The 4 step plan to being a better cheerleader
Trying out for cheerleading and making the team when I was 15 was the best thing that happened to me. I felt like I had found my home. I had been a swimmer and softball player, but never really connected with either sport. With cheerleading, I was part of a team that counted on each other to do their own part, yet also support others in their part too. I could do choreographed dances to music I loved. I could climb on people like I had climbed trees as a child. I could stand in front of a crowd, remember my words, and not feel like I had to runaway in embarrassment. I did just that in 4th grade when I was lucky enough to play the Swan in a version of the Ugly Duckling. That moment still haunts me, but cheer made it possible to move beyond the emabarrassment and onto a stage again.
In the next 8 years, I was cut twice. My last high school tryout as a senior, and my 2nd college tryout. Needless to say, I felt like I lost my home. Luckily, the road home was engraved in my heart. I knew I needed to improve and I knew that I could do anything that I really put my mind and effort to.
Cheer requirements have significantly progressed since I first started cheerleading. What I had to do then is nothing like it is now. Yet, the principles to get there are exactly the same. I listened to the Wealth Coach Secrets podcast (episodes 51 and 52)by my mentor, Greg Todd while I was running today and he made me realize that there are steps to improving and learning any new skill. These 4 steps most definitely apply to cheerleading.
First, you need to know the material. New to cheer? What do you need to learn? Did you get cut? Where did you mess up? Study it. Watch it in slow motion. Know the counts. Study the history of how to: stunt, climb, jump, cheer, dance, tumble. Know what your body position is meant to be and what it should feel like when you are doing any of the above. Watch YouTube videos of the best cheer teams and individual cheerleaders. Who are your role models and how can you emulate them?
Second, you need to learn the skills. These days there are cheer classes to help everything. Motion technique, stunting, tumbling, jumping. Do you need to improve your facial expressions? What do good facials look like? Need to build strength to get power in your jumps, you need to learn how to build strength and mobility first. Take the knowledge you learned from your assessment of your current cheer skills and learn what you need to do to make it better, whatever it takes.
Third, do you have the right equipment? While I’m not a believer that better cheer shoes will improve your skills, but certainly the wrong ones will adversely impact your ability to perform. It’s worth it to spend money on shoes that are comfortable, fit and are also easy to hold. Do you need to wear a specific outfit for tryouts or practice? Make sure they fit, are clean, and look like the strong and solid athlete that you are. Do your hair so that it is out of your face and safe. Wear a bow if that’s what your team does but make sure said bow makes you feel like a powerhouse cheerleader and not just a doll on display. I always hated wearing bows. We wore our hair down most of the time, but at our firstcompetition, the rest of the team wanted to wear bows. Looking back, had I overcome the bow objection I may have realized that being part of a team means looking the part. It may not have helped me hit that stunt that failed, but it may have cemented my connection with the team, which was what always was more important to me.
The fourth and perhaps most important way to improve is by doing. Practice. When you think you have it down, practice and do it again. Visualize yourself hitting every motion on every count. Work it thru backwards, sideways and forward again. Find a friend to watch and critique. Show up early and go thru timing with your partners or stunt group. Be a ham in front of your family and friends to get over your fear of being in front of a crowd.
Improving on any skill, whether it be in cheerleading or in life, is not easy. It will take some failures along the way to help you see where you need the improvement. It will take work to learn, watch, get equipped, and then do. However, if you remember WHY you want to improve, the how will become a much more enjoyable process.
To your success.
PS..if you’re interested in listening to Greg’s podcast, you can find it here https://www.gregtoddtv.com/wealth-code-secrets-podcast