David on Walkovers

I can’t begin to tell you how many athletes come into a cheerleading gym wanting to learn how to do any skill that involves a flip, without ever knowing all the progressions that come before that actual skill. And one of those most important progressions would be the walkover, front or back.

Before you even get to either one of those walkovers, there are progressions that come before them. Some of those for example would be, a bridge (from either a standing position or lying down and pushing up into it), bridge kickovers, and front and back limbers.

One of the most important parts to pay attention to while doing this skill, would definitely be the shoulder flexibility of the athlete. Too often you will see bent legs, or a severe bend at the hips causing a pike at the finish. This is often due to the lack of flexibility in the shoulder area and can be easily avoided if the progressions of these skills are taught correctly.

One of my favorite drills for the front walkover is a basic front limber, or front walkover off of a panel mat. Long ago, one of my mentors taught me the importance of “REACHING” into the front walkover, rather than “just placing” hands down in front of you. A lot of times an athlete will dive straight down into this skill. Reaching into a front walkover will help encourage more of a push from the lunge and promote a better stretch through the shoulders, and a better hip and heel drive over the top, while pushing through the handstand position before finishing in the front walkover.

As for the back walkover, I have to be able to teach the athlete that it’s not just a bridge and then kick over. When a kid does this, they miss the part of pushing through their shoulders. While teaching this skill, I like to focus on the timing of when their hands hit the mat, they then push through their shoulders, which will in turn help promote the drive through their hips and shins/toes while kicking over in the back walkover. There is no specific way of identifying the perfect timing of when to kick over, but I like to refer to my athlete that when they start to feel a slight stretch in the shoulders, that’s when the drive from the hips should start.

I could really go on for days about all the important steps to this skill. But, if us coaches can really take the time to teach our basic fundamentals, these skills will happen a lot faster and easier. Just remember that, “Progressions equals Perfection!” No matter what skill it is!

Author: David Petty

David Petty is the Tumbling Director at Cheer Extreme Raleigh in North Carolina. See David's bio for more information.