Review our other cheer motion articles to get tips to you help you perfect all your motions and strengthen your arms!
Basic Cheerleading Motions: Part 1
Basic Cheerleading Motions: Part 2
Basic Cheerleading Motions: Part 3

Left Clasp

Bring your arms and hands into a middle clasp position, then pull your right arm to your left so that it crosses your chest. Keep your arms at chest level, don’t drop them down.

Right Clasp

Bring your arms and hands into a middle clasp position, then pull your right arm to your right so that it crosses your chest. Keep your arms at chest level, don’t drop them down.

Clap

Bend your elbows and bring your arms in tight to your body. Your elbows should be pulled in and pointed down, and your hands should be just below your chin. Bring your hands together, keeping them open with your fingers facing up toward your chin, so that both palms are touching. Your thumbs should be positioned on the side of your hands that are closest to your body.

Blades

This motion is similar to the T motion, but instead of putting your hands into fists, they should be in blades. In the blade position, your hands are open and your fingers are straight and together. Extend your arms from your shoulders so that they are parallel with the ground. Keep your hands in blades with your palms facing down and your pinkies facing back.

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A leadership change could mean a new athletic director, a new coach or a new captain. No matter which role gets a replacement, it can cause confusion and tension on a team. Arming yourself with a little insight about mid-season changes can help you prepare in case it happens to your cheerleading team.

Why It Might Happen.

Sometimes, a cheerleading team might see a leadership change coming. For instance, if your coach is pregnant, you know she’ll be out at some point during the cheer season.

Other times, a change might be sudden and unexpected. A leader might have a personal reason for needing to leave the team, or an illness that doesn’t allow them to be a part of the team anymore.
A captain might have to resign if their family is moving, or might be forced to resign if they don’t achieve a minimum GPA.

The individual leaders might have nothing to do with the change. The athletic program could experience downsizing or growth, either in budget or size, which would result in changes.

Other situations may lead to a coach or director being fired. It might be as simple as the people in charge making a decision that they think will improve the squad’s performance, or it might be a controversial situation. Controversial situations might be the most difficult for a team. Not only will the team be dealing with a shake-up among themselves, but the controversial nature might mean that others in the community and media get involved, placing a spotlight on the team during a difficult time.

Who Takes Over?

Depending on the circumstances, the new leader might be a familiar face or someone new entirely.

If the change was expected, it is probably an easier transition because it is likely that the coach may have spent some time training their replacement or stand-in. This means everyone has had some time to get to know each other and get used to working together.

If the change is unexpected, the assistant coach may step in to lead or the team will get a brand new leader. The addition is most likely going to be someone that is hired by the school or organization’s athletic department, and the team probably won’t have any say in the choice.

If the team captain needs to be replaced, it might be the co-captain that fills in. If there is no co-captain, a new captain will be chosen by the coach, or more likely voted in by the team.

What To Expect In The Aftermath.

Any change, big or small, is going to require a transition and adjustment period. Remember to keep the bigger goal of your cheerleading team in mind. Whether it is to improve your competition rank or keep school spirits high, keep in mind the reasons that you suit up into your practice wear and cheerleading uniforms. Work together as a team to move forward with the season and accept that a change in leadership comes with new ideas, fresh perspectives and additional experience that can benefit the team. Focus on the positives of the situation, like the chance to improve!

Has your team experienced a leadership shake-up? How did your team deal, and what did you learn?

Check back every Wednesday in February for more tips on dealing with mid-season leadership changes!

The Father of Modern Fundraising’s Influence on Cheerleading Fundraising
Charles Summer Ward did a great thing for fundraising, back in 1905 when he raised $90,000 for a Grand Rapids, MI, YMCA. Charles thought outside of the box by utilizing a combination of modern media and time pressure to achieve that dollar amount in just one week.

Around 15 years later, Shirley Windsor would spin Charles’ idea into a crowd-pleasing and highly successful fundraising pep rally. Shirley was part of one of the first cheer squads. His 3-member cheer squad, from the University of Kansas, decided to address the issue of their small stadium that didn’t allow them to play home games on their field. Shirley tried to raise funds through cheerleading for a new, bigger stadium by asking alumni for donations, but even after a particularly successful game that had everyone in high spirits, Shirley got shot down. In true cheerleader fashion, Shirley refused to be defeated. Instead, he arranged to get everyone out of class for one hour for an assembly. It was during that one hour that Shirley and his squad gave every ounce of their spirit – and ended up with $60 pledges from 4,000 students. The University of Kansas was soon able to upgrade their stadium from 2,000 seats to 30,000 seats.

Another Reason Herkie Is The Grandfather
You’ve all probably heard of Lawrence “Herkie” Herkimer, and have heard him called the “grandfather of modern cheerleading”. But did you know that in addition to running the first cheerleading camp and creating the Herkie jump, he also developed many of the spirit items that are still used today for fundraising efforts? Even more interesting is that many of today’s cheerleading teams have found a way to turn cheer camp into a fundraising opportunity for their squad. Recognizing the popularity of cheerleading, some squads will offer mini-camps at their school for the younger girls in the community. The fees collected for each girl to attend the mini-camp are put into the squad’s budget.

As cheerleading grew in popularity and pop culture changed, new and exciting spirit item options emerged and today’s cheer squads sell everything from shirts and hats to poms and temporary tattoos to the crowds at games. These spirit items will always be a favorite. They not only support the team financially, they also support team spirit!

Fundraising Efforts Meet The Internet
For many years, fundraising efforts were mainly restricted to a community because squads didn’t have the resources to reach out much further than their city limits. Door-to-door fundraising was popular, along with the staple car washes and bake sales.

In the 1980s, technology began to forge a path that would drastically change just what cheerleaders were capable of when it came to fundraising. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, most homes in the US had a home computer and access to the Internet. This allowed new forms of fundraising, like cookie dough sales, to emerge. Teams could now urge people to just go to a website to make a purchase or pledge a donation. Then, social media opened up a whole new captive audience, and a quick and easy way to reach them all at once. Using social media, blogs and websites, a small cheer squad can extend their fundraising reach indefinitely.

Inspiring others to help cheer for your cause is the best way to raise funds. What are some of your fundraising ideas or stories? Share in the comments below!

Mastering basic cheer motions will help you hit more advanced stunts like a pro, which will be important during routines and at cheerleading competitions.

This is a general overview of some basic cheer motions with the focus on the position of the arms. You may perform them, or see them performed, slightly different. These motions can be used while a cheerleader is on the ground or up in a stunt, and the position of his or her feet will vary from being shoulder width apart to being together, depending on when and the motion is being used.

Clasp

Bend your elbows and bring your arms in tight to your body. Your elbows should be pulled in and pointed down, and your hands should be just below your chin. Wrap your hands around each other so that your right knuckles are vertical, facing up toward your chin, and your left knuckles are horizontal, pointing out and away from your body. Your thumbs should be positioned with the left thumb on top of the right thumb, and they should both be on the side of your hands that are closest to your body.

High Clasp

Extend both arms straight up, and bring them in line with your body so that your arms touch your ears. Keep your hands wrapped around each other, in the clasp position. Your thumbs should be facing behind you.

Middle Clasp

From the clasp position, extend your arms straight out, away from your body. Keep your shoulders back and your head up. Your thumbs will be facing up toward the ceiling, and your fingers will be facing out in front of you.

Low Clasp

From the clasp position, extend your arms straight down (similar to a low touchdown) and bring them in tight with your body. Arms should be in line with, but pulled slightly in front of the legs. Your thumbs will be facing out in front of you, and your fingers will be facing in toward your body.

Review our other cheer motion articles to get tips to you help you perfect all your motions and strengthen your arms!
Basic Cheerleading Motions: Part 1
Basic Cheerleading Motions: Part 2