Question by iliana: How to prepare for cheerleading tryouts?
the tennis thing didn’t work so im going to try out for cheerleading this year. since i missed it last year.i just need to know like some stretches or something to do to help be succesful at tryouts.
***tryouts are in like a month or two.
Best answer:
Answer by PaytonAlex14
Well start out in a straddle (V-sit) on the floor and go to the right hold for 20 then the left hold for 20 and to the middle hold for 30. (those times are all seconds btw).
Then do a pike and tough your toes or go as far down as you can with pointed toes hold for 20 then grab your toes flexed and pull them up.
Next do a butterfly stretch and hold for at least 20.
then get up on one knee and lean forward pushing your hip down and making sure that the front knee doesn’t go past your front toe. Hold for 30.
next lean back on to your back leg (butt on your heal) and reach forward to your toes as far as you can. hold for 30.
then go back to the kneeling position and lean forward then grab your back foot to stretch your quad. hold for 30.
if you can, slide out into the splits and hold for 30. if not then switch to the other leg.
next you can sit however you want because this is an arm stretch.
put your left arm straight out in front of you with your palm facing up, cross your right arm across your body to where your for arm touches the inside of your left elbow. bend your left arm and you should feel a stretch in your right shoulder area. hold for 20 and switch arms.
now lie on your back with your knees bent and facing the ceiling and your hands on the ground close to your head with your fingers pointed to your shoulders. If you can, press up into a back bend or “bridge” and hold for 20.
those are all the main stretches. If you want, you can also go up to a wall and stretch your caves.
Practice: You should practice jumps, motions, smiling, and tumbling if needed.
JUMPS: toetouch- just like the straddle sit but you want to keep your chest up (youtube should have examples on how to do these jumps)
hurkey or hurdler
pike
MOTIONS: High V- Arms UP and in a V form. *always make sure to have your hands in fists* when you are doing a High V the side of your fists that has your thumbs should b facing the crowd. THE DIRECTION OF YOUR FISTS IS CRUCIAL!
Low V- same as high V but down. Thumb side facing out
T- Arms out and in a t formation with thumb sides out towards crowd
Broken T- Arms in same position as in T but you bend your elbows in to where it looks like the T has been “shortened”
Touchdown- both arms straight up and elbows touching the temples on you head. Thumbs facing behind you
Right Punch- left arm is on you hip in fist and right arm is in a Touchdown position
Left Punch- Same as right but other hand
CLAPS: Clasp- turn one hand out towards the crowd and the other crosses it perpendicularly then close hands to clap
Barbie Clap or Blade Clap- hands in “blades” which means all fingers straight and fingers together then clap with your hands in alignment
TIPS: remember to always be loud and smile! you may also want to look up some chants and cheers just to get the hang of how to say them. Youtube has several videos of Chants and Cheers. You should look at them and learn a couple of them just to get the feel of it. Good luck and always remember to have fun!
One more thing… being a cheerleader means being a role model. A good quote to keep in mind is “Remember: there is always a little girl in the stands that wants to be just like you… don’t disappoint her.” This means that little girls look up to you and if you do wrong, they probably will want to as well
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There are lots of things you can start working on to prepare yourself for tryouts. But don’t wait! Cheerleading skills take time and practice to master – so the sooner you begin, and the harder you work at it, the better off you’ll be! Here are some things to work on:
Jumps: There are four main jumps in cheerleading – the toe touch, pike jump, herkie and front hurdler. You can search the web to see what they look like, but it’s important to learn them correctly. The judges will be looking at your form, not just how high you can jump. Sign up for a cheer class or clinic, or take a couple private lessons, so you can learn the proper technique from an expert. Then go home and practice, practice, practice!
Tumbling: Most schools don’t require tumbling skills, but the girls who can tumble will score higher. So start RIGHT NOW with some tumbling classes (not gymnastics), and keep them up until tryouts. A back handspring – and better yet, a back tuck – will help your score a lot; but even a roundoff will get you some points for tumbling. The more often you go, the faster you’ll progress… so go more than once a week if you can! You can also get some extra practice by attending open gyms, and taking private lessons.
Motions: You’ll probably be taught a cheer to perform at tryouts, and you’ll be judged on how sharp and tight your motions are. See if you can learn a cheer ahead of time – any cheer, it doesn’t matter – and practice at home in front of a mirror. Watch to make sure you’re hitting each position precisely, with straight arms and quick, sharp motions. Taking a dance class can also help a lot!
Voice Projection: Cheerleaders need to be loud – but not screechy. When you shout your cheer, yell from your diaphram and make your voice deep, sharp and clear. This sounds easy, but it takes some practice to get it right. And when you’re jumping around in a cheer and yelling at the same time, it’s easy to become breathless and lose your voice! So start “training” your voice by yelling a chant or cheer while you’re doing something active – jumping jacks, jogging in place, etc.
Spiriting: You’ll probably be expected to do some spiriting when you try out. That’s when you jump around and yell things like “Alright! Let’s go Eagles! Fire it up!” while doing some simple arm motions. If you’re not used to doing that, it can feel pretty weird… and you might not know exactly what to do or say. So go to a game, watch the cheerleaders, and see what they do. Make a note of some of the things they say, and what they do with their arms. Then go home and practice in front of your mirror. Make up a little “spiriting routine” that you can practice, so it will become more natural for you.
Smile: The number one tip people give for cheer tryouts is to SMILE! Sounds simple enough, but it’s easy to forget when you’re out there concentrating on your jumps or cheer. So start working on it now. Whenever you practice anything – jumps, cheers, etc – do it with a smile. That way it will become a habit, and you won’t have to concentrate on smiling when you’re out there in front of the judges.
To get an idea of what the judges are looking for, here’s a typical score sheet that many schools use:
Entrance/Smile – 5 pts
Crowd appeal (neat, pleasant appearance) – 5 pts
Spirit (being peppy) – 5 pts
Voice Projection (being loud but not screechy) – 5 pts
Motions (being sharp) – 10 pts
Memory/Recall (ability to learn the cheer) – 10 pts
Jumps (height and technique) – 15 pts
Tumbling (difficulty and form) – 10-15 pts
Dance ability – 5-10 pts
Grades – 10 pts
Citizenship – 20 pts
Total Possible points – 100 pts
I hope this helps some! Good luck!