Expert: Chris - 2/22/2010

Question
how to make the jv cheerleading team with no experience and im in ninth grade and i  can do a roundoff and i can do herky/toe touch...what do iwork on??

Answer
First of all, is it a competitive squad, or do they only cheer at games? Are there any requirements or anything? And when are tryouts...aka, how much time do you have to prepare?

I'm going to assume that your school will have a short clinic (usually 2-3 days) before tryouts. That's where the cheerleaders are usually taught a cheer, dance, etc. whatever they would need for tryouts. This is also where you would practice stunting. Hopefully the coaches will be helpful in getting a group together for you. When I tried out my coaches weren't very helpful so I know how frustrating that can be. A round-off is definitely useful so it's good that you've mastered that. Work on cheer motions in front of your mirror (or a turned off TV) at home. If you don't know what the motions are supposed to look like, check online for pictures. Also, if you have a friend who's a cheerleader or has some experience asking for some help or websites she knows of to help you with motions would be a good idea.

The most common jumps are a toe-touch and a pike. If you can do a toe-touch a pike shouldn't be too hard for you. In my opinion toe-touches are the hardest jump. Work on double jumps (where you don't stop in between. For example you would hit one jump and 6 and another on 8). The double jump can be any combination of 2 jumps, either the same jump or two different ones.

If you have any more details on what's necessary or required for tryouts I might be able to give more specific help. If there is a clinic before tryouts you may not know what's necessary yet, but in that case you'll be told by a coach or instructor. If you have to make up a cheer or dance (this is not very common anymore) I definitely suggest looking around online for cheers/chants and then making up some creative motions.

The most important thing at tryouts is to SMILE. You have to look like you're having the time of your life. You'll definitely be nervous (I tried out 4 times in high school and I was nervous each time), but you need to channel that energy into focusing on your job. Go out there with a happy smile-make sure it meets your eyes also-and have a good time. If you're too nervous you won't have fun, and if you don't have fun you probably won't be successful. Therefore it just makes sense to not get yourself too nervous.

Appearance is often considered as well. Obviously this is not if you're pretty etc., but how you present yourself. Make sure your hair is pulled back (the style depends on the team...usually a ponytail or half up, half down) with no fly-aways. Use clips and hairspray to minimize frizz or fly-aways and to make your hair look neat. Also wear a bow or ribbon in your hair. If you don't have one, you can go buy a yard of ribbon at a craft store. About 1 inch wide ribbon is best. Choose any color you like. Maybe one of your school colors or white to match anything. Try not to pick a satin type of fabric because anything that smooth will fall out of your hair. When you tie it into your hair loop it through your hair tie to make sure it stays in. Or tie it in a bow on your hair tie before you put the hair tie in your hair. Also to give a good impression, don't roll your shorts too much and tuck in your shirt. You'll probably feel dorky (I know I always did), but it was a requirement at my school and it made a big difference. Don't just tuck it in in the front either-do it all the way around. It doesn't have to be tucked in so far that it feels tight, just enough so that it appears neat. That's the bottom line...you want to look neat and put together.

It's never easy starting something for the first time, but sometimes new cheerleaders are the best. They haven't developed any bad habits yet, and as a coach bad habits are really frustrating. Many times I've coached girls who haven't had good coaching in the past, or the coach was too busy with other girls doing worse things, and some cheerleaders developed poor habits. So in a way you have an advantage!

Go into tryouts with confidence and look happy. Make sure you have fun the whole time and if you mess up just keep smiling and act like it was the greatest thing you'd ever done. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask any follow up questions. Let me know how it goes!!