In the last article I talked to you about knowing the difference between the two types of injuries in cheerleading. Now we are going to focus on the preventable injuries type. We all know what these types are. However, how do we prevent these injuries from occurring?

The first step is to know your team. This is hands down the best rule of thumb when talking about safety. Most people do not take enough time in analyzing their team and teammates. For example, do you assess your teams current skill level and ability? Do you know exactly who your strong spotters (the people who insure the safety of the participant) are? Because you should know the answers to these questions. Without this knowledge you are doomed to have preventable injuries happen.

Let us start out by talking about skill level. Most teams out there want to hit those higher level skills. Afterall, we are all here to perform right. However, you have to know your teams skill level as well as your own. For example, if you can do hands/elevator level stunts, your next step is to do extension/full level stunts. You would not go right into doing liberties before you can do extensions/fulls. Every stunt level has it