Russakoff Rules
Careful with Those Jazz Hands...
By Lee Russakoff
Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:30:31 GMT
People, I've been telling you for years: Cheerleading is A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.And while safety efforts have cut injuries in the sport down, cheerleading is still the most dangerous female sport ... by far.
According to a report on FOXNews.com, there were 102 fatal, disabling or serious injuries among high school female athletes between 1982 and 2007. Sixty-three of them occurred in cheerleading.
Gymnastics (nine) and track (seven) were a distant second and third.
However, inroads are being made.
The number of cheerleading injuries fell slightly in the 2007-08 academic year.
"Progress has been slow, but there has been an increased emphasis on cheerleading safety," said the study's author Frederick O. Mueller. "Continued data collection on all types of cheerleading injuries will hopefully show that these safety measures are working to reduce injuries."
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Message Edited by Lee_Russakoff on 06-29-2009 10:34 AM
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I agree. My daughter is a competitive cheerleader and she have had so many injuries that I can't remember. Knee, ankle, wrists. You name it. She loves the sport and she puts up with it. I told her this time one more injury and you are out.Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:01:26 GMT | Ilovedogs
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Pretty wierd actually.Rather have my daughter learn an instrument orsomething other than this.To think guys are'nt looking up their skirts or seeing them as sex toys is foolish.Sorry but men are pigs.If not true then why so many websites devoted to these girls?Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:38:04 GMT | feeroegee
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Ok in any sport you are bound to get hurt. I play volleyball and i've injured my knees so badly i could barely walk, i've almost broken a knukle, I have so many injuries I can't even write them all down. For the first comenter I think it's disgusting you told your daughter if she gets hurt again you won't let her cheerlead. There's no REAL sport that you wont get hurt in, so why does it matter if cheerleading is the highest???Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:52:05 GMT | supershani
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the relity is that cheerleading is BIG BUSINESS! My neighbor runs a cheerleading school and for everyone who quits, there is a waiting list. But lets face it girls in skimpy little outfits standing on each others shoulders is really odd.Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:53:49 GMT | gosia555
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I am a former college football player who has seen the whole range of sports injuries, but the severity and frequency of injuries to my daughter and her peers over her 12 years of very competitive cheer is staggering.We old jocks never knew the real skill, technique ,ability and RISK it took to be a cheerleader until our darling daughters came along
Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:55:38 GMT | cheerdad
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"Rather have my daughter learn an instrument orsomething other than this.To think guys are'nt looking up their skirts or seeing them as sex toys is foolish.Sorry but men are pigs.If not true then why so many websites devoted to these girls? "Are you out of your mind not everyone is out to look up a girls skirt! My daughter has been involved with Competive Cheer since she was 5 yeras old. And now belongs to a 09 National Championship Co-Ed team at the high school level. I am a sports photograher and take photos of these kids boys and girls alike and make money doing it. In your eyes does that make me some kind of freak or perv...Please!
Get informed before you start making comments like that.
You and your child I think are better off learning an instrument. Only I feel sorry for your child. Theres actually alot of fun and life lessons these kids leran doing this sport a participating in the fundraisers and other associtaed activites.
These girls where approved garments called "Spankys under thier cheer skirts much like a pair of shorts. My daughter also happens to be a flyer and I would fell sorry for the boy that may happen to inadvertently cop a feel in an inappropriate manner.
I realize thier are some freaks out there and you have to be concerned but that comment sounded like something from the 1800's.
There is alot of $$ involved in this industry and it continues to grow every year. I didnt even read past your comment so I dont know what anyone else has had to say but this needed some rebutal.
Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:21:40 GMT | Sports-Photog
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As a competitive HS cheerleading coach, injuries are usually the result of attempting a skill that has not been perfected or the coach not recognizing the skill level of their squad. Coaches should never push their cheerleaders to perform anything above their skill level! Safety is my number 1 concern when putting together a routine. There is safety certification training for cheer coaches and if your school doesn't require it, they should.Attended a cheer competition lately? The attendance is better than our 3A football/basketball crowds. If you don't think these girls/boys are athletes, think again.
Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:25:10 GMT | Lshuck
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"feeroegee"I just read some of your more recent post's. I cant belive I wasted my time commenting on something you wrote.
I appologize to everyone and to comcast for the "wasted bandwidth" on this individule"
"Go T-Wolves" Bring it!!! lol.
Bye
Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:44:28 GMT | Sports-Photog
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I think it is great Fox calls Chearleading a sport..because it is!!! But these girls don't get the respect they deserve. They are some of your best female athlete ever. I have one daughter that is a competitive cheerleader. She competes at the college level and I have seen it all. The biggest problem is Cheerleading needs to be an NCAA SPORT and have specific guidelines and rules. No Gymnast (tumbler) should EVER tumble (or do stunts) on a hard floor(or just a mat). It should be required to tumble only on spring floors. That would save most of your injuries(not all). But again it is a money maker for these cheer companies and therefore it our athletes that pay the price. The NCAA needs to get with it!!!Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:51:52 GMT | lucky5
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I am not at all surprised. My daughter started Cheering at age 6 for a community pound football league that also had Cheer competitions. She was good and really liked it so by age 10 she joined at competition group that also hooked up with a local gymnastics school. I was active with both groups and would help as I could. As an RN I can say over the years I came to see most the people in charge would push the girls limits and I am not sure what if any training they had. At age 12 at a practice that I could not be at due to work after doing a back handspring she c/o her right arm hurting and the couch told her it looked fine. Ten min later she did another handspring and sustained a commuted fracture of her right arm. She was full arm/hand casted for 5 months. School other sports etc were ruined for that year not to mention the expense and suffering. I honestly feel under the circumstances it could have just as easily been her neck. That was the end for us. The girls can be dazzling but I feel there is too much push to out do whats been done before and has generally become too extreme.Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:09:47 GMT | vic98
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PS....Please don't call professional dancers, ie: Dallas Cowboys, Redskinettes..."cheerleaders". They are dancers NOT cheerleaders. Come on Fox or Comcast whomever posted the pics...get it right!!Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:43:58 GMT | lucky5
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In the end, what's the value in all that these girls go through with the multitude of injuries? They cheer through high school, in money-making(for the company) competitions, maybe in college, and then what?? They go through the rest of their lives with orthopedic issues. I agree with the others who say pick up an instrument, make music and make people happy the rest of your life (professionally or casually)....and no injuries. They do fundraisers for the bands, as well.Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:21:43 GMT | hylkman56
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What in this world isn't dangerous? You can be hurt or killed walking down the hall to the bathroom, so does that mean we should wear diapers? You can be hurt or killed driving to work in the morning, so does that mean we have the luxury of quitting our jobs because of it? I'm sitting here in my house watching TV and I could be killed if the place explodes beneath me, but does that mean I have to run screaming out the front door for fear of being killed? Guess what, I can also trip and fall on the steps and break my neck, so that's quite a dilemma there, isn't it?Pro athletes play football, basketball, etc., because they like doing it. Cheerleaders cheer because they like doing it. Pilots fly because they like doing it. Just because YOU think that the risks outweigh the rewards doesn't mean the person doing the activity should think the same thing.
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:32:06 GMT | Ghost417
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First it isn't a sport. Don't get me wrong it takes athleticism, but most areas it is a club to support the kids competeing, in sports, for their school. I have been coaching polevault for 11 years. One season nation wide we had 3 deaths in a 7 week period. Does this mean we should end it? No, not at all. In our state we have to be certified as coaches now. I have to ask. Are thes young ladies being taught appropriately? Most injuries I have seen in the vault have been due to poor coaching. Sometimes flukes occur. I'm sure cheer is the same way. Injuries happen in everyday life. The question is how much risk is the individual willing to take. This is stupid sensationalization. There are so many more people involved in sports we are bound to see more injuries. It's exponential. Let's talk about all these injuries and put fear in peoples minds. Great idea, let's live in fear. I say go do what you feel is enjoyable to you, know the risks, take reasonable precautions and have fun. Stop freaking everyone out with fear. Maybe we should just lock ourselves in our homes and hope the world becomes less dangerous.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:49:39 GMT | CoachNips
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My daughter wanted to cheer from the time she saw cheerleaders at a high school football game. She started cheering for the peewee football league and continued cheering in elementary, junior high and high school. She has dislocated her knee. She had a stress fracture in her back and was in a Boston brace 23 hours a day for 5 months. She is 5'2" and was used as a base. She has been kicked in the face numerous times during builds and got ganglion cysts in her wrists from repeated tumbling runs on the basketball floor. I have two older boys who played competitive sports but they never had the injuries their little sister did.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:54:19 GMT | dschutte
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When I first learned that college cheerleaders actually receive scholarships, I threw up twice.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:15:11 GMT | sparkyTWB
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I am a cheerleader for my high school and we've had some injuries. During championships last year, one of my captains was in a knee brace as she had been all year. I hurt my ankle so bad back in February and it never fully recovered. A few girls had to wear wrist braces. Honestly, yeah, its dangerous, but nothing a real love of the sport doesnt conquer.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:18:06 GMT | FutureLifeChanger
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Cheerleading is not a sport, it is an activity....PERIOD!Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:54:12 GMT | ddwh
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As a past competitive cheerleader myself, I can definitely agree with the fact that cheerleading is a tough and dangerous sport. I cheered on an all-star team starting from age seven, and I also participated in varsity cheerleading at my high school for four years. During my freshman year in high school, I had a major injury that almost led to total paralysis. While I was doing my back tuck toss, the stunt went wrong, and I ended up landing on the track, placing me into a concussion and dislocating a disc in my neck. I was rushed to the hospital, and I finally regained consciousness. I was ordered to see an orthopedic surgeon and found out that my disc in my neck was displaced a 1/2 inch. If it was displaced another 1/2 inch, I would have been paralyzed. To this day, I am still unable to remember the full extent of my injury. The reason I had such a catastrophic injury was due to inadequate safety and a coach whose skill level was not up to par. No one was punished and changes were not made to ensure that no one would undergo any other serious injuries. Dangerous stunts and unsafe procedures by the same coach were still administered. For cheerleading to be respected and safe, safety regulations need to be installed, and high schools, along with all-star teams need to make sure that their coaches are highly trained. The risks of cheerleading must be taken seriously, otherwise more injuries and deaths will result.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:59:21 GMT | princepessa129