Regina Rebels cheerleading teams practise online from home

Cheer and routine are two things that may be in short supply for many people right now, but for 84 young athletes in Regina’s Rebels Cheerleading Athletics, virtual practices are lifting spirits once again.

Gym owner and Rebels cheer coach Eric Bestvater said it felt really sudden to have the competition season cancelled so close to provincials and about a month before four teams were set to go to Orlando, Fla., after qualifying for the Cheerleading Worlds and Summit Series.

“We took a little bit of time and thought maybe (COVID-19) would all just blow over, but when it became obvious that wasn’t going to be the case, some of my staff approached me and said we should really do this virtually. So then it just became a collaborative process of figuring out how that would work and if people were interested,” Bestvater said.

Trophies and banners line the walls of the gym, empty of the normal shouts of competitive cheerleaders who are now practising in their own makeshift spaces in basements, backyards or living rooms.

Coaches go into the gym alone to set up their regular team Zoom practices with a laptop computer and a flat-screen TV to run training drills.

“We just have gone for a week so far and the response has been amazing, the kids are really positive and just enjoying getting back to their sport,” Bestvater said.

Adjusting training techniques to do individually has come with some challenges for what Bestvater normally describes as  “the contact sport of all contact sports.”

The Rebels have had some creative help from a friend who runs a whole company dedicated to cheerleading. They came up with a backpack technique, using water bottles to mimic the weight of a person for training on lifting and stunts.

Fellow Rebels cheer coach Elizabeth Hwang is part of the senior team that was set to go to the world championships in Florida, and at 23 she was planning to retire from the sport after this season.

While she was disappointed for herself and for the kids she coaches to miss their chances at competitions, she has jumped into the reality of virtual coaching.

“We didn’t want this to be like a casual, ‘OK, if you have extra time, sign on for this extra workout once a week.’ We wanted to get our season started,” Hwang explained.

Hwang said the Rebels opted for a commitment to mandatory practices that incorporate every aspect of cheerleading into the practices online.

“We go through everything from tumbling to stunting to flexibility to jumps to performance and dance,” Hwang noted, saying every exercise is designed to be done safely at home with limited space.

As a coach and athlete herself, Hwang never imagined she would be doing cheerleading practices through video chat.

“Especially because cheerleading is such a hands-on sport. It’s all about teamwork. It’s all about lifting other humans in the air and lifting them together,” Hwang said.

For 10-year-old Rebels cheerleader Ireland McCauley, the prospect of virtual cheer practice was exciting but also a little bit worrying because it was not going to be the same.

“I felt a little bit nervous but (practice) ended up being really awesome and it was very fun to get to see everybody, all my cheer friends,” McCauley said.

“It feels really good to continue to be in cheerleading because it’s helping us all stay in shape, it’s getting us better flexibility and we’re improving our technique and we’re learning new skills, just in a different way.”

While the Zoom practices are good for now, McCauley is still hoping and looking forward to the future when she can return to practice in person with her team.