Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Guide to Cheerleading: For Cheerleaders and Coaches

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A terrific resource for people who want to do a more athletic form of cheerleading. However it moves quickly past a lot of the basics that the older but still relevant "The Official Cheerleaders Handbook" covers in depth in terms of jump variety, basic stunts, and correct motion technique.

In its favor:

*Good section on how to approach and land a jump complete with pictures.

*This is the book to have for learning intermediate and advanced stunts, both all-girl and co-ed. Covers thigh stands, various load-ins for preps and extensions, moves to hit at the top of the stunt, transitions, and dismounts. (Also includes collegiate level single base coed stunts.) I might have liked a few more pictures of the process of building each stunt rather than just a few of them, but the key ones are all there and the explanations are very concise.

*Good section of sample cheers and chants, though fewer than the "Handbook"

*Good notes to coaches to help them guide their team, from formation of a new squad to raising spirit level through the school year to the competition mat.

This book is a must-have, but it would not have been as helpful to my brand-new middle school squad last year as it will be this year, as they were only ready for the stag and thigh stand material in the "Handbook". (And its do's and don'ts guide was more instructive for new cheerleaders than "Ultimate" would be because it featured photographs instead of a written list.)

My recommendation is to have "The Ultimate Guide", "The Handbook" and "Coaching Cheerleading Successfully" on your shelves if you are a coach or a cheer advisor.

Coach ~Jen

This is a great book! I found all sections well laid out and written and particularly enjoyed the graphic interface of "hint and tip" type text boxes found throughout the book. The author is very knowledegable and demonstrates, in photographs, many items in the motion and jump sections. It is indeed the perfect resource for coaches and cheerleaders.

The stunt section for all-girl and co-ed alone is enough reason to buy it! They are very detailed and cover all the basic (including drills) through advance stunts for both all-girl and co-ed. Short of video, this is one of the best instructional stunt resources I've ever had. I find myself recommending it often to other coaches and have refered to it many time due to questions I receive as founder and president of PennACCA (Pennsylvania Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors).

It is one of the most up-to-date books on the market, so it is definately number one in my cheer resource library. My only personal drawback was a lack of choreography description, but I have yet to find a book that can adequately describe this!

It is a good instructional book, especially for new coaches, but I think even veteran coaches would benefit from what is offered. It covers every aspect for cheer programs (starting a squad, fundraising, tryouts, technique, stunts, even competition). I would recommend it for coaches and cheerleaders of all types of cheer (all star owners would probably still want a book on the business side of owning an all star) because this book covers all you need to know. I would definately say make it part of your library!

This is a great all-inclusive book! There are so many out-of- date cheerleading books on the market that I jumped on this one. So many books cover basic motions, jumps etc, that I was hoping this would offer a little more. It does! This book went beyond the basics to include info about organizing tryouts, starting your own squad etc. Even though I am a cheerleading coach, I think this book would definitely be helpful for aspiring or current cheerleaders. I was most impressed with the stunts. That is the distinguishing factor of this book. I know of no other book that contains so many partner stunts with step by step, how-to details. From elevators to scales and scorpions this covers all the major stunts. Many of them are collegiate level/one base-one flyer style, even though they teach the standard, all-girl stunt groups(1st,2nd 3rd base and flyer)also.

I have found that over the years I have had a difficult time trying to find good books on cheerleading. However, I came across this new source and I thought it produced a great deal of useful information, especially for the novice cheerleader. The chapter on stunting was very well done, but I was hoping to find a lot more information on choreography and advanced dance movements. As a varsity cheerleading squad we like to incorporate as much of the dance movements in our routine as we do the gymnastic movements, so I feel that both are very important in order to produce an excellent performance!

As a high school cheerleader, I can say that "The Ultimate Guide to Cheerleading" is one of the most updated books available on cheerleading today, unlike most books published in the 80's that have all of those illegal stunts and outdated cheers. However, this is definitely a good book for cheerleaders, which includes

- Steps to starting a team for coaches who are interested in doing so (i.e.: setting up tryouts, enforcing goal setting for your team, judging criteria for tryouts, etc.)

-Tryout info and advice, along with a section to help you decide if you truly want to be a cheerleader.

- Basic motions, cheers, and chants

- Jumps (the great thing is that this book covers all 8 of basic counts for jumps and fully illustrates them with photos)

- Stunting (the most comprehensive stunting section I have EVER seen in a book... starting off with single base, then moving on to multiple base, basket tosses, and pyramids)

- Competition cheerleading

The only minor thing I don't like is that there really isn't anything about tumbling, and as another reviewer mentioned before, the book skips a few basic stunts, and moves straight to more advanced ones that wouldn't be suggested for beginners. However, if you are on an advanced squad, you will probably appreciate all the ideas for more difficult stunts, because they're all covered. But overall, this is a good book for all cheerleaders and covers (almost) everything you should/need to know. It's definitely the most comprehensive up-to-date book on cheerleading today.

This book is a great resource for learning all there is to know about cheerleading. I come from a town that has never had cheerleaders until my squad was formed a year ago. Our captain saw the book and picked it up thinking it might help us. It was excellent in learning all the basics and then on to more advanced stunts and jumps. It also helped us figure out how to run try-outs and things. The instructions were fabulous on teaching us everything properly. I now own a copy of the book and urge anyone in cheerleading or interested in it to buy a copy. It is the best resource to learn more that I have found.

My daughter has been cheering since 3rd grade in the town cheerleading squad. She does not do competition cheerleading. She also now cheers for the Junior High she attends. I picked up the book as a present for Christmas and she loves it. I don't know how it would be for anyone else, but she thinks it's great. There are a lot of illustrations in it and she is looking forward to maybe incorporating some of the ideas in her High School squad next year. It was reasonable priced compared to some of the cheerleading products out there like the CD's and video sets. Hope this helps.

Leslie's 'Ultimate Guide to Cheerleading: For Cheerleaders and Coaches' is a fabulous resource for beginner to advanced coaches! I found it very helpful, and I have been coaching for several years, all levels. The illustrations make it a "hands-on" learning experience for those who are visual learners, great for beginners! I found it especially unique that she demonstrates the techniques and skills herself in the photos, not many writers can provide their own illustrations, and done perfectly. I found it very useful, thumbs up. Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge with us. Can't wait for the next project Leslie! Way to go!
-Kate, SuperStar Cheerleading, Ontario

I came from not knowing anything about cheerleading, and read this book. Now I know enough to coach a team, doing twisting dismounts and 2 and a half high pyramids. It's absolutely awesome, and the price is so cheap (I spend 20 pounds on mine, this is nothing)

I've cheered most of my life, and was recently asked to coach a new All Stars team...this book was a HUGE help in getting everything organized for parent meeting & try-outs.

I love the fact that it is directed towards both cheerleaders & coaches. The tips through out the book are great! I have recommending to all my cheerleaders that they pick up a copy of this book...it's great!