Tip 1: Clear and Easy, Great, Effective Communication Skills
Smiling, using eye contact helps to draw the crowd to want to participate in yelling along with your cheer team.
Tip 3: Great Stunting and Building Technique
Partner stunting is when two or more people are connected together to complete a skill like a pyramid. The crowd wants to see really confident leaders out there. If you're shaky in your pyramid building technique and stunting, it diverts the attention of the crowd. Strong, solid stunting helps put the crowd at ease rather than worrying about the safety of the team and helps the crowd transition into wanting to follow along as the program moves.
Tip 2: Sharp, Tight Motions
This helps the crowd to easily follow along with the rhythm of the sideline or cheer that is being communicated. Strategies that create crowd engagement and involvement cannot be overstated in their importance.
Tip 4: Awesome Gymnastics Skills
Gymnastics are the "wow" factor of cheer events. They are a crowd pleaser and an eye catcher. Once you're finished tumbling, now you have the crowd's undivided attention and it's easier to lead the crowd into what it is that you want them to do in their part of the participation. Whether its to stand, do a collective wave or just yell along with you.
Tip 5: Signs, Flags and Banners
These should be fun, clever and easy to read and yell along with the cheer team. Think of them as big, moving graphics that jump out of a lively and loud presentation prompting the crowd to get involved with the cheer team and in the event.
Tip 6: Most Importantly HAVE FUN!
If you don't enjoy what you're doing it will come across to the crowd which can effect the team you're cheering for. Having the crowd engaged for the team is an important part of helping the team win. The extra support that the crowd gives can be the difference in winning and losing. Additionally, a good cheer team affects school morale and therefore communities that are proud to be part of and alumni of that school. I'm still proud to be a Linden McKinley panther to this very day!
John Jackson is a national champion cheerleader, choreographer, coach & cheer consultant working with teams of all sizes from all over the country. He's also a Columbus native and Ohio State alumnus.