Cheerleading Tips
Cheerleading Tips for Beginners
If you are getting ready to try out for the squad and have already been practicing, then you might be looking for more cheerleading tips to give you the edge over your competition. Cheerleading is a competitive sport, like most sports, although it can be rewarding and a lot of fun, too.
So what are some cheerleading tips for beginners?
1. Be Loud- In cheerleading, you need to belt it out. The people in the very back of the coliseum need to be able to hear you. It’s much better to be wrong, and be loud about it, then to know all of the words and to whisper them. If nobody can hear you, then you can’t motivate the crowd, and that is what cheerleaders do. Besides, being loud shows the coaches, as well as the audience, that you have assurance and confidence and this will give you an extra boost when it comes to the competition.
2. Smile- Non-cheerleaders might think that cheering is easy, but it isn’t always a walk in the park. Cheerleaders have to be perky and smile no matter what they are going through. The audience and the team that you are cheering for won’t care if you just broke up with your significant other or if it is that time of the month. Therefore, cheerleaders have to learn to grin and bear it, as tough as that might be. You are there to support your team, and to encourage the crowd to support them as well-even if your team is losing. You are the morale booster.
3. Concise Movements- This is no time to get sloppy. Your movements need to be tight and concise. Why? Because when you are out there with a bunch of other girls, and guys, it helps show uniformity. That means that when you are clapping, you shouldn’t let your hands go past your shoulders. It also means that when you are doing your tumbling, you need to keep your legs straight and your arms where they are supposed to be. A lazy looking cheerleader is not an attractive looking one.
4. Practice Your Tumbling- One of the best cheerleading tips is to practice your tumbling. When your mother was a girl, her cheerleading skills probably consisted of a lot of jumping around and clapping. Nowadays, unless you are one of the professional dance teams, you are probably going to be doing a lot of flipping and tumbling. If you can, sign up for a gymnastics class or a cheerleading class at a local community center. This will help you learn moves ahead of time, which will help give you an edge. Not only do you need to know how to do cartwheels, back hand springs, and somersaults, but you need to learn some of the popular jumps as well.
5. Learn to Take Criticism- A coach will look far more favorably on a girl who is able to take constructive criticism with a smile than one who is going to cry or argue back. Even if you don’t agree with the criticism at hand, smile and nod and say that you understand. You can always complain to your friends later.
6. Practice- Once you learn some of the routines, practice them as often as you can. Practice them for your family, your friends, and try to get someone to videotape you doing them if you can. This will not only give you experience performing in front of a crowd, but it will also give you some feedback as well. Plus, if you videotape yourself then you can see what you look like a lot more realistically then if you stand in front of a mirror.
7. Keep Going- If you make a mistake, keep going. The audience might not notice if you do something wrong, but they will certainly notice if you stop what you are doing all together and look lost. Confidence is the key here.
8. Keep Trying- It’s difficult, but if you don’t make the team, then try again. You might have an edge over the other competitors because the judges will look upon you favorably for having the strength and confidence to return. Plus, you will have another year to practice and get better.