Cheer Coaches: 4 Tips for Handling Shared Practice Space

With so many teams and only so much practice space, you will likely have to share the gym with another team sometimes. While this can be inconvenient, it doesn’t have to hinder your team’s progress. Follow these four tips to make the most out of a shared practice space: Plan. If you know you have a shared practice space on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for example, plan accordingly and schedule your team to do mostly conditioning or individual skills that day. Then use your other practice days when you have more space for practicing stunts and routines. Respect. It might be frustrating to have to share a practice space, but remember the other team is in the same position. Talk to the other coach beforehand and see how you can better accommodate each other. Coordinate. Ask the other coach for a basic outline of his or her practice. If the other team is going to do conditioning first, you could plan on that as well so you can utilize the whole gym. Watch out. A shared practice space calls for extra safety precautions. You don’t want to twist your ankle on a loose basketball rolling across your practice space. Keep an eye out for loose balls, and instruct your team to yell out “ball” if they see one entering your practice area. Everyone should immediately stop what they’re doing when they hear this and roll the ball back to someone on the other practice side. How do you make the most out of shared practice space?