How To Prepare for Tryouts

Be Aggressive. B-E Aggressive. It may be a tad old fashioned, and a weird thing to chant to yourself, but, you kind of have to. You don’t want to be the mean one who doesn’t talk to anyone, but the one who is pushing themselves to be better. Be the one who is trying your hardest even when you’re just practicing.

The tryout is your chance to prove to the team that they should put you on their team because you are good. Plain and simple. You want to be the fresh, hot out of the oven Krispy Kreme donut in a sea of stale, month old donuts. In other words, be unique and stand out.

Prepping for the tryouts can feel like a journey all in its self. When you want to join the team and you have a date for when your tryouts will commence, they will most likely give you a paper that will list how the day will go and what you should wear. You want to be comfortable and stylish at the same time – the Krispy Kreme with the sprinkles – and the attire will most likely be: a loose tank top or t-shirt, soffe shorts, and tennis shoes. You should put your hair in a ponytail so it’s not in your face and make sure that all those little stray, fly away hairs are either pinned or hair sprayed back! Hey, add a bow in your pony to add some flair! If you don’t know how to or can’t do it by yourself find your mom or a sibling.

So you have the attire down, what now? Stretch, practice and stretch some more. Honestly, yes you can over stretch and hurt your muscles but if you do just the right amount it can only further you in your cheer career. Only go as far as you know you can go. Don’t push yourself to be like the more advanced cheer girls. You will get there with time. Even the most advanced people started somewhere! If you’re practicing your cheers and chants go word by word so you can double check your motions. When practicing a dance, first go count by count, slow, so you can use your muscle memory when the music is on. You want to go slow at first and then work your way to the normal speed of the dance. The more you go over it the less your mind has to “think about it” and you can spend more time smiling and flirting with the crowd.

“Flirting with the crowd” is a huge part of cheerleading. If you are trying out for a competitive team or a high school/college team you will need to use facials! Facials? What are facials? Well, that is when you wink, smile, blow a kiss, shake your head, etc. Imagine you’re trying to flirt with someone but they are at a distance and you want them to see your face. If you feel like you’re overdoing it, don’t worry… you’re not.

Make friends! That is partially why you’re trying out right? Besides wanting to cheer, you want to make friends. Not having friends in your life is like lemonade without the lemon. Unless you don’t like lemons, in that case, think of your favorite drink and subtract the flavor. Just be yourself. You want to show your true colors at your tryouts. Don’t try and be anyone but yourself. You got this! You can make the team! Now, stop reading this and go practice.