Question by Amu: What does being a cheerleading require?
Okay so I want to tryout for cheerleading when i go to highschool and i’ve seen some youtube videos and i’m kind of freaked out. First of all do you have know how to do all of the jumps to make the tryouts? And what is the criteria for cheerleading?
Best answer:
Answer by Melissa
You can’t be afraid to fall on your butt, thats for sure. Have strong arms (youll be doing alot of heavy-lifting *the other cheerleaders*) Yes, you do have to have atleast some acrebatic skills. You wont be excepted if youre all still and stuff.
Good luck
What do you think? Answer below!
first things to make sure you can do are (if you dont know google):
hurkey
toe touch (straddle)
toe touch (pike)
cartwheel
rounoff
backhandspring
practice left and right splits as well as middle splits
learn basic stunt sequences also when I had tryouts we had to run a lot at the beginning so work on that aswell. They may also test sit ups and pushups
hahaha Candy, people like you are the ones who tend to add to the Cheerleader stereotype. Not all cheerleaders are sluts. Usually cheerleaders just hang out with cheerleaders because we are all really good friends.. and we have higher standards for our friends.
but to answer your question Hun.
You are going to want a back-handspring. The more tumbling you can do the more valuable you are to your squad. BE FLEXIBLE!!! Not only with your body but with your mind. Not everything is going to go your way, but realize that it is probably what’s good for the squad as a whole. Stretch a lot. Your team is only as strong as your weakest link. GET RUNNING!! Starting now! Run a mile everyday. It will get you in great shape and it will give you endurance. LIFT WEIGHTS!! Not only will that help your tumbling but it will improve your stunting skills. you can look up the jumps online..
oh and by the way a toe touch is a toe touch. A pike is not a damn toe touch!!! A pike is a jump generally facing to the right or left and both legs coming up at the same time and together!! There is a difference. If you don’t know the difference you shouldn’t be a cheerleader!
Every school has its own requirments for making the cheer team. But regardless of the requirements, the most important factor is how you compare to the other girls who try out. Cheer tryouts is a competition – you’re competing against other girls for a spot on the team.
You won’t know what the other girls can do until you see them at tryouts. And you have no control over what they can do, anyway. But you DO have control over what YOU can do! So start RIGHT NOW getting yourself ready! 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!