Cheerleading Help? For Someone Who Knows Nothing About Cheer??

Question

See I want to tryout for cheer in 9th grade [Im starting 8th so I have a whole year] but I know nothing about it. I mean I know a few basic things like: High V, Low V, and Candlesticks. But that's absoloutely it.

What should I do? Should I take like gymnastics/tumbling lessons to help, cause I can't find any cheer classes.

Can any please just tell me something that'll help. Like maybe a site that has a list of fundementals, or places I could go. Anything really would be great.

BTW If you live in Maryland and know of any classes I should take to help me that'd be great.

Answer 1

its okay ur coach will teach u.

Answer 2

First of all, relax! I knew nothing at my first tryout as well, and they taught us everything we needed to know. Gymnastics would help tremendously. Tumbling is a big part of cheerleading nowadays, so it would help a lot when trying out. Here's a website that I just found:

http://aescougarcheer.com/Cheer101/basic...

What the actual process is like varies by school, but I'll just tell you what mine was like. So, the first 3 days, they taught us a cheer, a sideline, a dance, and all of the cheer basics. Then on the 4th day was the actual tryout, which we did w/ a partner in front of the two judges. They had us do just about everything we were taught. They had us show them 2 jumps, a kick, the sideline, the cheer, and the dance. Here are some basic tryout tips:

1) Smile a lot! Even when you're dead tired and you feel like your going to drop, force yourself to grin. That shows that you can look good in front of a crowd no matter what

2) Be sharp with your motions. Hit them so hard that your elbows hurt! Make your motions nice and crisp, don't slack off. If you're sharp, it will make your routine look prettier.

3) Out of practice, stretch a lot so that you're nice and limber for tryouts. Flexibility helps a lot in cheerleading

4) Be LOUD!! Even if the other girls aren't really opening up and you feel like your the only one yelling (even if you feel dorky) keep up the loudness. This is so important to get the crowd pumped up. Also be clear and articulate when cheering, so that they can understand what your saying and follow you. Don't use a sing-songy voice either. Even if you feel like you sound like a man, it will sound better to the crowd.

5) Learn how to fix your mistakes quickly. Don't be afraid to make mistakes - everybody does. What the coaches will be looking at is if and how fast you can fix them. This shows that you'll be easy to work with during practices.

6) Always stay positive and show spirit! Show them that you won't complain at practices, and that you'll always be willing. Be happy, and show them that you're glad to be there and having fun. For the day of the tryout, (if you have one) wear a shirt with you school's color, mascot, etc. on it. Wear a hairbow with your school colors. Be creative.

Hope this helps, and good luck at tryouts! Cheers!