Question by Mackenzie: What kind of conditioning do i need to do to be a Cheerleader?
OK.
so I’m in 8th grade and i want to join the cheer squad but i cant do like anything that has to do with gymnastics.So have about 9 months in-tell i try out so do you have any ideas with out having to go to gymnastics or buy anything. Any ideas to be more flex able oh and right now I play volleyball and do P>E in school.
~Please help~
Best answer:
Answer by Melanie
Definitely enroll in gymnastics. Tumbling will be the key later on, and the sooner you learn how to do a back handspring the more comfortable you will be with it. Also making sure your motions are sharp and quick. Watch yourself in a mirror doing “high V’s.” Watch some cheerleading on ESPN if you can find it or maybe try and find some videos online. Watch them and model yourself after them. Good luck!
What do you think? Answer below!
idk you gotta know some sort of gymnastics like tumbling classes and what not
tips for tryouts http://www.cheerleadingcanada.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50:tips-for-tryouts&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=85
It’s great that you’re planning in advance! Cheerleading requires some skills, and it takes time and practice to learn them. If you start right now and work hard until tryouts, you’ll have plenty of time to get ready! Here are some things to work on:
Jumps: There are three main jumps in cheerleading – the toe touch, pike jump, and front hurdler. You can search the web to see what they look like, but it’s important to learn them correctly. So sign up for a cheer class or clinic, or take a couple private lessons, so you can learn the proper technique. 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, and keep them up until tryouts. You don’t have to do gymnastics (which involves bars, beam and vault) – just tumbling, where you’ll learn roundoffs, back handsprings, and other skills on the floor. In 9 months, you may be able to learn a back handspring – and that will help your score a lot. The more often you go, the faster you’ll progress… so go as often as you can!
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 lose your breathe! So start “training” your voice by yelling a chant or cheer while you’re doing something active – jumping, 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 strange… and you might not know exactly what to do. 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 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
Hope this helps some! Good luck!