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How-To-Make-Your-Cheerleading-Squad
Being on a cheerleading squad can be a fun and exciting experience, but making the team can be difficult. Many times talented girls are overlooked because they just aren’t prepared, but you can take some steps to get yourself noticed and give yourself a leg-up for getting on the team.
Before you even get started, find out what is required to be on the squad and make sure you’re able to meet those requirements. Cheering can be expensive and time consuming. If you decide to stop after you’ve started, you’ll have wasted not only your own effort, but that of your parents, coaches and everyone else on the squad. Find out how much it will cost and what kind of a commitment it will take ahead of time. You also might want to consider getting a physical to see if you’re able to do such demanding activities.
After you’ve decided you want to try out, you should first talk to coaches and others to find out exactly what is required, this includes deadlines and paperwork, along with specific skills you’ll need to know to make the team. This will not only make you breathe easier by knowing what to expect, you’ll also get your face out there so they’ll know you’re dedicated and up to the challenge. Once you get this information, learn what you’ll need to know. Watch old tapes (the cheer coach should have copies and will hopefully be impressed that you want to see them). Take initiative to learn the moves and cheers ahead of time. Research online. If you don’t know what a move is, look it up or ask someone for help.
Once you know what you need to learn, you should get started on learning it. If you aren’t in shape, you need to get there. This means eating right and working out, but it also means developing the specific muscles and skills that will be needed to cheer. You should enroll in cheer, gymnastics, tumbling, or dance classes. You should also attend cheer camps if you can. You might even consider joining a different cheer squad. Many YMCA’s and other similar organizations have cheer squads where you can learn the skills and get real experience.
Once you know the skills you’ll need and the cheers you need to learn (from the tapes, or from going to games and other cheer events), you should start practicing, A LOT. Tape yourself doing the moves, if need be, compare it to video tapes of current cheerleaders. Have friends or parents objectively observe you and tell you what they think needs work. This might feel weird, but if you can’t cheer in front of them, you’ll have a harder time cheering in front of a big crowd.
Some people may advise you against it, but a good way to improve your chances of making the squad is by talking to a current cheerleader. You obviously want to talk to the cheerleader that you think is the nicest and most likely to help you, but picking a senior is also a good bet. Seniors are not only not going to be competing with you for a spot on the team, they also have invested 4 years and this specific squad and want to see that it’s headed in a good direction once they leave. Helping someone who’s very dedicated is a good investment in helping the team to succeed in the future and many of them will be happy to help you. They know exactly what is expected and are likely to be honest and helpful to you. And, in some squads, they have input on who makes the team or not.
While you may think cheer skills are all you need to make the squad, they’re not. Like it or not, personal appearance matters. As a cheerleader, it is your responsibility to represent your school, and not just when you’re cheering. You need to work on looking good and keeping up your personal appearance. Not only does it help people have a better opinion of you, it will also make you feel better to know you look good. And even if you’re not the prettiest girl in the world, you can still look good. You can always look to see what the girls on the squad are wearing, or how they do their hair and make-up. You don’t have to be a clone of them, just think of them as advisors. They’ve already got what you want, so they’re a good starting point.
Along with how you look, how you act matters too. It’s important for a cheerleader to be able to present a positive attitude. You need to practice not only smiling, but also positive body posture. Sit up straight, hold your head high, look people in the eye, be confident. The most important part of making others think your right for the job is to act like you know you’re right for the job.
If you follow these steps, you’ve definitely improved your chances of being on the cheer squad. Just remember when it comes to the tryouts not to be nervous. You should smile, look them in the eye and be confident. You worked hard to get on the team and you deserve to be there. If you do mess up, don’t make a big deal out of it. If you just keep going and keep smiling, it’s much less obvious and easily overlooked. And if you don’t make the squad, it’s not the end of the world. You should feel proud of yourself that you worked hard to accomplish something you wanted. And remember, there’s always next year.
Kerri Stalton writes for CheerleadingsTips.com. For more cheerleading tips and to learn more about making your cheerleading squad, visit her site. |
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