How to Rock Your Cheerleading Tryouts

Cheerleading has become one of the fastest-growing sports, and it is no surprise why! Cheerleading has evolved into an activity involving gymnastics, stunts, jumps, and dance jam-packed into a three-minute routine, while most times simultaneously cheering for your school. We hope these tips help you feel more prepared for your big day!

Be Prepared – Research the Program

• Whether you are trying out for a school or all-star team, do your research! Have any paperwork filled out completely before stepping into tryouts. Know their mascot and the coaches’ names to stand out above the rest of the prospects. If you have a team level in mind, find out what skills are required to make that specific team and work towards them every day!

Remember the Basics

• You always want to stand tall and clean, arms at your sides and hands in blades or fists. This will make you stand out and show how you will transition through a routine. Practice your motions! Small changes in your hand placement may be the difference between a tenth of a point come competition season. Point your toes in your jumps and gymnastics to make for pretty positioning. Bring your big voice for the cheer portion. Judges will likely give lower scores in the cheer portion if they can’t hear your words!

Stay Positive and be Helpful

• Maybe the team already has their flyers for the season or has their last tumbling pass planned out – don’t get too bummed out! Your job as a potential teammate is to remain flexible. Be willing to try any position throughout cheer clinics! Your versatility as an athlete is far more impressive and valuable than being a one-trick pony.
• Does the coach need someone to lead stretches or start music? Be that girl! Show them your willingness to help the day go smoother, and it will pay dividends.

Practice your Routine

• Most likely, you will learn a small routine in cheer clinics to perform on tryout day. Practice the routine day in and day out! Go over the counts in your head, and practice before your friends and family to get your nerves out! Remember, how you act and perform throughout clinic days is sometimes just as important as how you perform on tryout day. If you make a mistake – just go with it! Mistakes happen, especially when you’re nervous. Shake it off and hit the rest of the routine!

Look the Part – and SMILE

• Wear your favorite cheer outfits for each day. Have a new bow that you love? Wear it! You always feel more springy with a certain pair of shoes? Great! Sometimes dressing the part and feeling good about what you’re wearing can greatly impact how you perform.
• Above all – SMILE! You’re a cheerleader, and you worked hard for this! If your smile never leaves your face, you’re doing it right!

Athletico provides rehabilitation services in-clinic and via telehealth to cheerleaders at all levels and abilities. Our goal is to evaluate, treat, and educate athletes to prevent practice and competition-related injuries. We have physical therapists and athletic trainers, including former gymnasts and cheerleaders at our Gymnastics and Cheerleading Program at the high school, collegiate, and Olympic levels. Our clinicians understand the demands of the sport and use their personal and professional experience to address each athlete’s physical and psychological needs effectively.

Find a Gymnastics/Cheerleading Specialist Near You

The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.