Help With Cheers, Stunts, and Formations

One the season has gotten underway, it's time to start getting down to the creative things: Cheers, Stunts, and Formations. Have you ever sat down and tried to write a cheer? It isn't always an easy task.

Help With Cheers, Stunts, and Formations

Help With Cheers, Stunts, and Formations

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Help With Cheers, Stunts, and Formations

Help With Cheers, Stunts, and Formations

STEP ONE: Pick the type of cheer.

The first thing you have to do is decide whether you want a short chant or a longer floor cheer. If you decide you want a floor cheer, you have to choose on one with or without a stunt.
For chants during time outs, it is best to stick to short phrases and repeat them at least three times through. It can be anything from chanting "Go, Fight, Win" during a time out, to a longer cheer with a couple lines. Regardless, you need to repeat the lines in order to get the crowd involved.

Floor cheers take a little more effort. Once you decide whether or not you are going to make a cheer with a stunt, you can pick the ending. With a stunt: the most common ending is a repeated phrase. Without a stunt: The repeated phrase at the end is not necessary.

STEP TWO: Start writing.

Whether you use a stunt or not, the first thing you do is start listing words that rhyme.

Back
Lack
Stack
Knack
Before
More
Score
For
Here
Near
Fear
Year

Now try to make phrases with the words you have.

Hey Hornets, Watch out! The Rockets are BACK!
We're here to win with the skills that you LACK!
You think you've seen it all BEFORE,
Think again, we'll show you MORE!
So step back and Watch the team of the YEAR.
Roanoke Benson, the team to FEAR.*HINT*

One of the biggest things to remember when writing cheers is you don't have to write in complete sentences! Sometimes, it's a lot easier to just use short phrases in which the words are easy to punch.

STEP THREE: Try it out.

In order to make sure it sounds good, you have to say the cheer aloud. You may feel Silly, but it will only help you in the end. If you're too embarrassed to say the words out loud, what makes you think the girls will want to?

(If you chose a cheer without a Stunt, skip to STEP FIVE)

STEP FOUR: Choose a stunt.

Once you make a cheer, the next step is to decide the stunt, if there is one. This step depends on the preferences and skill level of you squad. My girls usually stick to preps and fulls. These solid stunts can be manipulated into looking different. One of our more unusual stunts is our "helicopter." It's also called a "flat back." This is where four girls, a back base, two side bases, and a front base, hold the flier above their heads while she is laying flat on her back, hence the name flat backs.

Options for stunts include doing them in the beginning or middle, at the end, or through the whole cheer. With our helicopter cheer, we used it at the beginning. This is a great way to change things up a little. The crowd loves it! It catches their attention and keeps them interested through the rest of the cheer. One of the drawbacks to this option is if the girls are using their energy at the beginning of the cheer, their voices won't be as loud in the end.

Another option is doing a stunt in the middle. This is not very common at games, but is a great idea for competition. This requires a lot of endurance to look and sound good since it's usually a longer cheer. If you can pull it off-great! Just remember, since it is a longer cheer, make sure the girls are ready to get on the floor as soon as the buzzer goes off. A stunt at the end of the cheer is the most common option. Everyone does it. Since it is so common, it's good because the crowd expects it and knows when to get involved. It's easiest because the girls can do their moveMents at first, then use the adrenaline rush at the end to push up the stunts. This is always the safe way to go. The last option is stunting through the whole cheer. This requires a TON of work! Start the girls in a close formation. Then, you can start the stunt on set or 1, 2, 3, 4. This really keeps the crowd's attention, as long as they can hear the words! Again, a lot of practice!*HINT*

Regardless of when you decide to stunt during a cheer, there are a few things to remember. Make sure you practice the stunts for a couple weeks before you perform. NEVER go onto the floor with a stunt unless you are 100% sure it will stick. It's better to have watered down stunts, than a great stunt that doesn't stick. With this newfound attention from the crowd, the last thing you want is for them to see one of your cheerleaders fall.

STEP FIVE: Set up a formation.

*HINT*

Formations can be a complex idea, or they can be simple. When you're a cheerleader, the same formations get boring and you really want to change things around. It seems like a good idea as the ones on the floor, but it isn't always necessary. The crowd doesn't notice the small changes, and the formations that seem so exciting and new to the cheerleaders, look a mess from the stands.
One of the most important things to remember with formations is to set them up according to the stunt you're doing. It's nice to switch positions around give other girls the chance to be in the front of the formation, but it isn't always the most effective thing to do. You want to try to keep the back bases toward the back and the front bases toward the front. Stick the fliers in the middle and the side bases on either side of them. This will help with transitioning from the formation to the stunt or from the stunt to the formation.\

Another thing to remember is when the girls are transitioning from each spot, running into each other does not make the squad look good. Make sure they've practiced going from spot to spot and they know the best direct route without falling all over each other. When they are going to each place, if they aren't clapping with the words, make sure their arms are straight down to their sides.
Formations can be any kind of design you choose. You can do straight lines, sTAGgered lines, a diamond, a circle, a triangle, or anything you can think of. They can also be spread across the enTire floor, just on the half your fans are on, or in a tight formation anywhere on the floor. When trying to plan formations, I mark the spots with Xs and write their names underneath. Here are a couple of options for a twelve-member squad.

B-Back Base
S-Side Base
F-Front Base
X-Flier
Y-Extra

_________________B_________________B___________________
________________S_S_______________S_S_________________
_______________Y_X_F_____________Y_X_F_________________
______________________B___B____________________________
____________________X___Y___X__________________________
__________________S___S___S___S________________________
____________________F___Y___F__________________________

STEP SIX: PRACTICE!!

It cannot be said enough. MAKE SURE YOU PRACTICE! No matter how excited the girls are to show off a new cheer, as a coach it is your responsibility to make sure they are ready to perform. If you have any doubt at all about their ability to pull off a stunt, DO NOT let them do it!

Help With Cheers, Stunts, and Formations