AES Cougar Cheerleading
Cheerleading 101: Skills and Drills
Coaching Exercises Skills and Drills Stunting Tumbling
Facials: Cheerleaders communicate with the crowd with more than just their voices. They also use their faces and bodies. A good old fashioned smile is always a crowd favorite, but sometimes it’s fun to shake things up a little bit and add some extra pizzazz when you are hitting a stunt or a hot dance move.
Some people feel awkward doing facials, but you have to remember that televised competitions aside you are essentially stage performers, so as in stage acting you have to "go big" on all your moves and expressions so the folks in the back row can tell you are doing something. In order to become more
comfortable doing facials,
I recommend practicing them at home. Just run through a series of them every night, and by the time you hit the court or mat they should come naturally to you. (Some of the more common expressions besides brilliant smiles: surprise, shock, attitude, kissy-face, wink, say-what?, pout, sticking out your tongue
*but smile when you do*) NOTE: during games I only want to see smiles. Save the wild facials for your routine and use them sparingly. It really is possible to have too much of a good thing.
Some examples of facial and body expressions for you to try:
1
2
3
4
Breath exercises: How to yell correctly.
Arm motions: Get in front of a mirror or a big window. Close your eyes. Hit a move. Open your eyes.
Check these pictures to see if you nailed them. If not, adjust it until it is right. Go to the ready position and then snap that move perfectly over and over with your eyes open. Do another closed eyes-open eyes test. Did you do it just right this time? If yes, you can thank muscle memory. If no, keep practicing in front of that mirror or get a friend or family member to videotape you.
To make sure it is sharp enough, snap your arms out hard at the last
possible second before you need to make the move, then screech your arms
to a halt like you slammed on the brakes. Keep your muscles squeezed
tight the entire time.
Video of cheer motions
Video of motions drills
Another free video of cheer motions
Choreography: Dance is an essential part
of cheerleading, and every team whether it it is competing or
entertaining the crowds at a game, needs to use eye-catching moves and
transitions. One way to get ideas for dances is to watch other
teams. Competitions are aired several times a year on TV, and there are
many videos on the internet that
you can watch as well. Another option is to order DVDs from cheerleading
camps. The upside to this option is usually they will teach you the
counts slowly, which is great if you don't pick up dance moves very
quickly. The downside is that everyone else who has been to camp will
recognize those moves, so be sure to buy DVDs from camps that are from
other regions of the country and therefore new to people in your area.
Jumps:
Do 10 each of a variety of jumps every day. (Don't forget to spend some time on
the ground in these jump positions. That muscle memory thing again. And
remember, it's not just about whipping your legs up, it's also about
snapping them down. Don't rely on gravity to do your work for you!) You
can also do leg lifts and variations on ab exercises like crunches since
those are the some of the major muscles which help you jump. See the
links below for more on those exercises.
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Pencil jump:
how to do it
Tuck: picture / video / how to do it Banana: picture / video C: picture / video Bambi (stag): picture / video Spread eagle: picture / video / how to do it Double hook (pretzel): picture / video Herkie: picture / video |
Front hurdler:
picture /
video
/
how to do it Side hurdler: picture / video / how to do it Toe touch: picture / video / how to do it Split Russian: picture / video Turn-around-toe touch: video Pike: picture / video / how to do it Double 9: picture / video / how to do it Around-the-world: video / how to do it |
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More links of interest about jumps: Exercises to improve your jumps Jump tips Video of jump and kick counts Another video of jump counts Jump videos |
 Graphics courtesy of Brianne Peterson Pitt |