Tips to Memorize Your Routine

by Team Xplore

May

2015

2627 views

You probably hear it all the time: cheerleading is so easy. This type of comment usually comes from someone who has never been a cheerleader. The truth is, cheerleading is a very difficult sport. You must memorize cheers and dance sequences. You also have to know how to make the motions. It is not something that everyone can do without practice. However, there are some tips that you can use to improve your skills and become a better cheerleader over time.
Memorizing and practicing your routine is extremely important because cheerleading is about muscle memory. The more you practice, the better you will become. In order to practice, you must know your routine. That is where you must memorize the steps, moves and words. Everyone learns in a different way. If you need to write things down, bring your notebook and write down the sequence. If you learn by repeating the motions and seeing the routine, get as close to the instructor as possible during the learning process. The trick is to find out what works best for you and your learning style.
If the cheer you are learning is a mix of words and movements, you may want to repeat the words several times to learn them first. This can help you later by associating those words with certain movements. Knowing the words is the first step to learning a cheer or other type of routine.
During the learning process, you should pay attention to everything the instructor is telling you. Look at the details. How are they standing? What kind of pose is that? Are the elbows bent? All of these tiny items can make a world of difference. In cheerleading, it is about being precise and making sure that all of the movements are the same across the board. If you are doing a move different than anyone else on your cheerleading squad, it will be easily noticeable. To prevent this, pay attention to the details as well as the whole picture.
Another tip that can help tremendously is to practice as often as you can. This means that after your practice with your team, go home and practice even more. If your team takes a break, you should take a moment to work on the parts that you are finding difficult. The more you practice, the easier the routine will become. Over time, you may even realize that you are not thinking out the next move and it is coming naturally. This is the goal but it does not come without practice and a lot of it.
Finally, ask for a critique by either the coach or a team member. Letting others who know what it is supposed to look like tell you any problem areas allows you to work on them. Otherwise, you may not know where you are going wrong. It is important to accept their feedback, but not take it personally. You are asking for their help and the best help comes from brutal honesty. This will only help you in the long run! Now that you have some good tips to help you with practicing and memorizing routines, you are ready to take on the cheerleading world!