As cheer tryouts are upon us, there are many things that you can do to prepare! Cheerleading is hard work and takes a lot of determination, so first make sure you are prepared for the workload; you will be busy. Despite being busy though, you will have tons of fun being on the team; you will make so many good memories and have so many great opportunities throughout your cheer season. Personally, I can say that some of my best memories have come from cheerleading.

First, let’s start with some tips to prepare you for tryouts:

1. Stretch, make sure you start stretching a couple of weeks before tryouts and stretch good. You should have your muscles warmed up because you will be jumping at cheer clinics, and the more you stretch, the easier your jumps will. This will also help with not being as sore the next day.
2. Practice your motions in a mirror. A big part of your score is your technique and motion placement, using a mirror and hitting basic motions can greatly improve your overall abilities. A lot of times you don’t even realize that you may need to improve some of your motions, and it is also just a good way to practice and make sure your wrists are going the correct way and that they are straight.
3. Make sure you practice; after the first clinics, you will learn cheers and dance, so make sure you practice when you get home. Even if you just go over the cheers and dance a couple of times before bed, it will help greatly in the next clinic day. And especially when it comes to tryout day. Practicing the night before is key to having a good tryout and being prepared.

Next,  let’s talk about things you can do on tryout day, besides stretching very well and

practicing other tips include:

1. Be confident! At this point, you know all the cheers and dance and practiced it a million times. You know what you are doing, so do not psych yourself out because that could cause you to make a mistake, so stay calm and go into it confidently 
2. Don’t be intimidated by the judges; while yes they are judging you, they really aren’t that scary. In my experience, they have smiled when I walked in, and while I was performing. They aren’t there to scare you or make you more nervous. 
3. Lastly, make sure you have fun! The more fun you have, and the more comfortable you are, the better you will do; it’s super easy to get caught up in all the pressure of it that they forget to have fun. So, that is my last piece of advice: just have fun!

To everyone trying out, good luck! You got this! Remember my tips and lastly never give up; even if it’s hard, it’ll pay off much more if you never give up.