For our “Go, Go Gadget!” review feature, we asked the athletes at Oklahoma Twisters to road test the MyoSource Cheer Kinetic Bands.

What It Is: Designed to improve jumps, flexibility and overall performance, MyoSource’s Cheer Kinetic Bands are leg resistance bands geared at ages seven and higher. They come in two sizes (for those under and over 110 pounds). The product also comes with a flexibility stretching strap (available in four colors) that can help ease stress on joints and provide a practice tool for scorpions and heel stretches.

Our Testers: Athletes at Oklahoma Twisters (Oklahoma City), led by coach Craig Hallmark

How and why they used them: According to Hallmark, jumps have always been one of the strong points of the Oklahoma Twisters program—and he’s open to anything that helps lengthen that legacy. “I liked the idea of Cheer Kinetic Bands because it adds another layer to make our jumps even stronger,” he shares. “When I work with [external] programs on choreography, it always surprises me how much poor technique there is on jumps and that people don’t spend more time on them. At Oklahoma Twisters, we spend at least 30 minutes during every practice.”

For the purposes of the product test, Hallmark introduced the Cheer Kinetic Bands during private jump and tumbling instruction with various athletes from ages 8-14. “We started by doing kicks, then did jumps, followed by conditioning at the end,” shares Hallmark.

What they loved: Hallmark says he prefers Cheer Kinetic Bands to similar products he’s tried in the past. “The other ones we’ve used had a thicker Velcro thing and it was more of a nuisance,” shares Hallmark. “I liked that the Cheer Kinetic Bands had interchangeable bands with differing resistance, making it accessible to more age groups. It allows for a wide range of athletes to use the product.”

What they thought could be improved: “Some of the kids who are small for their age group had a problem keeping the Velcro on; it was slipping down just a little bit, so we’d have to readjust and tighten up again,” says Hallmark. “However, I recognize that it can be difficult to target a whole age group.” Hallmark is also curious to see how the longevity of the product stacks up: “These bands are thinner than those I’ve used in the past—that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’m eager to see how the wear-and-tear is.”

The verdict: Though some of the athletes were skeptical at first, their reactions were positive after testing Cheer Kinetic Bands. “I heard athletes saying things like, ‘These are really going to help my jumps,’” says Hallmark. “In the end, I think these bands will help build muscle memory and strengthen the muscles that are needed for jumps. Repetition will be key—using them over and over again—and I plan to use them as a station when we do conditioning, as well as in privates.”

How to get it: www.myosource.com/cheer-kinetic-bands/