To many, cheerleaders are a quaint anachronism who represent a wholesomeness rarely found in America outside the 1950s or Pleasantville. But to others, cheerleading is all business and a serious sport. Serious in the way that hockey, soccer, and Kung Fu are serious. If you've ever surfed across the ESPN coverage of national cheerleading competitions, you know this is true. At the sport's highest level, cheerleading can involve huge guys hurling "flyers" around like they're Kerri Strug on amphetamines, and it's very impressive stuff. For those of you looking to break into this world where gymnastics meets dance, you've come to the right place.

One note before we continue: there are many ways for you to show school spirit. Glee club, pep rally coordination, drill team, song leading, yell leading, band, flag twirling, and body painting are all ways to publicly display your love of your school. This SYW, however, will focus only on traditional cheerleading, because almost every school has a cheerleading squad, while relatively few have competitive body-painting teams.

1. KNOW THE HISTORY

Contrary to popular lore, cheerleading is not a product of the deep South. Even though the most famous cheerleading crew of all time belongs to the Dallas Cowboys, and the sport's perennial national high school champions are from Kentucky, cheerleading has purebred New England roots. No, they didn't wave pom-poms on the Mayflower (Goooooo Plymouth! Rock, rock, rock!), but they were full o' pep at Princeton University in the Nineteenth Century. Way back in the 1870s, Princeton organized the first pep club, we presume to celebrate their tremendous wealth. And in the 1880s, the first organized yell was recorded at Princeton:

Ray, Ray, Ray!
Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!
Sis, Sis, Sis!
Boom, Boom, Boom!
Aaaaah! Princeton, Princeton, Princeton!

Okay, so it's not Robert Frost, but it was the first time anyone organized a crowd to cheer at a college football game.

But of course, Princeton couldn't dominate this, or any other sport, for very long. In 1884, a Princeton graduate by the name of Thomas Peebles exported the yell and the sport of football to the University of Minnesota. It was in the cold Midwest that crowds first took a keen interest in hopping around and shouting - no doubt to survive the chill and pathetic athletics - and in 1898, Johnny Campbell made cheerleading what it is today. As an undergrad at Minnesota, Campbell directed the crowd in the still-used cheer:

Rah, Rah, Rah!
Sku-u-mah, Hoo-rah, Hoo-rah!
Varsity, Varsity!
Minn-e-so-tah!

From there, cheerleading took off.

Minnesota again pioneered innovations in the sport in the 1920s, when women first became active cheerleaders - prior to that time, boys had all the fun. In fact, some of our most famous male cheerleaders have included such studs as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Jimmy Stewart. But let's not kid ourselves . . . Charlie's Angel Cheryl Ladd and Miss America Phyllis George have also led their fair share of cheers.

It was not until the middle of the Twentieth Century that pom-poms were developed as a vital prop. Cheerleaders incorporated tumbling and gymnastics into their routines around the same time. The sport reached the big time in 1978, when CBS first televised the National Collegiate Cheerleading Championships, and by that time, universities began offering scholarships, college credit, and four-year letter programs in the sport. Today, cheerleading pervades all American athletics, from friendly football to professional athletics.

2. GET IN SHAPE

To have a good chance of making your cheerleading squad (at any level), your first order of business must be to get in good shape. While it may not be obvious that cheerleading involves an awful lot of work, over the course of a game or a competitive routine, cheerleaders require enormous cardiovascular stamina and a good deal of strength. Before you try out, follow our pointers to develop the most important physical aspects of the activity.

Stamina
Strength
Flexibility

Stamina

Perhaps the key physical requirement for cheerleading is stamina. When performing a competitive routine, you will expend an enormous amount of energy; but well before any competition, cheerleaders will practice their routines countless times, over and over. To practice at this kind of level - which is crucial to developing the necessary precision -- you will have to be in great aerobic shape.

There are a number of things you can do to improve your endurance, but perhaps the best is to participate in a sport. Training for training's sake is very difficult to do, but taking part in a fun game is much easier. So while you can take up jogging or suffering through the Stairmaster, organized athletics are a great option too. Soccer and basketball are excellent team sports that will get you in great shape pretty quickly. Sports like racquetball, tennis, and squash can also be quite demanding, if you play against strong competition. If you take the easy way out, you're only hurting your own chances, so be sure to push yourself a little no matter what activity you choose.

When you have chosen an aerobic activity, begin by training for around 30 minutes a day, three days a week. You won't get in great shape in a few days, but killing yourself at the start won't help either. Choose a manageable regimen like we have below, focusing on increasing the amount of time you train each week. To start, try a program such as this:

Time Activity Frequency 30 minutes Light jogging or energetic walking. Twice during the week & once on the weekend.

Work toward but don't go beyond:

Time Activity Frequency One hour Stairmaster, treadmill, or organized sports. Three times during the week & twice on the weekend.

Ultimately, your stamina will allow you to coast through the rigors of tumbling runs, elaborate lifts, and frenetic dance routines.

Strength

An often overlooked asset to any cheerleader is strength. Whether you are a base, whose job is to lift other cheerleaders and to support pyramids, or a flyer, who climbs atop these constructions, you'll need to be able to lift yourself and others into the air. Top-flight cheerleaders are built much like Olympic gymnasts, with powerful lower bodies for tumbling and jumping.

The best way to add strength training to your workout regimen is by incorporating modest weights. So, for instance, if you spend time on the Stairmaster or jogging, consider holding light free weights in your hands. Even small amounts of weight will add muscle to your arms when you add this resistance over a high number of repetitions. Do not, however, add weights to your feet, ankles, or legs during aerobic exercise, as these can place injurious strain on your important supporting joints. The best way to add strength to your lower body is to perform targeted and individual repetitions on weight machines.

These days, every decent gym has several machines designed solely to strengthen the lower body. Work this equipment into your routine, but concentrate on controlled movements during your workout. Adding a ton of weight, but then swinging it around with momentum is not going to help. Choose a lighter weight that you can slowly and carefully raise and lower; this will provide the resistance training most beneficial for cheerleading.

Strength training is particularly important for male cheerleaders, as they are usually the ones lifting people onto their shoulders or tossing people into the air. But a bit of strength training benefits all cheerleaders.

Flexibility

Cheerleaders are famously flexible, often kicking their legs impossibly high during their routines and frequently performing the splits on the ground and in the air. Flexibility is not something you can schedule in for a couple of intensive sessions - you must give a little bit of time to it every day. Don't panic, this won't become all-consuming, but it is a very good idea to stretch a little each day, perhaps after you wake up or right before you go to bed. Your ligaments need constant reminders to stay elasticated and limber.

The best way to stretch is through constant pressure, never bouncing. Try to hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds, and work up to about a minute. Push yourself to attempt difficult stretches, but don't get to the point of pain. Avoid spending all your time on the stretches you can already do well - we're all tempted to stick to the comfortable, but you want to ensure that you're comprehensively flexible. Draw up a list of stretches to do, starting with your feet and working all the way up to your neck. Be sure to spend some time on all the major muscle groups, such as your calves, quads, hamstring, groin, triceps, and traps. A fantastic way to stretch your entire body without injuring yourself is to start taking yoga classes. We have a couple tips here to help you find one.

A great tip for making stretching easier is to focus on your breathing - many of us are tempted to hold our breath while doing something physically demanding, but all exercise is improved by circulating oxygen and relaxing, both of which are aided by careful breathing.

3. BE SURE YOU'RE QUALIFIED

Once you've prepared your body for the rigors of a tryout and a long cheerleading season - which can last from September until April - you'll want to make sure you satisfy all the other requirements too. Many schools require that cheerleaders, like all other students who perform in school activities, maintain certain grade point averages. While you may not see a connection between doing well in school and being a good cheerleader, it doesn't matter. Your school says that you need a certain GPA to participate, and if you don't make the grade, you won't be doing any cheerleading. How's that for a connection!

As well as good grades, most schools and clubs will require you to meet a few technical requirements too. The two most prevalent involve getting your parents' permission if you're under eighteen, and signing a waiver that releases your cheerleading organization from any liability if you get hurt while practicing or performing.

We've provided an example of a Parental Permission Form and a Waiver. Now you can check them out here to know what's coming. In fact, it may be a good idea to let your parents know about these requirements before the season begins, just to prepare them, since you'll need their signatures on these forms.

Finally, you have to make sure that you have the time to participate. While cheerleaders in teen movies seem to have the most exciting social lives on the planet, actual cheerleading squads often have to give up 25+ hours a week to practice . . . not to mention going to the actual games to do the cheerleading. It's a huge time commitment, so be 100% sure that you have the time to devote to it.

4. SUCCEED AT TRYOUTS

Obviously the crucial step in becoming a cheerleader is to succeed at the tryouts. Most programs hold their tryouts towards the end of spring, so that the new squad will be chosen before the summer holiday; over summer break, many cheerleading teams attend cheerleader summer camp together to improve their skills under the direction of professional and collegiate experts.

The typical schedule for tryouts can take as long as two weeks and usually consists of several steps. First, the current cheerleading squad often organizes a pre-tryout meeting, where you will be told about the rules and the schedule of the tryouts and where you will meet the current cheerleading squad. The members of that squad, often the graduating cheerleaders, will then help to teach you a few cheers and routines. You will need to learn these for the actual tryouts. You may also be taught a few basic jumps and gymnastic stunts. These, too, will be important for the tryouts. This is the ideal time for you to ask all the questions you have about how to perform the routines or stunts, so that you can have the confidence to practice these maneuvers at home and then execute them well at the tryouts. You should be honest, however, about what you can and cannot do. If you tell them that you can do a perfect cartwheel, they'll expect to see it. Remember, they're not looking for what you already know, but for the potential you have to learn.

The tryouts themselves will often be broken into at least two stages: semifinals and finals. That means that after one session, the pack will be cut down to a small number, and then the actual members of the team will be chosen from the finalists. At these two or more sessions, you will be judged on the quality of your execution of the routines and stunts you were taught at the pre-tryout session. Obviously, practice is key to succeeding, so draw up a comprehensive practice schedule to ensure that you set aside time each day to work on various aspects of the routines in the time leading up to the tryouts.

Next, you'll want to do the actual practice. This can be a difficult task to perform diligently, so you may improve your dedication by rehearsing with a friend. Another good tip for doing well is to ask current and former cheerleaders questions to find out exactly what takes place during the tryouts. The best way to calm your nerves is to gather a clear idea of exactly what is going to happen. Then you can relax and focus on getting better.

Now, at the tryouts themselves, we recommend a few pointers for doing well:

  • Be sure that you warm up. You may be so nervous or excited that you don't take the time to stretch properly or to get your blood pumping, but be sure you do so. This is a good time to visualize the moves in your head, and to focus on your breathing, which will calm your nerves.

  • Dress correctly. One option is to come dressed in your school colors, which is always a nice touch. If not, then consider black shorts and a white top (it makes it easier for the selection committee to see your basic form during routines).

  • Be enthusiastic. Often, people can focus so much on remembering steps that they will look lost or introverted . . . not a good thing in cheerleading. Remind yourself to be energetic; just don't overdo it and end up like a Saturday Night Live sketch.

  • Come with a few stock chants of your own. If you get nervous, you need something to fall back on, and yelling, "Go team! Defense! Defense!" can make you look spirited.

  • Make eye contact with the judges. It's tempting to stare into the middle distance so that you are not distracted by external things, but again, cheerleading involves making a connection with the crowd. A great way to do that is to look people in the eye.

  • Keep your hair out of your face. Tie it back in a ponytail if this is a potential problem.

  • Smile. This is key and we shouldn't have to explain. You're trying to be a cheerleader for God's sake. Even if you screw up a little during your tryout, keep showing them your pearly whites. The judges are not only looking for how well you do the steps, but how you generally handle yourself in front of a group of people.

  • Be loud. That doesn't mean shrieking or screaming, but project from your stomach. You'll have to be heard above a noisy crowd, so work on your projection.

  • Don't "woo!" It's so tempting to walk in and just go "Wooooooooo!" for two hours, but it really gets judges annoyed. They'd much prefer to hear you actually say words of spirit and encouragement, or even some stock chants.

  • Don't be afraid of looking dumb. A lot of people feel silly cheering away like a freak in front of a small tryout committee. Well, cheerleading involves a lot of acting (for instance, acting like you care who wins the big swim meet, or acting like the team is still in the football game, even when they're 60 points behind). The tryout committee will want to see that you can turn on the juice, no matter what the circumstances are. If you hold back because you're afraid of looking dumb, then you will look dumb. Just go for it.

  • Have fun. It's contagious.

To get a great idea of what judges will be looking for, check out our sample grading form. When you know what the judges want to see, you can concentrate practicing on those areas.

5. LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEERING

A good cheerleader must have a wide repertoire of skills, which should include precision movements, gymnastics and tumbling, lifting and pyramids, and dancing ability. These techniques all involve coordination and timing, but each has its own distinctive flavor too. Most competitive teams have cheerleaders who specialize in one or another of these skills, so if you have one that is your favorite, you may be able to become a specialist in it. First, though, you should be sure you know and try each of them, if only to get a sense of what your options are.

Precision movements

Nowadays, many cheerleaders are excellent dancers, but the classic cheerleader spends a good deal of time performing precision movements. These involve strict timing and sharp, defined motions. There are only a few basic arm movements: daggers, vertical-up, high v, horizontal, low v, vertical-down, hands on hips, punch, and diagonal. It's like synchronized swimming, but on a muddy football field. But by adding small variations to the position of your hands, and varying what you do with each arm, you can build a huge array of motions. You'll want to practice these motions in a mirror to work on your precision. Also be aware of your presentation, which should always involve your smiling, keeping your head up, keeping the motions sharp and snappy, and refraining from staring at one point.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics and tumbling are skills that are sports in their own right, and we can't hope to tell you how to do them here. Because they add so much to any cheerleader's skills, though, we recommend that you pursue these skills with specialists. The most spectacular movements are often tumbling runs involving back-to-back handsprings, but you'll want to be sure to have a trained coach educate you. You can, however, work a variety of jumps into your routine without specialized training. There are ten classic jumps: tuck, c, spread, herkie, stag, toe touch, split, hurdler, pike, and doubles. Again, you can add to these any variety of hand motions to make your routines unique.

Lifting

Working with a partner can open up an even broader range of cheerleading movements, and many excellent squads rely on partner and double stunts as a mainstay of their routines. These are best practiced with the assistance of trained coaches and spotters, as the risks of injury are high for novices. The most exciting thing about working on these motions is that they can quickly lead to elaborate pyramids if you combine various partner pairs. There are a few basic rules to keep in mind whenever you attempt a pyramid:

  1. Be sure you have plenty of experienced spotters.
  2. Build the pyramid one level at a time; don't move up until the entire base is formed.
  3. Plan out the building order beforehand and disassemble the pyramid in the reverse order that you built it.
  4. Keep your cheer progressing as you build, using various new levels to accentuate parts of the cheer.
  5. Always finish with a flourish, emphasizing the final words of the cheer.

Oh, and always smile, you want this to look easy.

Dance

Dance in many ways is the opposite of precision movement. Rather than punctuating each motion as a separate move, dance focuses on smooth and flowing routines. Many cheerleading squads combine dance with precision movements, by using dance moves for the legs, for instance, while using the arms for precision movements. Many schools now have entirely different squads for cheerleading and for dance, which demonstrates how different these two disciplines can be. But music can be such an excellent asset for any routine, that every squad should consider choreographing a few dance moves.

No matter what element of cheerleading you choose to specialize in, you and your squad will benefit a great deal if you take the time to experiment with all your possibilities. If you have a background in gymnastics, you should have a friend teach you some dance moves. Similarly, if you've never participated in any strength moves, you may discover that you have a great skill with partner movements and building pyramids. So explore all your options, and become the best cheerleader you can be.

So there is is ??? all you ever need to know about cheerleading. But if you still have cheerleading questions, ask them on Answerbag.com.