Question by LoLa: Cheerleading?
I’m a high school freshman and I’m thinking about trying out for cheerleading for my Sophomore year. I don’t really have any expirience in Cheerleading. I’d like to know more information. So if any of you have tips,suggestions,or advice please let me know.
Thanks in Advance. 🙂
My School doesn’t do competitions.
Best answer:
Answer by rissanicolex3
Go for it. You might still make the team. The high school I went to had one of the top comp. teams in the country, & many of the people on it didn’t have any cheering experience. So you might have a good shot, especially if your school doesn’t compete. I’d help you a bit if you started taking some tumbling/acro &/or dance classes. Some areas even have a cheer gym you can go to to learn cheering. But if you can’t afford it, start stretching everyday to gain some flexibility. & work on russians/toe touch jumps. They’re very basic jumps you can figure out how to do on your own, or find it on a you tube video. You’ll most likely be asked to do a russian when you try out. && don’t forget, spirit & personality will take you far in cheering =]
Give your answer to this question below!
Read American cheerleader or visit their site…SOOO many tips for trying out!
Hope I helped!
♥S♥
There are like four major things you need to work on to be able to be a good cheerleader. Motions, knowing the Material, Jumps, and Tumbling.
Your Motions should be very sharp when you cheer or dance. remember to keep your arms stiff and your muscles tight. Your transitions should be smooth, snappy and quick. You should punch your motions out with a lot of strength. Your wrists should never be bent or out of alignment with your arms. If you’re in an extended motion, your elbows should be locked. Your arms should always be slightly in front of you and level. Don’t let your arms bounce or jiggle. Know in what direction your fist should be facing. Keep your thumbs outside your fist. Take the shortest distance to the next motion and wait until the last second to make it. Move quickly and precisely. Your motions should correspond with the syllables of the words in your cheer/chant or the count of your dance routines and stunts. Arm Strengthening – Do arm strengthening exercises like push ups and weight lifting. They offer some great ways to improve the strength in your arms and shoulders. Good motions are made with strong arms.
Hit your motions quickly – Then hold it for about 30 seconds as tight as you can. One tip in the forum also mentions tightening your butt muscles when you do this. As that will tighten your other muscles. Work in front of a mirror or video yourself – Stand in front of a mirror and watch as you hit your motions. Look for arm position, fist position and any extra unnecessary movements. Then close your eyes and hit the motion again. Open your eyes and look in the mirror to see how you did. Even when practicing other things, be sure you’re completing your motions. Don’t get lazy and halfway do them. Always complete each motion to the end.
Practice with your squad – Coordinate your motions and make sure you’re doing them in unison. Most motions have an opposite or reverse corresponding motion. Be sure to practice both. Use your imagination, you can combine motions. Try different and unique sequences. Be creative.
There are a few basic motions you should learn before you go out and start learning the material:
High V, Lunge, Half High V, Low V, Right “K” Motion, Left “K” Motion, Right “L” Motion, Left “L” Motion, Right diagonal, Left diagonal, T Motion, Half T or Broken T, Touchdown, Low touchdown, Daggers, and Right Punch
These websites are really helpful with that:
>http://www.cheermanitoba.ca/motion-gallery.asp
>http://cheerleading.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=cheerleading&cdn=sports&tm=5&gps=89_394_1276_654&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/3564/motions.html
>http://www.mspineapple.com/motions.html
You have to be really concentrating when you learn the material. The dances are in counts of 8. So like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1.. and so on. It really helps if you count these counts in your head when you are dancing. If you are trying out and you forget some of the material, don’t worry about it! Just ask if you can start it over and go from there.
Jumps are important in cheerleading. There are all kinds of jumps in cheerleading, like:
ToeTuch-(basically the most important jump in cheerleading) To do a toetuch, Start off by stretching out. Make sure you are warmed up before you actually throw any jumps to avoid pulling or straining muscles. Next do 3 sets of leg lifts: sit in a straddle on the floor, hands are behind you for support (hands should be on the floor, under or near your tail), slightly lean back and lift both legs (about a foot off the floor), keep your legs STRAIGHT, WITHOUT your legs touching the floor lift them 10 times, release, count to 10 for a breather and repeat. Do a total of 3 sets. Leg lifts are hard but it will strengthen your legs and improve the height of your jumps!!!
After leg lifts we do side high kicks: arms in a T motion, with right leg kick 5 times, breather for for 5 seconds, switch to left leg 5 times. Ready to begin: Throw your toe touch, count 5-6-7-8, throw another, then repeat. When you are throwing your toe touch: Make sure you have a good prep (feet and legs together, bending knees, keeping your back straight). Really concentrate on using the muscles in your legs when prepping, after all that is how you get off the ground in the first place :). When you are in your toe touch position (in the air) DON’T reach for your legs. Arms should be in a ‘T’. Bring your legs to your arms, not arms to your legs! Keep your legs straight. Bent knees make a toe touch look sloppy. POINT YOUR TOES, and when landing, make sure your feet are together… DON’T FORGET TO SMILE!! 🙂
>http://cheerleading.about.com/library/jumps/bljump_bre.htm
>http://cheerleading.about.com/library/jumps/bljump_lamario.htm
>http://cheerleading.about.com/od/jumps/l/bljump_southeu.htm
Herkie- A hurkey is kind of like a jazz spit in the air if you know what that is. Here are the steps to doing a herkie: Stretch a lot.The more you stretch the better your herkie.
Stand straight. Put your hands at your side then prep or jump up. Snap leg straight up and make sure your leg is straight and stiff. Have your opposite leg go as far back as it can go. Put arms in a high V position. Land with your feet together and your arms at your side. Don’t forget to smile! Keep on practicing over and over.
>http://cheerleading.about.com/od/jumps/l/bljump_renee.htm
>http://cheerleading.about.com/library/jumps/bljump_adrianna.htm
Hurdler- The Front Hurdler jump is almost identical to the Herkie jump with the exception of your front leg. In a Front Hurdler your front(straight) leg is right in front of your face and your bent leg has the knee pointing down to the ground. There are right and left Front Hurdlers. In a right Front Hurdler the right leg is the straight leg and the opposite is true for a left Front Hurdler.
>http://cheerleading.about.com/library/jumps/bljump_mineola.htm
>http://cheerleading.about.com/library/jumps/bljump_lorelei.htm
Pike- You might think of the pike as a fish, well in this case its not. The pike jump is consdiered to be the most diffucult jump in the history of cheering. As you know the prep is the same, hit the highV, cross at the waist, bend your knees, and when you go to jump pull your legs in front of you and reach for your toes. I’ve had many troubles with this jump, so if you don’t nail it the first time around, dont be bummed, just try it again. Your jumps will always get better when you do them over and over again. GOOD LUCK!
>http://cheerleading.about.com/library/jumps/bljump_willy.htm
>http://cheerleading.about.com/od/jumps/l/bljump_mel_pike.htm
Tumbling: I would recomend going to a tumbling class or something. don’t try to do anything on your own, because you might and probably will, hurt yourself. The most common tumbling passes are roundoff backhandspring, roundoff back tuck, and roundoff backhandspring tuck. You can go on youtube and search “backhandsprings” “back tucks” “cheerleading tumbling passes” or anything like that sort of thig and there will be like a million videos.
I tihnk you should try out. Good Luck!
Start taking a tumbling class, or private lessons. Then by the time there are tryouts you’ll understand what tumbling is like.
. Everything you do needs to be crisp and pop, you need to be stiff. stretch out whenever you can to get your jumps higher. stretch,stretch and stretch. work on perfecting any gymnastics abilities you have At try-outs smile and make eye contact with the judges {if you can’t make eye contact because it makes you nervous look directly above their head} do facials and if you mess up do not worry or let it show just keep smiling until you get to a part you remember and pick it up. work on your splits. Also judges look for how you present yourself. have your hair in a high ponytail with no flyaways, the only make-up you should wear it foundation to keep your skin from getting oily, wear a white shirt and black shorts, tuck in your shirt. and wear clean white shoes. no jewelery, make-up, or nail polish. When the coaches teach you the cheer and routine, don’t be afraid to ask questions. because if it comes down to a tie for the last spot and your part of that tie the coaches normally pick and they will choose the girl who seemed most dedicated, questions make you seem interested. Write down the steps they teach you so you don’t forget. Ask if you can get a copy of the music to practice at home. On the day of try-outs make sure your eat a good meal and stretch run through it once in your head and breath. take something with you like a coloring book to entertain you while you are waiting and no matter what if you don’t make it or if you do remember the experiences and you can always try out next year. I have been a cheerleader since I was 8 and I’m now a competitive cheerleader and I didn’t make it my first year. Also make sure you are loud… don’t scream but shout. Use a deep voice deep voices travel further.
well since its just sideline mainly just learn to be crisp and tight and always have a big smile on your face and enjoy what you do