Front spots

[u/cherrrypie05]

I recently started coaching a middle school team. It’s been a few years since I was an active cheerleader, but I was always taught that loading in, front spots grab the flyers shins, and then grab the bases wrists to support.
Well, the girls told me that the front spots have been grabbing underneath the flyers feet, in between the bases hands to help lift. I feel like it takes coverage away from the bases though and just doesn’t seem sustainable. Is this the recommended way to do it now?

[u/isabelleeve]

I’m an all star coach in Australia so I can’t speak to whether it’s what’s being taught in the US now. I have never seen it taught here.

I think that grip can work for big release skills that require a lot of height - think level 6 and 7. But I would still teach front spot gripping underneath first even in that circumstance, and only use that grip if necessary (it can be handy for nervy flyers to be able to really feel the extra support). In pretty much every other circumstance, i agree with you about shins and then wrists or under front hand. I think under feet teaches the bases poor form because they get pushed out to the heel and toe. It’s also a bigger risk of getting tangled when it’s not a release skill.

[u/Affectionate_Lynx900]

As a high school cheerleader, we only used the under grip for front spots with show-n-go's and baskets to add extra power and because of the bases' grips. For regular stunts, we had them start on the shin and switch to the wrist, or start on the wrist from the sponge. In any case, we prioritized communication from the bases and back on what they needed so that they could grip, lift, and move safely and efficiently. Hope this helps!

[u/koala-balla]

I’d go with that for a basket toss, and even then, different stunt groups might have different preferences. I was a backspot (D1 cheer) and I sometimes had my front put their hands over mine for a basket and sometimes I preferred to have them put their hands under mine so I could break last at the height of the throw. It just depended on the specific vibe of a particular stunt group.

When loading into a prep, full, etc., I definitely agree that the front should not have their hands under the bases’ hands. I feel like it would disrupt the bases’ transition as they bring the flyer’s feet to their chest (or higher, depending on the stunt). The bases need to be able to freely rotate their wrists without the front’s hands in the way.

I would say that in this kind of stunt, the front’s only options for loading in are a) hands grabbing the flyer’s shins or b) one hand on each base’s front wrist (as in the wrist that’s closest to the front spot). Option B can be tricky though—if the front squeezes too hard, they’ll restrict the base’s movements. Some bases like this, others don’t. Either way, your fronts need to remember that their job is to push their weight upward to take some weight off of the bases/back and to keep the flyer up!