A cheerleading season barely ends before the nervousness and stress about tryouts start.
It can be hard to know what you should work on, especially if you’re trying out for a new team or gym.
The Cheer Kin has listed 4 helpful tips, to help you decide what to focus on before your tryout!
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1. Refine your existing skills
Perfect every skill you already have and focus on the finer details like keeping your feet together, pointing your toes and straightening your knees.
This will show coaches you’ve mastered your existing skills and are ready to start training at the next level!
2. Address your weaknesses
Now that your focus isn’t on routines and competitions, spend the majority of your time bettering yourself in your weak areas.
For most people, this is strength, flexibility, and/or endurance.
Not only will this help you maintain your fitness when not in competition season, but it will prepare you for new skills and speed up the learning process.
3. Put in extra work
Take advantage of open gyms, do extra classes, sign up for private lessons, or train at home.
This will show your coaches you are dedicated and have the drive to progress to the next level – something they will consider when placing you on a team!
4. Take it easy
Many athletes try to get all their new skills for the next season in the 2-3 weeks leading up to tryouts.
This is such a small window of time that makes it incredibly difficult to “level up” by the time tryouts roll around.
Don’t push yourself too hard or go way out of your comfort zone – this will only lead to sloppy skills, mental blocks, injuries, and feelings of discouragement.
Instead, focus on mastering the basics of new/harder skills, such as important drills or doing the skill on a trampoline.
Speaking of trampolines, what about using a trampoline at home to practice those new and challenging skills? Is it a good or bad idea for cheerleaders?
In this article, Coach Sahil explores the topic, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of home trampolines, specifically for cheerleaders.