Hey guys! I'm currently in 8th grade, but i'm trying out for the high school team this week. I've never cheered before, but i've been dancing since i was 3. I'm pretty flexible: i can do full splits on both legs, nice extensions, almost a full staddle and cartwheels. However, my jumps aren't very good as i've just started learning them. I mean, i can jump but they don't get very high... maybe this is just the dancer side of me talking but I personally don't think they are very high... and i'm not exactly very SHARP just yet... i mean i'm not like liquid movements but they aren't super sharp which i know is a big problem. Final tryouts are on Thursday and i know that there isn't much time but is there anything you wonderful cheerleaders out there can suggest for me?! Thanks ever so much!
- Emily

and ummm how much of getting on the team relies on current skill? and how much relies on work ethic, desire to learn, that type of thing because i know the coach knows my work ethic and desire to learn is high but i'm worried since my current ability isn't TOP notch. Thanks again!

Jumps take a lot of time. When I first started cheerleading, I had tons of dance experience and loads of flexibility, but that's not enough. The muscles you use in cheerleading are different, you've got to build strength in those muscles before the movements you do really improve. What helped me was practices... we used to do 20 toe touches in a row, and then we had to do several double toe touches right afterwards, no break. It's exhausting but it built up a lot of strength and height.

As for motions, when I first started, the coaches kept reminding me NOT to use my core. In ballet, you learn to do every movement from the core, but in cheer, that's not the case. Whenever I did motions "from the core", they didn't look as sharp. Sharpness, again, comes with practice. Practice your motions in a mirror every day, and ask a coach privately how you can make them "sharp". Since none of us here can see what mistakes you are making, we can't accurately suggest much.

None of us can say how much of your try out will depend on current skill or attitude/drive/potential. That depends a lot on your school's program. Some are much harder than others to get into and some require a lot of previous skill. Others don't. A huge part of any try out is attitude, drive, and potential, because even the best cheerleaders can still learn a lot and need to be enthusiastic and motivated. It's really important. But what skills your coach is looking for is something we don't know.