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Sports and Fitness
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Cheerleading
How to Be Accepted Into a Cheerleading Squad With No Tumbling Experience Download ArticleExplore this Article Steps Steps Other Sections Questions & Answers Tips and Warnings Things You'll Need Related Articles References Co-authored by Adam Shuty
Last Updated: February 19, 2026 Approved
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This article was co-authored by Adam Shuty. Adam Shuty is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and owner of ATOMIC Total Fitness, a fitness training studio in New York, New York. With over 15 years of experience, Adam specializes in weightlifting, strength and conditioning, and martial arts. Adam holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2014, Adam appeared on the Live With Kelly and Michael Show as one of the top five fitness instructors in the country. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 86% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 148,266 times.
Becoming a cheerleader is dream for many little girls. Being a role model for the school, having fun at a sport, and having the time of your life is what lots of people want. Cheerleaders have all that. So you want to be on the cheer squad with no tumbling experience? These steps will help you, start reading from step one below.
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1 Look nice. You don't want to look messy when trying out for the cheer squad. Wear a pair of Soffe shorts or a similar brand and shirt that says something about cheerleading. If you don't have a shirt like that, then wear a shirt from a school club or in your school colors. Make sure your hair is in a ponytail with a big bow. Keep your makeup minimal with some long lasting lip gloss, concealer on problem spots, and waterproof mascara. You can wear some eyeshadow if you want, but it is not needed.
2 Make sure you practice everything you learn and know. Practice your dance, cheer, and chant. If you don't learn it until tryout day, learn basic motions, kicks, and jumps. Make sure your motions are sharp and tight. Your motions can't be floppy or it will just look weird. You need to learn a toe touch, herkie, pike, kicks, right, left, and center split, bow and arrow, bridge, punch, hands on hips, daggers, L, K, T, touchdown, buckets, candlesticks, diagonals, among other moves.[1]X Expert Source Adam ShutyCertified Strength & Conditioning SpecialistExpert Interview Practice these every single day until tryouts. Advertisement
3 Improve your current moves. Tense up your arm muscles when doing motions. Kick with a straight back, leg, and pointed toe. When doing your jumps, keep your back straight and your legs up. To improve your jumps, follow this jumping routine to make your jumps higher and neater. Do 30 straddle leg lifts on each leg, 30 crunches, 30 oblique crunches, 50 bicycle crunches, 30 squats, 30 squat jumps, 30 toe raises, 30 hops on each foot, 15 "cheerleader" crunches (look them up), 10 kicks on each leg to the front, side, and 45 degree angle, and practice! Doing this every morning when you wake up will give you stronger legs, a higher jump, and help your legs raise higher in your jumps. Stretch everyday too. Do a straddle (left, right, center), pike, touch your toes, pigeon stretch, butterfly, frog, lunge, floor lunge, split (left, right, center), bridge, shoulder stretch, tricep stretch, bicep stretch, wrist stretch, and ankle stretch.[2]X Expert Source Adam ShutyCertified Strength & Conditioning SpecialistExpert Interview Hold each move for 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you do this twice a day everyday along with any other stretches you can think of, you should get your splits in a month!
4 Have good facial expressions. When doing your dance, wink, smile, stick out your tongue, anything that makes people smile and gets the crowd going. If you want your smile to really shine, whiten your teeth with some baking soda, whitening toothpaste, floss, and/or whitening strips. Add some pink lip gloss with some glitter and your smile will really shine.
5 Be confident and loud. They want to hear you when cheer because that's what cheerleading is! And be confident, you always want to be confident when you cheer. Practice having a loud and clear voice at tryouts.
6 Work on the tumbling you have. You may not have any cheer leading tumbling experience but if you have skills from other activities like gymnastics or even circus skills, try working on perfecting back handsprings, tucks, or aerials. You can teach yourself the basics, such as a handstand, cartwheel, and round off. Chances are that they will teach you some tougher moves on the squad. When doing basic tumbling which you have no experience of, make sure your toes are pointed and your legs are straight.
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Question How do I prove to my parents that I should do cheerleading? Community Answer Convince them cheering is your passion and you're ready to fully invest yourself in it. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 32 Helpful 188
Question What happens if I am too small to be accepted into a cheerleading squad? Community Answer Usually, you can't be too small to make the squad. Smaller people are great because they are ideal flyers. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 25 Helpful 138
Question What if you want to be a flyer, but are a little scared of being in the air? Should I practice with other people lifting me? Community Answer Try going to a local cheer gym's open gym night. The coaches and other cheerleaders there would be more than happy to go through the basics with you, and you can even sign up for a class through the gym. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 19 Helpful 105
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Toe touches are when you do a split in the air with your arms in a T. You bring your legs up to your hands, not your hands down to your feet. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Pikes are when you stick your legs straight out in front of you and you stick your arms straight forward in fists. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Herkies are jumps where one leg sticks straight out and slightly up at a 45 degree angle and the other leg is bent. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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If you don't feel comfortable tumbling, make sure that your other cheer skills are really above average to accommodate for this.
Ask a cheerleader who was on the team before you to help you practice the chants and cheers, so you can be extra prepared.
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Warnings
If you eat an unhealthy diet you may faint or not have enough energy, so make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Thanks Helpful 86 Not Helpful 9
You might not make the squad so instead do all stars or your school's competition squad. Don't let it hurt you. It's their loss anyway. Thanks Helpful 82 Not Helpful 9
Cheerleading is a dangerous sport! Always make sure you know what's going on. Thanks Helpful 84 Not Helpful 10
Don't overtrain. Thanks Helpful 82 Not Helpful 12
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Things You'll Need
Shirt that says "Cheer" on it or a school shirt
Black Soffe shorts or similar
Cheer shoes
White ankle socks
School spirit
Workout plan
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References
↑ Adam Shuty. Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Expert Interview
↑ Adam Shuty. Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Expert Interview
Co-authored by: Adam Shuty Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist This article was co-authored by Adam Shuty. Adam Shuty is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and owner of ATOMIC Total Fitness, a fitness training studio in New York, New York. With over 15 years of experience, Adam specializes in weightlifting, strength and conditioning, and martial arts. Adam holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2014, Adam appeared on the Live With Kelly and Michael Show as one of the top five fitness instructors in the country. This article has been viewed 148,266 times. 41 votes - 86% Co-authors: 24Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 148,266 Categories: Cheerleading
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Reader Success Stories
Makayla H.
Nov 29, 2023
"I like this article because I wanna become a cheerleader, because I'm gonna go to high school soon, so I feel like those tip will help me a lot."..." more
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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Co-authored by: Adam Shuty Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist Co-authors: 24Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 148,26686% of readers found this article helpful. 41 votes - 86% Click a star to add your vote
Makayla H.
Nov 29, 2023
"I like this article because I wanna become a cheerleader, because I'm gonna go to high school soon, so I feel like those tip will help me a lot."..." more
Victoria Paxton
Feb 22, 2017
"I needed help on cheer for tryouts and I got it."
Elisha Wood
Jul 14, 2016
"Very good article!" Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories
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Download Article Explore this Article Steps Steps Other Sections Questions & Answers Tips and Warnings Things You'll Need Related Articles References Co-authored by Adam Shuty 
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Co-authored by: Adam Shuty Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist This article was co-authored by Adam Shuty. Adam Shuty is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and owner of ATOMIC Total Fitness, a fitness training studio in New York, New York. With over 15 years of experience, Adam specializes in weightlifting, strength and conditioning, and martial arts. Adam holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2014, Adam appeared on the Live With Kelly and Michael Show as one of the top five fitness instructors in the country. This article has been viewed 148,266 times. 41 votes - 86% Co-authors: 24 Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 148,266 Categories: Cheerleading 
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1 Look nice. You don't want to look messy when trying out for the cheer squad. Wear a pair of Soffe shorts or a similar brand and shirt that says something about cheerleading. If you don't have a shirt like that, then wear a shirt from a school club or in your school colors. Make sure your hair is in a ponytail with a big bow. Keep your makeup minimal with some long lasting lip gloss, concealer on problem spots, and waterproof mascara. You can wear some eyeshadow if you want, but it is not needed. 
2 Make sure you practice everything you learn and know. Practice your dance, cheer, and chant. If you don't learn it until tryout day, learn basic motions, kicks, and jumps. Make sure your motions are sharp and tight. Your motions can't be floppy or it will just look weird. You need to learn a toe touch, herkie, pike, kicks, right, left, and center split, bow and arrow, bridge, punch, hands on hips, daggers, L, K, T, touchdown, buckets, candlesticks, diagonals, among other moves.[1] Practice these every single day until tryouts. Advertisement 
3 Improve your current moves. Tense up your arm muscles when doing motions. Kick with a straight back, leg, and pointed toe. When doing your jumps, keep your back straight and your legs up. To improve your jumps, follow this jumping routine to make your jumps higher and neater. Do 30 straddle leg lifts on each leg, 30 crunches, 30 oblique crunches, 50 bicycle crunches, 30 squats, 30 squat jumps, 30 toe raises, 30 hops on each foot, 15 "cheerleader" crunches (look them up), 10 kicks on each leg to the front, side, and 45 degree angle, and practice! Doing this every morning when you wake up will give you stronger legs, a higher jump, and help your legs raise higher in your jumps. Stretch everyday too. Do a straddle (left, right, center), pike, touch your toes, pigeon stretch, butterfly, frog, lunge, floor lunge, split (left, right, center), bridge, shoulder stretch, tricep stretch, bicep stretch, wrist stretch, and ankle stretch.[2] Hold each move for 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you do this twice a day everyday along with any other stretches you can think of, you should get your splits in a month! 
4 Have good facial expressions. When doing your dance, wink, smile, stick out your tongue, anything that makes people smile and gets the crowd going. If you want your smile to really shine, whiten your teeth with some baking soda, whitening toothpaste, floss, and/or whitening strips. Add some pink lip gloss with some glitter and your smile will really shine. 
5 Be confident and loud. They want to hear you when cheer because that's what cheerleading is! And be confident, you always want to be confident when you cheer. Practice having a loud and clear voice at tryouts. 
6 Work on the tumbling you have. You may not have any cheer leading tumbling experience but if you have skills from other activities like gymnastics or even circus skills, try working on perfecting back handsprings, tucks, or aerials. You can teach yourself the basics, such as a handstand, cartwheel, and round off. Chances are that they will teach you some tougher moves on the squad. When doing basic tumbling which you have no experience of, make sure your toes are pointed and your legs are straight. Advertisement 
Community Answer Convince them cheering is your passion and you're ready to fully invest yourself in it. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 32 Helpful 188 
Community Answer Usually, you can't be too small to make the squad. Smaller people are great because they are ideal flyers. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 25 Helpful 138 