What is “Coach-ability”?
This is the ability of the athlete to listen, understand and perform the changes that have been
instructed to them by the coaching staff. This also includes the athletes attitude towards authority
and instruction from the coaching staff. This is a very important factor in evaluating all athletes!

How important is “Partner Stunting” at the placements?
In the novice training team program, it’s not that important. In the competitive team program it will
play a large part in the placement of each athlete. Basing/Back Spotting technique and strength and
Flyer Body Control, Flexibility and Attitude (aggressive and fearless) are all VERY important aspects
in the competitive team placement process! This portion of tryouts is much like putting together a
complicated puzzle. We must have the right people in the right place to set that team up for
successful stunting. We encourage all athletes to be versatile in the stunting area and to be able to
perform (or be willing to give their best at) either of the three stunting spots if & when needed.

What Standing & Running Tumbling do I need to be on a particular team?
Novice team program, these skills are not so important. In the competitive team program, athletes
are required to be able to safely perform level appropriate skills on a consistent basis. Evaluations
are done on who performs the skills with the best execution. This is evaluated by the standards set
by our coaching staff. Important note; Just because an athlete has the tumbling for a certain level
does not totally determine their placement to that level of team. Tumbling is needed BUT #1 and #2
above will affect the athletes placement more.

Are they evaluated on a dance and jumps?
Yes. Our coaches will evaluate Motion sharpness, placement and timing with an age appropriate
dance. Jumps are also evaluated on height, arm placement, sharpness and overall execution. The
older the team, the more consecutive jumps are required.
Should I evaluate where my athlete stands among others? No. It’s very important to understand that each athlete progresses at a different pace. A person or parent does not do themself well to compare one athlete to another. This is the job of the coaches.

What is the “TEAM CONCEPT”?
ALL decisions in our team placements are in effort to start our TEAMS off in the new season as
strong as we possibly can. Putting together each team is like putting together a complicated puzzle
and sometimes takes some time for us to get it to what we, the coaching staff, feel is best to set our
teams up for success. This leads to the next point...

How do I know when my athlete is ready to go to a higher level?
A good question to ask about your athlete when trying for a LA Heat Team; “How will they make that
team better than they were last season?” “Being as good as last season” is pretty good but our
endless mission as a program is to always improve, so that must be the mission of each athlete in
The Heat Program as well. “Will they make that team better and how?”

How are decisions made?
All decisions about athlete placement are discussed among the coaching staff- team! We are
blessed to have a large amount of collective experience in the sport and we value the opinion of our
team. The LA Heat Team of coaches has learned much over the many seasons and will continue to
learn and improve as we move forward.

Is it important to understand the rules and guidelines set forth in the Handbook and Team
Registration Packet?
Due to the team nature and the investment of many other people in the team program it is VERY
important to know and understand everything prior to participation in the team program. We are open
for questions.

Is the coaching tough?
In our competitive program it can be. We do coach with a high expectation in the areas of attention,
effort and attitude (we expect these in the show team program as well but the competitive
expectations are certainly higher). Each athlete is expected to give their best in these three areas at
all times. “LA Heat Competitive Cheer” is a sport and in competition we are evaluated by a score
sheet each time we take the mat. Our goal as coaches is to motivate, encourage, teach and
sometimes push our athletes to do the best that they can do and to be as competitive as we can be
as a team and program. It is just “cheerleading” but we are serious about giving our best for our
athletes in this sport.