Your First Cheer Year
What to Expect: Cheerleading has many different levels and options to choose from. You can go the scholastic way, where you would be cheering with a school to support the sports activities and also compete later in the year. There is also the recreational cheerleading, which is just focused on the fun of cheer and not the competition and other sports. There is also city league, who cheer for a team but one that is not school based. And then you have All-star cheer leading, which strictly focuses on the skills and routine for the upcoming competitions. The expectations for all these types of cheerleading are different. They all focus on different goals and take other road to reach that goal.
Will you compete: If you are on a competitive squad such as scholastic cheerleading and all-star cheer leading, you have the opportunity to compete at competitions, which is an exciting portion of what cheerleading is. There are times when coaches need to decide how many members will be in a routine and how many members have the skills required to rank in the top spot. Unfortunately the coaches need to think about what is better for the team at this point. Not all competitive teams run this way so if you are curious check with your team. The reason behind these decisions is the point values the teams get if majority of the team performs the high skill levels. An Example would be if eighty percent of the team throws back flips they will reach the high point range compared to the team with only fifty percent. Teams also have a limit of thirty-two members on the floor during one routine. Being prepared with the correct level of skills is recommended when trying out for the competition squad
What should you know when you’re going to try outs: Some teams require skills and knowledge of cheerleading in order to make the squad. Here are some things for you to practice and study in the gym and at home. All skills have terms set to them and they may be called different things in other places. Example toe touch and straddle jump. Motions are very important during high school tryout. Because of their main focus on supporting sports, they are constantly using motions during their cheers and chants. Jumps require time and practice. Many people can learn what the jump is and how to do it, but with time, stretching and training you can get those jumps higher and with cleaner technique. There are many good videos on how to do jumps on YouTube. For tumbling skills it is always recommended that you practice in a gym and not in your backyard. Safety should always be an athletes and parents concern. Depending on the skill level of the team you will be expected to keep up with the other girls. Gain knowledge on what you must learn as far as tumbling goes and ask for privates at your local gym.
Are you ready Mental and physically: Once again, Depending on your team and type of cheerleading, it will take strength not only physically but mentally. Competitions can put a great amount of stress on children and the amount of “push” they have to do during practice is not easy. Running through a 2 minute and 30 second routine while throwing people in the air, throwing flips, throwing high jumps and still dancing and smiling, is something that need to be worked towards mentally and physically. Teams’ practices will always need physical training to bring their stamina up and the physical strength to the next level. It’s always a rule of thumb to work yourself up to the teams works outs. Start with exercises you can handle and start increasing the difficulty of your routine.
