Team Mottos

This past season, my team practiced and competed by a motto we liked to call “212 Degrees”. It helped to keep us focused and motivated. What will your motto be for this off-season?

The Extra Degree 

At 211 Degrees Water is Hot

At 212 Degrees Water Boils

And With Boiling Waters Comes Steam

And Steam Can Power a Locomotive

One Extra Degree Makes All the Difference

And The One Extra Degree of Effort

Separates the Good from the Great

This is Your Time, Turn up the Heat!

Jessica, CLB

February's Bow of The Month

Welcome to our first ever Bow of The Month!!! This week's theme: pink cheetah! 

First, here's Angie's pink sequined cheetah bow 🎀

This bow looks super cute with any practice outfit or even your fierce uniform! 

Next is Dana's pink sequined cheetah keychain bow!

Perfect for your pink glitter nfinity backpack 😍

Do you like the pink cheetah look or are you into a rhinestone bow?

Tell us what you think!! 

Dana and Angie, CLB

2014 Varsity Spirit Fashion Show Recap!

     The 2014 Varsity Spirit Fashion Show took place in Nashville, Tennessee, and featured many different styles, fits, and athletic wear for all different types of cheerleaders. The fashion show displays styles for camp wear and uniforms for both the collegiate and high school levels.

     This year’s trends in campwear include bright neon and pops of color. Have you noticed the increasing bursts of color, not only in cheerleading, but in all athletic wear and on athletes everywhere? Most of the tee shirts feature many graphics and fun text fonts pleasing to the i (get it?)

     This season in cheerleading uniforms, grey is the new black! As a fashion enthusiast, black will never be out of style, so I don’t know what Varsity is trying to do here.

     Uniforms have evolved over the many existing years of cheerleading. In 2014, it appears that uniforms are all about geometrical lines while still maintaining cleanliness. (So my thing) However, there is also the opposite side of the spectrum, where uniforms are metallic or have a one shoulder detailing.

     Some uniform materials incorporate special motion flex, body hugging, and performance-driven technologies, so that cheerleaders are stylish without compromising comfort. Personally, I love these features because I can actually breathe when I have my uniform on instead of thinking about how great it will feel when I take it off!

     What's YOUR favorite style?! What do you think about these trends for the year of 2014? Watch the video or look at the catalog if you’re interested in finding out more of this years’ cheerleading trends! Comment below and let us know!

Xoxo,

Ally, Senior CLB Fashion and Beauty

http://varsity.com/event/1682/art/1753/varsity-spirit-fashion-show

http://www.varsity.com/event/1686/2014-varsity-spirit-fashion-catalog  
 

How to Handle School, Varsity and All-Star Cheer

School is hard enough as it is, but adding two or more different cheerleading teams is even harder! Here’s three easy ways we handle it.

Always make sure your homework is done first: school should always come before cheer, so we make sure all of our homework is done before our first practice of the day. For us, we have about two hours before Varsity practice to do homework and go to review sessions with our teachers.

Eat healthy and make sure you get enough sleep every night: eating healthy will give you more energy and make it much easier to get through your long days. We always bring fruits and healthy snacks to practices and eat healthy throughout the day. Getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night will keep you focused and alert so you can give 110% in practice. We try to get to sleep at nine every night so we can be ready for the next day.

Manage your time and don’t overwork yourself: even if that means having to leave your school team’s practice early and going late to all star! Always make sure you have at least 30mins of down time to just relax and unwind from school. Work out a schedule with your coaches that will give you enough practice time without pushing yourself too hard.

With these three things in mind, handling school, all star and varsity cheerleading will become much easier and less stressful! How do you juggle your grades and cheer teams? 

Comment below or tell us on twitter at @Cheer360 !!

Thanks,

Dana and Angie, CLBs

WELCOME TO THE LAYOUT

You are now entering the FIRST blog of its kind that is run by the cheerleading community, for the cheerleading community. Feel free to click around! 

Every article is written by either a  present Long Island cheerleader (or what we like to call our CLBs) or a guest writer! Get to know our fun and quirky Cheer Leader Bloggers by clicking to their bios. We are focused on spreading the word about the hard work and dedication cheerleaders put into their sport everyday. Help us with our mission! Be sure to Like, Comment, and Share our articles.

We are always open to suggestions! 

Thank you for your support and interest!
Jessica, Editor-In-Chief, CLB

#CheerFaceFriday

With UCA Nationals coming up, it is very important to have the proper #CheerFace when competing on that magical blue mat.

Which face is the "right" competition face? 

1) The Cheer Professional 

2) Hey Cutie 

3) The Miley  

4) OMG

Let us know! Send us a picture of your or your teammates best facial expression during a competition! Tag us and use the hashtag #CheerFaceFriday

Thanks,

Dani

Senior CLB, Cheer Humor  

Things Cheerleaders Say That Drive Your Coach Crazy

Admit it; you are all guilty of saying at least one of these phrases before.  So the next time these sayings come rolling off your tongue, watch your coach’s reaction…we guarantee you’ll see them cringe!

1.    “I can’t.” 

2.    “Are we doing this full out?”

3.    “Do we have to tumble?”

4.    “Can we get a drink?”

5.    “I forgot my sneakers.”

6.    “Does anyone have extra briefs?”

7.    “Wait! Which side of the mat do I put my sign on?”

8.    “Do we have to roll out the mats today?”

9.    “What are the counts?”

10.  “I can't find my bow.”

Shari Tarburton is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Educational Programming.  She is a New York State Certified Health and Physical Education Teacher, a certified Personal Trainer and Mental Game Coach, and a Varsity cheerleading coach.

Healthy Suggestions for Summer Fun

With summer on it’s way I am sure you are getting excited for going to the beach, going on vacations and overall just having time to relax in the sun.  Yet with all the excitement summer brings, many of you spend a lot of time worrying about your beach bodies and vacation weight gain.  Doesn’t that defeat the point of the joy that summer brings?  Just because you have tons of graduation parties, barbeques and beach bashes coming up, it doesn’t mean you have to disregard your healthy lifestyle plan.

Here are some easy ways to stay healthy during the summer months!

·      Summer salads: Potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad, these are staples at most barbeques and so is the heaping amount of mayonnaise that usually finds it’s way into the recipe.  Try and moderate your portions of these salads, or opt for versions that use vinegars instead of mayonnaise.

·      Dip into something healthier: While onion dips and creamy ranch are delicious on vegetables and chips, the calories can add up pretty quickly.  Use nonfat, plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream or flavored hummus for dips instead of regular sour cream and mayonnaise to get the same flavor without the saturated fats.  Or use guacamole for some healthy unsaturated fat!

·      Burger makeover: While there is nothing like a juicy burger off the grill, there can be a lot of hidden fat inside that patty.  Make sure you are using lean ground beef, or make a veggie burger using lentils or black beans to still get a hearty flavor.  Top with avocado instead of cheese for an extra nutrient boost!

·      Dessert Decisions: Balance is key when it comes to dessert selection at a summer party.  If you decided you wanted to eat some classic potato or macaroni salad, scale back on starchy, high fat desserts like cakes and cookies and opt for fruit salad.  There are so many delicious fruits in season in the summer and their juicy, good for you flavor is better than most store bought desserts anyway.  Try utilizing the grill and making fruit skewers out of pineapple, melons and cherries.  The heat from the grill will caramelize the natural sugars in the fruit for a sweet, savory and nutritious treat!

·      Easy Exercise: One of the best things about summer is that the nice weather begs for outdoor activities.  Whether you join a summer team for softball, play volleyball whenever you are the beach, or just start taking daily walks or runs in the gorgeous summer mornings and nights, it’s easy to increase your activity level and calorie burn when the weather is on your side!

Summer is a time for relaxation not worry, so as long as your mindful of balance in the foods you are choosing and remembering to stay active you’re sure to be healthy and look great doing it! 

Underneath the Bow: Protecting Your Skin

 

With the beautiful weather upon us, many coaches will take their teams outside the gymnasium doors and onto the field or turf for practice, conditioning, tryouts, and camp.  As you begin preparing for what you need for the upcoming event, many of us focus on the essentials (cheer sneakers, shorts, tank top, bow, water), but we tend to neglect one of the most important items our bodies need to stay safe when we are outside: sunscreen!

With more than a million Americans diagnosed each year with skin cancer, especially young adults, it’s more important than ever to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.  When choosing a sunscreen that’s right for you, there are a few rules of thumb you should follow.  Check out the guidelines below to keep your skin looking radiant while accomplishing your goals in the sun.

·       Choose a sunscreen that is easiest for you to apply and reapply. Whether your sunscreen is a lotion, sport stick, or mist, it doesn’t necessarily affect your protection.  Whichever one is the most convenient for you to put on is the best choice to pick.

·       Make sure the brand that you purchase has a seal of approval from either The Skin Cancer Foundation or The American Academy of Dermatology.

 

·       Look for sunscreen that protects against both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays.  The label should indicate that the sunscreen is broad-spectrum coverage.

·       As an athlete, especially a cheerleader, the last thing you want is sunscreen to drip into your eyes as you’re stunting or tumbling.  Look for sunscreen that’s labeled “water resistant” or “sweat resistant."

·       Sun protection factor (SPF) is the key component to look for on a bottle for effective protection.  SPF will give you an idea of how long you can spend outdoors before getting sunburned.  Dermatologists suggest using sunscreen with an SPF of either 30 or 45 and to reapply every two hours or sooner if you feel your skin starting to burn.

·       Make sure and use sunscreen every day, including cloudy or overcast days.  Apply your sunscreen at least thirty minutes before you are going to be outside to insure it absorbs into your skin before sun exposure.

 

 

Shari Tarburton is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Educational Programming.  She is a New York State Certified Health and Physical Education Teacher, a certified Personal Trainer and Mental Game Coach, and a Varsity cheerleading coach.

Fun Friday: Putting Cheer360 Core Values to Use!

For their entire lives, the owners of Cheer360 have used their collective set of core values as their moral compass for their everyday decision making. These core values are what make each of us ourselves, and Cheer360 the premier strength, nutrition and mental coaching program for cheerleaders. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Cheer360 core values, I am going to utilize this as an opportunity to showcase through our actions, how we roll up our sleeves, influence and empower our athletes, and lead by example.

Excellence: in all we do directs our Cheer360 team to develop a sustained passion for continuous improvement and innovation that will propel Cheer360 athletes into a long term, upward spiral of accomplishment and performance.

• Cheer360 has not only worked hard to achieve success, but we hold ourselves accountable in doing so. It is often said that hard work and achieving excellence in all that we do, will not go unnoticed. This was the case this past week as one of the top division I NCAA Cheer programs, The University of Central Florida, recognized our work by "liking" our motivational images and commenting back on our Cheer360 Instagram as seen here. This was a big boost of motivation to not only our team but our athletes as well. 

Persistence: We require that the Cheer360 team possesses the inner drive necessary to position oneself to overachieve daily. The majority of successes happen just after overcoming the most difficult. This is where the personal development comes in. Remember, just keep going!

• Cheer360 helps our athletes map out nutritional, mental and physical plans. This balanced approach will lead to an overall improved healthy lifestyle that will last a lifetime. Who knew that boxes were not just meant to be jumped on? 

Respect and Humility: We value the strengths, experiences and perspectives of others, and we recognize our own limitations. Cheer360 places value in those around us as they are not only a source, but a beneficiary of our success. 

• One of our smallest, yet hardest working athletes, Crista embodies the famous Mark Twain quote, "It is not the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog." Crista's hard work, has been an inspiration to us all, as seen by her quick rise to Instagram fame, notice the comments of support! 

Team: We value and care about each other, operate with a generosity of spirit, and have fun in the process of working together. To maximize our collective impact, we inspire, challenge and support each other to be our best and sustain our efforts. 

• Cheer360 has the benefit of seeing our hard work blossom into greatness right before our eyes. To ensure our success continues, we as a team work really hard to challenge one another to put forth creative, challenging and fun ideas. This is most evident in a recent team push up session!

Community:  We are committed to the cultivation of positive relationships between, and common experiences among, athletes, parents and staff. We instill a strong sense of self recognition and purpose with our athletes. These skills empower our athletes to serve as leaders in their communities. 

• Cheer360 has begun establishing the framework for a Cheerleader mentoring program. This mentoring program model will be implemented in communities that have youth cheer teams/leagues. Cheer360 will mentor current Cheer360 athletes to become coaches and mentors themselves for youth cheer programs. This program will develop future leaders and be a tremendous investment in the communities overall future.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how we practice what we preach. With being open for just under a month, Cheer360 has been to able to inspire and put smiles on the faces of many. We are thrilled and excited about all the support we have received and look forward to the bright future ahead. Remember, it is more than just cheerleading for us, it is a balanced healthy lifestyle that will last a lifetime. 

As a Cheer360 Co-Founder, Arthur's young, energetic and ambitious career has prepared him for his exciting role as the Director of Operations and Business Development. Here he manages business operations and establishes strategic partnerships that will bring the latest equipment, guest speakers, food and nutrition and educational programming directly to the athletes, families and communities served by Cheer360. For more information visit: www.cheer-360.com

Spring Cleaning—Not Just for Your Closet!

With the nice weather finally upon us, the time has come to switch out the sweaters and furry boots for sleeveless and sandals!  But spring cleaning doesn’t have to be limited to your wardrobe, it is a great time to take a look at your eating habits and see where you can do some tidying up!

Between holidays, New Year’s resolutions that never quite materialize, or the notion of, “I am eating to stay warm!-- it is not unlikely you put on a little extra weight in the winter months.  The foods tend to be heavier such as thick soups and stews, and since several fruit and vegetable favorites are out of season, you might find yourself slacking on eating your five-a-day.  But now that spring has sprung, it is a great time to reevaluate how you have been eating, and make some healthy changes as you move forward into the warmer months.

Similar to a cleaning “to-do” list you might make, create a list of healthy habits you would like to work on building, or maybe some unhealthy ones you developed that you would like to get rid of.  The important thing to remember is to tackle only one problem at a time.  Trying to change too many behaviors too fast can result in poorer results due to getting overwhelmed, and reveling in smaller successes is more likely to breed greater success in the long run.

Here are some suggestions for things you might want to work on:

·         Spring is a great time for produce!  Try to increase your fruit and vegetable consumption little by little every day by looking up what is in season and incorporating it into your eating.

·         Hot beverages dominate the winter, and too many hot chocolates or coffee drinks may have hindered your water consumption.  Add frozen berries, sliced cucumbers or citrus fruits, or even a splash of 100% fruit juice to water or seltzer for a cool, refreshing drink, and up that water intake to 8 cups a day!

·         Perhaps you found yourself eating out too much during the winter months.  Restaurants can have a lot of hidden calories, fat, and salt in their meals, so make an effort to decrease the number of times you purchase lunch out, or go out for dinner.

·         It is easy to go overboard with night time eating in the winter between the cold temperatures outside and dark falling so early.  Now that the sun is out longer, take a walk instead of a snack in the evening hours so you are replacing something unhealthy with a something good for you!

Remember to tackle one change at a time, and to enjoy every success.  No matter how small the accomplishment, healthy changes little by little can lead to an overall healthier life!

If there is a behavior you picked up this winter and would like suggestions on how to alter it, email me at shelbi@cheer-360.com for help!