I’m headed off to Camp Woodward for the next 4 week. Weeks 9, 10, 11, and 12! See you all in a month!
Category Archives: General
Matt is Back in Action!
First off, I hope everyone had a fun and festive 4th of July!
I just want to let everyone know that I am once again available for online lesson scheduling!
In addition, as a way of thanking you, my valued clients, for your patience while I was unavailable during my surgical recovery, as well as when I will be away coaching at Camp Woodward later this summer, I will be reducing my rates for a limited time!
The reduced rate will be:
$25 – Half-Hour Private Lesson :: Reduced from $30!
$45 – Full Hour Private Lesson :: Reduced from $55!
These reduced rates are for a limited time, and will expire when I leave for Camp on July 25th. So book your lesson NOW before it’s too late!
Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend! I will see you in the gym soon!
Coach Matt Faherty
Founder of Full-Out Cheer & Fitness
Book lessons with Matt Faherty Online!
I finally am available for booking lessons online through the online scheduler again! I have also reduced my rate from $30 to $25 for half-hour lessons, and $55, to $50 for hour lessons! This is a limited summer time special, so book your lesson now!
Tuesday 5/27/14 Private Lessons
* * Lesson Availability for Matt Faherty * *
Tuesday, May 27th:
3:00 pm
–
3:30 pm
–
4:00 pm
–
4:30 pm
–
8:00 pm
Lessons slots are given on a “first come first serve” basis. Reserve your preferred time now by contacting Matt on facebook, calling or texting 585-402-1400, or by email at Coach.Matt@cheerfullout.com!
Matt Faherty – Private Lesson Availability Update
Before my surgery, I disabled the ability for athletes and parents to book lessons with me using the online lesson scheduling portal. Recently, I have been in the gym more-and-more often, however I have not yet re-enabled online scheduling.
Unfortunately, some personal issues have recently come up, temporarily making regular transportation to-and-from the the gym difficult for me. As a result, it has been a challenge anticipating the exact dates and times I will be in the gym to offer lessons. For this reason, my online schedule is still currently disabled. I am working diligently to resolve these personal matters so that I can resume offering a regular lesson and class schedule as soon as possible!
In the meantime, I am excited to announce that I AM offering lessons on a limited basis at Core Athletix, starting immediately! Below I have listed a few answers to questions about when these lessons are, and how to schedule them!
Q: What times will you be offering lessons?
A: Lesson availability will vary from week-to-week. On days that I have lesson times available, I will announce the openings on my personal Facebook page, as well as the Full-Out Cheer & Fitness Facebook page! Openings will most likely be announced on the day of, and are first come first serve. So remember to follow or like the Facebook page, and check it frequently for updates!
Q: How do I schedule a lesson? Can I do it through the regular scheduling page?
A: Online scheduling for Matt Faherty is temporarily disabled. To schedule a lesson, call or text my cell directly at 585-402-1400, or email me at Coach.Matt@cheerfullout.com. I will be sure to respond in order to confirm your lesson ASAP!
Q: I’m very interested in scheduling a lesson, but am afraid that I’ll miss an announcement.
A: If you want to book a lesson, but are afraid of missing an availability announcement on facebook, contact me directly by email, text, or phone to let me know you’re interested! As soon as a lesson becomes available, I will personally call, text, or email to inform you of the opening!
I’m looking forward to working with many of the athletes I have missed over these past few months, as well as athletes new to Core Athletix this season!
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me!
Coach Matt Faherty
Cell: 585-402-1400
Email: coach.matt@cheerfullout.com
Matt’s Musings – Why Learning to Tumble is Like Learning to Read
After thinking about it a lot today, I realized that learning to tumble is a lot like learning to read. When you learn to read, you first need to learn each letter of the alphabet and the sound(s) it makes. Then you start to put basic words together using those letters and sounds. Finally you start to learn about more complex words, and tricky letter combinations and sounds.
Tumbling is much the same way. First you must learn body positions; tuck, hallow, arch, pike, lunge, etc. Then you start putting simple body positions together in a sequence. Handstands, forward rolls, and cartwheels are a good example of this. Last, we learn about using those same basic movements in more complex ways, learning tricky combinations of those same body positions. ex. Back handspring, front tuck, etc.
Far too often, we as coaches skip teaching those basic body shapes, and skills properly, or don’t spend enough time mastering them. I can’t count how many cheerleaders I have met through the years who were working back tucks without mastering a backward roll, who say they need to get their back handspring, when they can’t hold a handstand properly, and who want to work fulls, but can’t perfectly execute a layout.
If you have ever wondered why so many kids get mental blocks, try handing an encyclopedia to a second grader and ask them to read it. There might be some words in it that look familiar to them, but 98% of it will do nothing but cause confusion and anxiety. By letting kids work these hard skills before TRULY mastering basics, we only set them up for failure. We are teaching them to memorize and recite Shakespeare before they can sound out “See Spot Run” on their own.
By teaching kids from the start that each skill is not a unique snowflake, but just a series of previously learned, familiar, body shapes we make the skills much less overwhelming to learn, and unlock the ability for kids to be able to safely practice “sounding out new words” in classes without constantly needing a spot, constant feedback, and 1 on 1 attention.
Anyways, that’s just what’s been on my mind today. Make it a good week everyone!
-Coach Matt
Matt’s Post-Surgery Update
I just wanted to let everyone know how my recovery is going, and take this time to shed some light on when I will be returning to the gym for lessons. I would have wrote you all sooner, but typing with one hand is more difficult than one would think.
It’s been a little over a month now, and I have been out of the gym longer than I planned. The damage done to my shoulder was greater than the surgeon first anticipated. What the orthopedic thought was a small tear, or a series of tears to the labrum of my shoulder, turned out to be a complete detachment of my labrum from the rest of my shoulder. The surgery was much more extensive, requiring 10 anchors to reassemble my shoulder, nearly double the amount of time in the O.R. , and a more lengthy, and in depth recovery process.
Over the past few weeks, I have been in the gym only briefly for my team’s practices, relying on the generosity of my boss Rob, my family members, and athletes for transportation, since I am still unable to drive.
I will slowly be returning to classes, and opening up times for lessons when I am cleared to drive, and my pain is under control, allowing me to be at the gym for more extended periods.
The good news is, although some days are better than others, in general, my pain has been getting better as I progress with my physical therapy. If all goes as planned, I will be out of my sling in 1-3 weeks, and able to drive shortly after.
Expect news of my returning to the gym for lessons in mid to late April. By then, lets hope this weather gets better and spring begins to show it’s face!
Wishing all of you the best, and hugs for my athletes,
– Coach Matt
Full-Out: Cheer & Fitness
My Thought Tonight
Tumbling is about the journey, not the destination.
Teaching it is a service, not a product.
A skill can not be bought like a commodity. — It can only be learned by practice and mastery of various fundamental sub-skills.
To lack the desire to learn, or to be taught is the only limiting factor.
And it is one that the athletes themselves control.
Make it a great week!
-Matt Faherty
Core Athletix Pearls (Half-Year Junior Level 1) December Workout
Pearls – December Workout
This workout will take approximately 15 minutes. Each exercise should be done for 45 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest! This work out should be done 3-5 times AT HOME, in addition to at practice.
Jumping Jacks
Ski Jump (Side-to-Side)
Shoulder tap (in pushup position)
High Knees (in place)
Reverse Jumping Jack
Plank Hold
Flutter Kicks (in hollow position)
Wall-Sit
Squat (frog) Jump
Table-Top Hold
Pushups
Hollow-Hold (banana)
Arch-Hold (superman)
Hop-Hop-Squat
Inch-Worm (feet in place)
Solving Mental Blocks: Another Approach
Most of us in cheerleading are familiar with Debbie Love’s “Breaking Free” method of resolving an athletes mental blocks. I think this is a great resource and really helps get people past their mental block. She goes into a lot of detail explaining why and how kids develop the block. I think everyone who wants to know more needs to read it.
My goal is two-fold. One, cure the mental block and two, eliminate mental blocks from forming. Most people I speak to talk about them as an annoyance with which they can’t be bothered with. They haven’t put the time in to consider why it happened. Debbie goes into detail with many “why’s” but if you go to the root you will notice two major causes.
The two most common causes are:
- Lack of Progression
- Stress: (School work, prior injury, parent, coach, growth spurt and many others)
Really…
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Full-Out: Cheer and Fitness 