Cheerleading tryouts can be truly nerve racking. Being prepared and knowing what to expect is the key to performing your skills and showing confidence throughout the entire process. Here are some pointers to have the most successful cheer tryout:
Attend the Interest Meeting.
This is a great opportunity, prior to tryouts, to decide whether you have the time and passion to devote to the team for the upcoming season. Take notes and be sure to fill out and hand in all paperwork needed for tryouts and the cheer season by the deadlines. Giving in late paperwork is not a good way to start the new cheer season.
***Next Level All Stars Interest Meeting: Wednesday, April 01, 2020***
Next Level All Stars offers endless opportunities to progress and perfect all cheerleading skills while having the most fun, creating lifelong friendships, and building fierce confidence.
Find Out What Is Required.
Take advantage of the clinic prior to tryouts. Find out what is expected of each athlete during tryouts. If there are any further questions, be sure to ask before the day of tryouts. In addition, be certain that the questions you want to ask were not already answered in the information that was given.
***Next Level All Stars Tryout Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2020***
Next Level All Stars will provide a 2 hour clinic, preceding tryouts. Athletes will be able to practice their stunting abilities, tumbling skills, and jump sequences. During the tryout process, the coaches will be carefully evaluating every skill to determine the appropriate team placements of each cheerleader. Athletes will be required to showcase their best standing and running tumbling pass, jump combination, and stunting skills.
Flyer Expectations: Being a flyer comes with a lot of responsibility and requires a great deal of hard work. It demands exemplary flexibility, confidence, and body control. It also requires working on your flexibility and body positions, not only at the gym, but at home especially. Flyers should expect to be evaluated on their flexibility and body positions, confidence in the air, sharp and tight motions, and appropriate stunting ability for their skill level.
Start Training Sooner Rather Than Later.
Spend time in the gym and with the coaches to work on perfecting your tumbling skills. Focus on executing each skill with proper technique and landing each pass with confidence. The more time you give yourself to practice your skills, the better outcome you will have come tryouts. If you procrastinate, you only cheat yourself out on performing well on tryout day.
Cleanliness is Key.
Be sure to practice and perform clean jumps and tumbling skills. Point your toes and stick your landing. The little things go a long way. In every element of tryouts, execute with excellence. When deciding what skills to throw at tryouts, cleanliness and consistency will give you the best possible outcome.
Have a Great Attitude.
The coaches keep a lookout for the attitude that each cheerleader brings to tryouts. Smile, encourage others, and don’t get frustrated when something doesn’t go according to plan. You want to exhibit that you work well with others and are a coachable athlete.
This is also the time to build relationships with the people who could potentially be your future teammates. The coaches are looking for team players.
Body language speaks louder than words: Crossing your arms and rolling your eyes, especially when a coach is speaking to you, displays that you are not open to corrections or change, therefore you are not coachable. If you stand up straight, make eye contact, and acknowledge their guidance, the coaches will recognize that you strive to improve your cheerleading abilities. Act confident and demonstrate that you adapt easily to changes and new experiences.
Focus.
Show up for tryouts at least 15 minutes early. Give yourself enough time to prepare, fix your hair, and focus, so when it is time to start you are ready to go. Pay attention when a coach is talking and make sure to follow the directions that are given and do what is asked of you. Coaches are looking for athletes that are focused and follow directions. A focused team member will be more successful than one who goofs around. Avoid doing any distracting behavior that could potentially derail the focus of the other athletes at the tryout. Acting with disruptive behavior can also pull the coaches attention away from your skills.
Don’t Try Anything You Aren’t Comfortable Doing.
Perform skills that are within your ability. Stick to what you are confident and comfortable throwing. The coaches want to see skills that are consistent and strongly executed. No one wants to see an athlete injure themselves by doing something that was inconsistent and above their skill level at tryouts. The coaches are looking for your best competition ready tumbling skills, not skills that you have just learned.
Do not compare yourself to other people around you, it will only add unnecessary pressure to the tryout process. Focus on yourself, what you can do, and what you have prepared in order to succeed. Be confident in your abilities and show the coaches the skills that you have worked long and hard on.
Plan Your Outfit.
To avoid unwanted stress on the day of tryouts, choose your outfit in advance. Decide on pieces that are clean and comfortable. The appropriate attire to wear at tryouts is a sports bra or tank top, Nike pros or Sophie style shorts, and cheer sneakers. Clothing should fit the athlete well and also look neat and crisp. Hair is to be pulled up into a ponytail, with no flyaways or distracting bangs in front of the cheerleaders face, and wrapped up with a bow. There is no makeup necessary for tryouts.
Enjoy the Experience!
Remind yourself to relax and have fun. Being prepared for tryouts will give you confidence in yourself and the upmost success in your abilities. You are trying out because you love cheerleading, don’t forget that! Your hard work and practice on your skills will be seen by the coaches. If the nerves start to get to you, take a deep breath and trust yourself.