Making your high school’s cheer team can feel like stepping into a movie scene: bright gym lights, squeaky sneakers, nervous smiles, and at least one person whisper-counting “5, 6, 7, 8” like it is a secret spell. But cheer tryouts are not just about who can jump the highest, smile the biggest, or own the shiniest bow. Coaches are usually looking for a complete athlete: someone with energy, discipline, teamwork, school spirit, safe technique, and the ability to keep going when the music starts slightly faster than expected.
Cheerleading has grown far beyond sideline chants. Modern high school cheer can include jumps, motions, dance, tumbling, stunts, crowd leadership, conditioning, and competition routines. That means preparation matters. Whether you are a total beginner or a former gymnast with a cartwheel that could make the hallway stop and stare, the right plan can help you walk into tryouts with confidence.
This guide breaks down how to make your high school’s cheer team in 9 practical steps. You will learn how to prepare physically, sharpen your cheer skills, understand what coaches value, and avoid common mistakes that can quietly sink an otherwise strong audition. Ready? Hair up, shoulders back, confidence on. Let’s go.
Step 1: Learn What Your School’s Cheer Team Actually Requires
Before you start practicing toe touches in your bedroom and accidentally scaring the family dog, find out what your specific school expects. Every cheer program is different. Some teams focus mostly on football and basketball sideline cheer. Others compete at regional or state competitions. Some require tumbling. Some do not. Some value dance and sharp motions more than advanced skills.
Start by checking your school website, athletic department page, or cheer program announcements. Look for tryout dates, clinic schedules, eligibility rules, grade requirements, physical exam forms, attendance expectations, and parent meeting information. If your school offers a tryout packet, read it like it contains the answers to a final exambecause in a way, it does.
Questions to Ask Before Tryouts
Ask the coach or athletic office what skills will be evaluated. Common high school cheer tryout categories include jumps, motions, chants, dance, tumbling, stunting basics, voice projection, spirit, attitude, and coachability. You may also be scored on punctuality, appearance, memory, and teamwork during tryout clinics.
Knowing the expectations early helps you train smarter. If the team does not require a back handspring, you can stop panicking about learning one in seven days. If sharp motions and strong cheers count heavily, you know exactly where to focus your time.
Step 2: Build a Strong Cheerleading Fitness Base
Cheerleaders need strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, and explosive power. In plain English: cheer is athletic. You are jumping, holding tight body positions, moving sharply, possibly tumbling, supporting teammates, and performing with energy while making it look effortless. Spoiler alert: it is not effortless. It is effort wearing lip gloss.
Begin conditioning several weeks before tryouts if possible. Focus on exercises that support cheer skills: squats, lunges, calf raises, planks, push-ups, glute bridges, hollow holds, mountain climbers, and light cardio. You do not need a fancy gym membership. A living room, a water bottle, and the willingness to sweat politely will do.
A Simple Weekly Training Plan
Try three to four conditioning sessions per week. One day can focus on legs and jumps, another on core and upper body strength, another on flexibility and mobility, and another on light cardio plus skill review. Always warm up first with dynamic movements such as jogging in place, arm circles, high knees, leg swings, and gentle lunges.
Good conditioning helps reduce injury risk and improves performance. Coaches can tell when an athlete is physically prepared. Your jumps are higher, your landings are cleaner, your motions are tighter, and you do not look like your soul left your body halfway through the dance.
Step 3: Master Basic Motions Before Chasing Advanced Skills
One of the biggest beginner mistakes is ignoring the basics. A shaky high V, floppy T motion, or lazy touchdown can make a routine look messy even if you have great energy. Cheer motions should be sharp, controlled, and placed correctly. Think “strong statue,” not “inflatable tube person outside a car dealership.”
Practice common motions such as high V, low V, T, broken T, touchdown, low touchdown, clasp, clap, punch, diagonal, and daggers. Use a mirror or record yourself. Check your wrists, elbows, shoulders, and posture. Your arms should hit with purpose and stop cleanly. Do not let them float into place like they are taking the scenic route.
How to Improve Cheer Motions Fast
Practice motions slowly first. Hit the position, freeze, check your form, then reset. Once your placement is correct, add counts. For example, practice hitting motions on “1,” holding “2,” switching on “3,” and holding “4.” Clean timing is often more impressive than rushed difficulty.
Also focus on facial expression and eye contact. Cheerleading is performance-based. Coaches want athletes who can lead a crowd, not stare at the floor like it owes them money. Smile naturally, keep your chin lifted, and project confidence even if your stomach is doing Olympic-level gymnastics.
Step 4: Improve Your Jumps With Technique, Not Just Hope
Cheer jumps are a major part of many high school tryouts. Common jumps include toe touches, herkies, hurdlers, pikes, and tuck jumps. A strong jump is not only about height. Judges also look at pointed toes, arm placement, chest position, leg extension, timing, and controlled landings.
To improve your jumps, train your legs, hips, core, and flexibility. Practice jump drills such as straight jumps, squat jumps, seated toe-touch lifts, hip flexor exercises, calf raises, and controlled landings. Stretch your hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, calves, and inner thighs regularly, but avoid forcing flexibility. Your muscles are not pizza dough. Do not yank them into submission.
Jump Technique Tips That Matter
Start with a strong prep. Keep your chest lifted, swing your arms with control, explode through your legs, and snap your legs quickly into position. Point your toes and keep your knees facing upward in toe touches. Land with soft knees and feet together. A high jump with a sloppy landing can lose points because it looks unsafe and uncontrolled.
Practice on a safe surface with enough space. Avoid wet grass, concrete, uneven flooring, or crowded areas. If you are practicing harder skills, use proper mats and trained supervision. Cheer safety is not optional; it is what keeps the fun from becoming an emergency room field trip.
Step 5: Work on Voice, Spirit, and Performance Presence
Cheerleading is about leading a crowd. That means your voice matters. During tryouts, coaches may ask you to perform a cheer or chant. They want to hear volume, clarity, rhythm, and enthusiasm. Screaming is not the goal. A strong cheer voice should be loud, clear, and supported by your breath.
Practice cheers standing tall with your core engaged. Say words clearly. Hit motions sharply while speaking. Smile when appropriate, but do not let smiling swallow your words. If the chant is “Go fight win,” the crowd should not hear “mrr fite whn.”
How to Show Spirit Without Looking Forced
Spirit is not about being the loudest person in the room every second. It is about positive energy, confidence, and connection. Make eye contact, use expressive facials, recover quickly from mistakes, and encourage others during clinics. Coaches notice athletes who bring good energy without creating drama.
If you mess up, keep going. This is huge. A missed count does not automatically ruin your tryout, but stopping, grimacing, or announcing “I messed up!” definitely makes it worse. Smile, recover, and continue. Cheerleaders perform live. Recovery is part of the job.
Step 6: Learn the Tryout Material Early and Practice Like a Teammate
Most high school cheer tryouts include a clinic where candidates learn a dance, cheer, chant, or short routine. This is where coaches evaluate more than talent. They watch how quickly you learn, how hard you work, how you respond to correction, and how you interact with others.
Arrive early, listen carefully, and stand where you can see. Bring water, proper shoes, hair ties, and any required paperwork. Do not hide in the back if you cannot see the instructor. Also, do not talk over the person teaching. Coaches love enthusiasm; they are less thrilled by side conversations about lunch, nail polish, or who posted what.
Practice Smarter After the Clinic
Once you learn the material, practice in small sections. Break the routine into counts of eight. Master one section before moving to the next. Record yourself from the front and side so you can check timing, motions, posture, facials, and transitions. Practicing with a friend can help, but make sure the session stays focused. It is called practice, not “two hours of gossip with occasional clapping.”
Ask respectful questions when needed. If you are confused about a count or motion, clarify during an appropriate break. Coaches usually appreciate athletes who want to get details right. Just avoid asking the same question repeatedly because you were not paying attention the first time.
Step 7: Prepare for Tumbling and Stunting Safely
Not every high school cheer team requires tumbling, but many programs value it. Basic tumbling skills may include forward rolls, cartwheels, round-offs, back walkovers, front walkovers, or back handsprings, depending on the team level. If you already tumble, polish the skills you can perform safely and consistently. A clean cartwheel is better than a terrifying back handspring that makes everyone in the gym silently pray.
Only practice tumbling with proper supervision, safe surfaces, and trained instruction. Do not teach yourself advanced tumbling from random videos. Online tutorials can be helpful for understanding concepts, but they cannot spot you, correct your body position in real time, or catch you if something goes wrong.
What Coaches Look for in Stunting
For stunting, coaches may evaluate strength, body control, listening skills, trust, and safety awareness. Flyers need tight body positions, balance, flexibility, and confidence. Bases need strength, stable posture, timing, and communication. Back spots need focus, quick reactions, and responsibility. Every position matters.
If you are new to stunting, be honest about your experience. Coaches would rather teach a careful beginner than manage someone pretending to know skills they have never safely performed. Cheerleading relies on trust. The best athletes know when to say, “I need help with that,” instead of winging it like a human helicopter.
Step 8: Show Coachability, Teamwork, and a Positive Attitude
Skills can get you noticed, but attitude often gets you chosen. High school cheer teams spend many hours together at practices, games, pep rallies, competitions, fundraisers, and school events. Coaches want athletes who are reliable, respectful, hardworking, and kind. A talented athlete with a bad attitude can drain a team faster than a phone battery during homecoming week.
During clinics and tryouts, listen when coaches give corrections. Say “thank you,” apply the feedback, and try again. Do not argue, roll your eyes, or explain why the mistake was actually the floor’s fault, the music’s fault, Mercury retrograde, or your left shoelace. Accountability is attractive to coaches.
Be the Person Others Want on the Team
Encourage other candidates. Help someone review counts if they ask. Stay focused when waiting your turn. Cheer for others without being fake or distracting. Coaches notice quiet leadership. They also notice who complains, who gives up, and who treats tryouts like a popularity contest.
Teamwork is especially important in cheer because safety depends on communication and trust. If you are stunting, one distracted person can affect the whole group. If you are performing, one person off count can make the routine look messy. Show that you understand cheer is not a solo spotlight; it is a team sport with glitter.
Step 9: Walk Into Tryout Day Prepared and Confident
The day before tryouts, do not suddenly attempt every skill you have ever seen on social media. This is not the time to invent a new tumbling pass in your driveway. Review your material, stretch gently, hydrate, eat balanced meals, and get enough sleep. Pack your bag the night before so you are not hunting for shoes five minutes before leaving.
Wear appropriate athletic clothing that follows tryout rules. Choose supportive shoes, secure your hair, keep jewelry off, and avoid anything that distracts from your performance. Some schools may require specific colors, shirts, or numbers. Follow directions exactly. It shows responsibility before you even perform.
During the Actual Tryout
When your turn comes, take a breath, stand tall, and perform with energy from the first count to the last. Make eye contact. Use sharp motions. Project your voice. Smile when it fits. If you make a mistake, recover immediately. Coaches are not expecting robots. They are watching how you handle pressure.
After you finish, thank the judges or coaches if appropriate, then leave the floor professionally. Do not compare scores, panic in the hallway, or start dramatic commentary about who “definitely made it.” Your behavior after performing still reflects who you are as a potential teammate.
Common Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Cheer Tryout
Some mistakes are obvious, like forgetting the entire routine or arriving late. Others are more subtle. One common issue is focusing only on advanced skills while ignoring basics. A candidate may have tumbling experience but lose points because their motions are loose, their cheer voice is weak, or their timing is inconsistent.
Another mistake is looking bored or nervous in a way that shuts down performance. It is normal to feel anxious, but coaches want to see that you can perform through nerves. Practice smiling and projecting confidence even when you feel shaky. Confidence is a skill, and yes, it can be trained.
Do not neglect safety. Trying skills beyond your ability can make you look unprepared, not impressive. Coaches value athletes who understand progressions, use proper technique, and respect the rules. A safe cheerleader is a valuable cheerleader.
What to Do If You Do Not Make the Team
Not making the team hurts. There is no need to pretend it feels like a gentle learning moment wrapped in sunshine. It can feel disappointing, embarrassing, and frustrating. But it is not the end of your cheer story.
If results do not go your way, ask politely whether the coach can share feedback. You might learn that you need stronger jumps, sharper motions, better memorization, more tumbling experience, or improved performance energy. Use that information as a training plan. Many athletes make the team after trying again the next season.
You can also build skills through cheer clinics, gymnastics classes, dance lessons, strength training, or recreational cheer programs. Stay involved, keep practicing, and support the team respectfully. Coaches remember maturity. They also remember improvement.
Extra Experience Section: What Trying Out for Cheer Really Feels Like
Trying out for your high school’s cheer team is not just a physical challenge. It is an emotional one, too. You may spend weeks practicing motions in front of your mirror, only to walk into the gym and suddenly forget which arm is your right arm. This is normal. The tryout environment can feel intense because you care about the outcome. The trick is learning how to perform while nervous instead of waiting for nerves to disappear.
One helpful experience many successful candidates describe is practicing in front of people before tryouts. Performing alone in your room is useful, but it does not fully prepare you for judges, coaches, or other students watching. Ask a parent, sibling, friend, or small group to watch your routine. At first, it may feel awkward. That is the point. The more you practice with eyes on you, the less shocking it feels on tryout day.
Another real-world lesson is that small details matter more than beginners expect. Coaches may not remember every candidate’s highest jump, but they often remember who listened carefully, who improved during the clinic, who smiled through a mistake, and who treated others kindly. A candidate who starts the week average but gets better every day can stand out because improvement shows coachability. Cheer coaches are not only choosing today’s performer; they are choosing someone they can train for a full season.
It also helps to understand that confidence does not always feel like confidence. Sometimes confidence feels like being nervous and doing the routine anyway. You may still have sweaty palms. Your voice may shake on the first word of the cheer. Your heart may pound during the dance. That does not mean you are failing. It means you are doing something brave. Take one count at a time. Hit the next motion. Say the next word. Smile again. Keep moving.
Many athletes also learn that preparation creates calm. When you know the material, your brain has something solid to hold onto. This is why repetition matters. Practice the cheer until you can say it while walking. Practice the dance until the counts feel familiar. Practice jumps when you are slightly tired so your body learns to keep form under pressure. Tryout day should not be the first time you perform full-out.
Finally, remember that making the team is wonderful, but the process itself teaches valuable skills: discipline, resilience, body awareness, communication, courage, and teamwork. Even if the result is not what you hoped for, the training is not wasted. You become stronger, sharper, and more prepared for the next opportunity. And if you do make the team, that same work ethic will help you survive the first full practice when your coach says, “Let’s run it one more time,” and everyone knows “one more time” is cheer code for at least five.
Conclusion
Learning how to make your high school’s cheer team starts with understanding that cheerleading is both athletic and performative. Coaches are looking for more than a pretty jump or a loud voice. They want students who are prepared, safe, spirited, coachable, and ready to contribute to a team. By researching your school’s requirements, building strength and flexibility, mastering motions, improving jumps, practicing tryout material, respecting safety, and showing a positive attitude, you give yourself the best possible chance.
Most importantly, do not wait until the week of tryouts to begin. Cheer skills improve through consistent practice, not panic. Start early, focus on clean basics, ask for feedback, and perform with confidence. Whether you are aiming for varsity, junior varsity, sideline cheer, or competition cheer, preparation is your secret weapon. Well, preparation and maybe a very reliable hair tie.
Note: This article is written for general educational and web publishing purposes. Students should always follow their school’s official tryout rules, coach instructions, athletic department policies, and safety requirements.
