Question by Julia Inspi: What kind of things do you have to know how to do to become a high school cheerleader?
i’m trying to get on the b-team this year and i want to be prepared to get on the top cheerleading team…so what do you have to know how to do? (back-hand spring, cartwheel, etc.)
Best answer:
Answer by Ashley
Every school has different skill requirements… and whether you make it or not will depend on how well you do the skills compared to the other girls trying out. The best way to find out what’s required at YOUR school is to ask the cheer coach, or someone who’s tried out in the past… and to watch the current cheerleaders and see what skills they can do.
That said… here’s a general list of skills that you should be familiar with. If you can master these skills, you should have a good chance of making the squad at any school!
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. 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, and keep them up until tryouts. Learning a back handspring will greatly increase your chances of making a cheer team; if you have a back tuck, even better! 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!
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