Education and Certification for Cheer Coaches
Reducing the Number of Catastrophic Injuries
Apr 3, 2009
According to Debbie Bracewell, executive director of the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education, “lack of support and lack of training contribute to the high numbers of injuries.”
After carefully reviewing the recently published 25th Annual Catastrophic Sports Injury Report, 80% of the catastrophic injuries sustained by high school and college cheerleaders occurred during either falls from pyramids, basket tosses, or tumbling stunts. These are all high risk stunts that need to be supervised and taught by well trained coaches.
Direct Catastrophic Injuries in High School and College Cheerleaders
It is also interesting to note that the Annual Catastrophic Sports Injury Report dedicated a special section just to address Cheerleading injuries. Of the 80 high school female direct catastrophic injuries reported during the last 25 years, 44 were sustained by cheerleaders. The sport with the second highest number of catastrophic injuries was gymnastics with nine.
The same trend was seen in the college cheerleading direct catastrophic injury category with cheerleaders sustaining 19 out of the 32 total injuries. The second highest sport in this category was field hockey with three. These statistics should be a red flag to all parents, coaches, and administrators who work in and around the sport of cheer.
Cheer Coach Certification Requirements not Standardardized
Although there are some certification requirements for coaches at different levels, there is no consistent requirement across all levels of participation. For example, the NCAA requires safety certification of its coaches, but not all colleges participate in the NCAA. The National Federation of High School Activities (NFHS) does have a spirit section with rules, but there are not mandatory requirements for safety training (only recommendations), and not all high schools participate in the NFHS.
This leaves large gaps in many institutions including private high schools, colleges, and community colleges. There is also the question of education and certification standards for coaches hired in the many private teams and clubs.
High Turnover Rate in Cheer Coaches
Debbie Bracewell has some opinions as to why more coaches are not pursuing safety certification. One reason is that there is a high turnover rate of cheer coaches (65% leave after the first year; 75% leave after three years). She believes that coaches may not feel it is worth their time or money to get educated and safety certified if they are not staying in a position for any length of time.
Because some coaches are undereducated, undertrained, and underprepared to coach high risk stunts, Bracewell believes that this group of coaches is “left to their own devices - leading to mistakes and injuries.”
The mission of the NCSSE is to “provide comprehensive safety training and certification for spirit coaches”. Bracewell believes that “safer school cheer programs can only come about with a concerted effort by the administration and the coach”. She also believes that a mentoring program could be an important resource for coaches new to the sport.
Last, Bracewell recommends that “requiring continuing education and professional development for cheer coaches would give coaches an opportunity to learn the safest methods for skill performance and program management”.
The answer to reducing catastrophic injuries is in getting all coaches educated and safety certified through one of the nationally known and recognized organizations. The dilemma is how to make it happen.
Parents and administrators can help begin to reduce catastrophic injuries by asking if their child’s cheer coach is a certified coach. If the coach is not certified, then the next question needs to be “Why not?”
How many more catastrophic injuries need to happen before a change is made?
