Spirit Post

Sean Guzman is a Team Coach and Tumbling Coach at Top Gun in Florida.

Standing fulls have always been a trickier skill for the average cheerleader to master. Even some of the most elite athletes in our sport have some sort of technical issue prohibiting them from having that picture perfect standing full. Lack of arm swing, weak hamstring and glutes, insufficient knowledge of body shape, and missed timed movement patterns, are just a few of the factors we see. Since many of these factors are issues seen in standing tuck, always remember to progress an athlete when ready and shows mastery of these elements in the more basic skills.

An athlete should always be conditioned enough to perform these skills. Conditioning assures the athlete and the coach, that the athlete is capable of performing the required movements. Standing fulls require fast arms, strong core, and explosive hamstrings. Wrist weights help tremendously for shoulder strength and speed. Arms are the leader in almost all our skills, so working the shoulders is crucial. There are a number of exercises that can be done with those wrist weights. Front raises, lateral raises, small arm circles, find what works for your athlete. For hamstring work, I like to use box jumps and I modify them with a quarter jump on, along with repetitive broad jumps and some other movements. Core work is of utmost importance. Hanging knee raises along with side v-ups and Russian twists, are my go-to workouts to target the obliques for all twisting skills.

Drills along with how the skill is taught can vary. There are 100’s of different ways to teach a standing full. I have always been a big advocate of the standing Arabian/front half approach. The standing Arabian being the first half of the standing full, and at the peak of the skill, it becomes a front half. Breaking down the standing full in this manner, allows for proper timing and air awareness. When you break down a single twist, it’s 4 quarters, when you break down a single flip, it is also 4 quarter, remembering that, allows you to breakdown the timing a lot more efficiently. The standing Arabian is a difficult skill to master, so do not rush this portion. Proper conditioning will always move the process along.

David Petty is the Tumbling Director at Cheer Extreme Raleigh in North Carolina.

When should you start teaching a standing full?

I recommend after the athlete has consistent jumps to tuck and after they have mastered a running combination to full, possibly even a double.

Favorite Drills

My favorite drills starting out would be doing tucks onto an elevated surface to promote a better drive through the shins and to hopefully eliminate bad landings. I also like to teach the proper arm swing into this skill. The best way it was ever explained to me, whichever way you spin your full, raise your arms to go above, or at least shoulder height and shaping them into a circle, or “hoop” shape.

Should you teach a standing full with/without a drop step?

This is something that can be debated for days. I like to teach the skill without a step, but I am not against using the drop step. Especially since this is often choreographed with counts in a routine.

How to teach better landings with a standing full?

A common problem is short landings and/or feet apart. This is something I also teach with standing tucks. Too many times a coach will teach an athlete to drive their knees to their chest for better rotation. However, this often causes heels to be driven to their backside and actually slows down the rotation and causes bad landing. I try to teach a shin drive over the head. I know that’s an exaggeration, but it will cause better hip rotation and better landings.

Shea Crawford is the Tumbling Director at Midwest Cheer Elite, which has several locations, originating in Ohio.

Prerequisites

Prior to starting to introduce a standing full to an athlete I require the athlete to have an open or no grab standing tuck.  This demonstrates the athlete possesses the height and strength to begin working on a standing full.  The athlete must also (usually) have at least a solid round off back handspring full and/or a two-three back handsprings to full.

Introducing Standing Fulls

I like to work standing one back handspring to full at the same time as standing full.  This helps the feeling of the skill.  Arm placement for standing fulls is crucial so I like to have athletes work on proper arms with jump full turns and jump full turn to tuck position onto a crash mat.

Gaining Confidence

Attempting the standing full on different surfaces such as a trampoline or elevated mats onto a crash mat is a great way to help the athlete gain confidence in any skill including standing full.

Troubleshooting

One of the biggest mistakes I see in standing fulls is underestimating the strength required.  Often times athletes posses the technique required but lack the strength required.  Next would be the dragging of feet behind the skill.  Pushing all the way through toes with strong arms is crucial to having a solid standing full.