when we hit the stage that next day we would hit a perfect routine. Hitting that floor with a renewed sense of readiness and a confidence that we were going to hit was quite invigorating. The amount of dedication and focus we all had helped us hit an absolutely perfect routine which we were all proud of. Sadly we came home with third, and the teams that won told us we should have beat them, so the team was sad and conflicted. Leaving that competition with third and having gyms we never would have seen know our names is what we took away from the competition and that in itself is a huge honor.

INTERPRETIVE

In the two weeks leading up to the trip to Florida we practiced for 14 days, with 3 hours of practice each day, so I have a total of 42 hours for this independent component which will also count as my mentorship hours since my project is focused on what the individual athlete can do to improve safety.

Evidence: Summit Performances Team Photos

APPLIED

In the process of completing this component in these 42 hours I spent practicing and competing, each of my answers was apparent every practice. Our practices are structured as follows, we warm up, stretch, work out, run the routine and perfect skills. Every practice I see all of my answers coming in to play, which is quite surreal. Who would have guessed that what I have been studying is legitimate in applying it to my sport. It is extremely evident in how we added new difficulty to our stunt sequences and even changed certain choreography throughout the routine to better attack the score sheets. We added what is called a switch up to opposite tap to over stretch intro to our elite stunt section. The flyer sets in with the opposite foot, switches legs, land in an opposite lip, is brought down controlled to tap the floor with her foot before being tossed back to the top in an immediate overstretch. It took us almost one practice to get this move down before it was set into the routine for sure. We were thought the proper way to do it, with correct technique and given time to practice it so that we did it safely. Another example of how the answers were prevalent was that our coaches were gone the week before we left for competition. They left us to our own devices and supervision by the other coaches in the gym. They trusted us to take care of ourselves and make sure we stay safe and do what we need to do. It was interesting to have them gone and it caused some of the members of my team including myself to step up and manage the team so that we all stayed motivated and ready for The Summit.