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 Cheer Tips Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Tryout tips from a Junior Cheerleader
I did 6th grade cheerleading and you can earn points at try-outs by: pointing your toes when you do a toe touch etc... and when you land your toe touch land with your hands by your side with your feet together and your head facing the ground!!!!!!!!! Hope it helps it sure helped me!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whenever you are a new team learning pyramids for the first time there are a few safety rules you will want to consider: Spotting: We often use additional spotters when building a pyramid who may not be there during the performance. Make sure each person spotting is assigned a flyer to be responsible for. Each spotter should be focusing on either the hips or the head of their assigned flyer depending on where the flyer is most likely to fall and who else is there to catch her (him). REMEMBER: The most effective way to spot is to first STOP the person's momentum by applying a force that pushes against them, then pull them into your torso by their hips, and lastly, absorb their weight by bending your legs. Connecting: Flyers should try connecting their bodies in whichever way they will in the air - on the ground first. No flyer should bear the weight of another flyer unless you are building a 2.5 high pyramid. Always check to make sure the flyer's weight is traveling in a linear direction over the person who is bearing her weight. Example 1: on an inside heel stretch pyramid the outside flyers should have all of their weight over their bases and should not lean into the middle flyer. They should hold the weight of their stretched leg using their hip flexors and have the middle flyer there for support only. Example 2: on a 2.5 high 2.2.1 pyramid the 3rd level flyer should make sure her hips are directly in line with the mid-base's body, and the mid-base's bodies should line up with the 1st level bases. Anytime a member of a pyramid isn't tight (hollow body - chest up belly button pressed towards the back) the pyramid will become unstable because that line is broken. Flyers must remember not to hold on to each other during dismounts or if the pyramid is coming down. Trouble Shooting: When building a new pyramid always review every possible scenario before putting it up. Let everyone know all of the things that you can foresee going wrong using logical laws of gravity and physics ;) Happy Building!
Many coaches complain that while their bases can hold a heel stretch, their tops cannot. Here is an effective drill for the whole team that will improve flexability, strength, balance, and confidence for all. Cheerleaders should stand on the ground and kick their leg straight in front of them and grab the outside and sole of their foot (thumb on the shoe laces and fingers on the sole of the shoe). Their hip is then under the body. Most cheerleaders have a tendency to pull their stretch out to the side, causing the stunt to rotate towards the stretched leg. Watch for bodies that lean forwad into the leg - this means they are not flexible enough. All cheerleaders should do the drill where they kick their leg forward, grab their foot, and hold it until you say to release it. Then repeat. The kick should be fast and the down should be fast. Cheerleaders must pull up in their chest while kicking up and while holding their leg. Watch for bent legs on the bottom leg as well! Happy Stretching!
Before you start throwing anyone in the air you should get some time at a gymnastics club and have the flyer practice the tucks in the pit to get used to rotating. Once she has done it a few times straight into the pit, place a soft blue mat on top so she has something to spot for on the landing and has an easier time getting out of the pit. She should think about the following things when she practices:
For the bases: Both the turbo and the third should watch the head and feet of the flyer alternately and be ready to catch either. Please also note that the basket tosses should be high (three counts of music to the top approximately), that you should use mats to learn this skill, and that your team should be at the collegiate level in North America, or ladies A level in Europe.
Grab a shoe! You can work out hand and finger positions, coordinate with your base group, and visualize. Especially for crazy regrabs or stunts that move or twist, a moment with a shoe can solve a lot of problems before you even start!
Deciding how to do your hair can be one of the least stressful parts of competing, or the most! It is a good idea to get the opinion of your teammates on hair. It can turn out to be a kind of team bonding activity in itself. Some styles that I have seen personally are: Pig tails (curly or straight, low or high), two braids, two buns low or high on the head, french braids (really neat and tidy), or the old standards, high pony tail with ringlets, or half up half down with ringlets. (check your rule book to see if this one is allowed). A lot of teams are also doing corn rows, or just corn rows on the top of the head and the rest curled or straight (again check the rules). When it comes to bows or scrunchies, bows are more popular than scrunchies, and can look really effective. The best bows (in my opinion) are gros grain because they stay stiff, and if they are fat they make more of an impact - especially if they are a bold colour. If you are using the silky bows, spray them first with hair spray so they are wet and then blow dry them, the will be VERY stiff after that and will stay in place. A lot of teams are using very thin ribbons in different colours in their hair which can have a nice effect, or are also nice when included with a fatter bow. Patterns can look fun too, such as polka dots or stripes. When you go to buy bows (at a fabric store) take the end and tie the ribbon the way you will wear it in your hair. Then have your peices cut a little longer than that so you can cut them with notches in the ends, or angled. When you cut the ends, it is a good idea to take some clear nail polish and paint the ends so they do not fray. Seom teams use hair pieces as well, to make all the hair look the same colour. Whatever you decide, make sure you are all doing the same thing, and leave time the day of the competition to touch up everyone's hair. It is a good idea to have parent volunteers to help make sure everyone's hair is done the same.
When doing a toe touch, it is easy to focus mainly on your legs and forget about the role the rest of your body plays in having a great jump. Here are a couple of points to remember for the rest of you:
First you have to make sure all of the other important things are covered. It is hard to not roll your ankles in a torch! many people (inlcuding me) find them harder to stick then liberties!!! There are a lot of excercises you can do to strengthen your ankles including calf raises (stand on the edge of a stair on your toes and raise and lower your body weight), which is a very good start. When stunting, you must make sure that you are pulled up in your diaphram area (like you've just hiccuped), and that your main leg is locked out. Also, your bent leg must be high enough to rest a cup on it that wouldn't fall off. And, of course, you are looking up (straight ahead). Once you have all of that taken care of, and you are sure that your bases are holding your foot flat and not pushing up on your toes or heel, you can try the following tricks.
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Successful stunting is about confidence, take your time and get into a positive zone before you attempt your stunts and you will see REAL results.
Full downs can be really easy if you spend enough time practicing on the ground before you get into the air . . .
On the ground . . . The top stands facing away from the bases with her arms in the motion they will be in before she pulls her full (usually a high v). Top pulls up in her chest and then wraps her arms in to initaite the full while spinning on the ground and leans back slightly to land in their cradle. Tips Tops:
Once you are ready for the air....
Most common fulling problems:
How is it that you think you know what you're supposed to do, but when you get in the air you suddenly can't do it? When you are stunting, your brain has a limited amount of time to think about several things at once. Movements in cheerleading are fast and explosive and usually require several muscles in order to be effective. When learning a new skill, your body and brain can only work on one thing at a time - which usually means your toes are pointed, but your arms aren't straight, or you're looking at your shoulder, but your hips are flying free. This is why it is so important to practice the trick or the movement BEFORE you get into the air. When your body does the same thing over and over it becomes a habit that you do not have to think about anymore. So . . . before you try a new stunt or trick, don't just practice the movement one or two times, practice it 20 or 30 times until you are confident that you can do it almost without thinking. Then, when you do get in the air, it will take less tries to get it right and less potential pain for you and your bases! Above all else . . . be patient! No one is perfect, and by being patient with yourself and your team mates, you will help create an environment where people feel confident when trying new things. When you and your team mates try new things, your whole team gets better!
When performing any stunt the safest way to bring it down is to give the top her feet back. If a flyer begins to fall out of a stunt and her bases hold onto her feet and legs, she has no chance of landing upright and it means that another part of her body is going to move towards the ground first. Consequently, many tops, when they come down, try to wiggle their feet out of their bases hands, or reach for their spotters or bases - often resulting in scratches, bruises, or elbows and knees to the head. In order to avoid this, both the top and bases must train themselves to react differently when a stunt is coming down. Practice this skill: put your stunts up and bring them right back down again (example: a liberty that goes almost to the top and is lowered down with the bases reaching up and slowing her down with one hand and holding her foot with the other and then moving their hand off the foot to reach up her leg as though they were climbing a rope). Make sure the top stays pulled up in her liberty position through the entire drill and does not bend her knees or look at the floor. When your flyers get in the habit of staying locked out whether the stunt is going up or coming down you will have a lot better of a chance of sticking your stunts and will have safer landings with less occurrences of bases getting hurt when a stunt comes down. Happy spotting!!!!
Try outs are one of the only times as a cheerleader where you have to stand out amongst your (potential) team mates. Since it is all about getting noticed, try these things to be noticed without being obnoxious:
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