How to Choreograph a Cheerleading Routine

There are a variety of ways to choreograph a cheerleading routine. At times, the coach will create and teach a routine. At other times, the cheerleaders themselves will create and choreograph it. In most cases, however, the coach and the cheerleaders will brainstorm ideas based on the needs, talents and skills of the squad. Younger squads veer away from potentially dangerous acrobatics, while older, highly skilled and experienced teams will showcase their more difficult level stunts.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Chants
• Basic cheerleading positions
• Cheers
• Warm up clothes
• Water
• Music
• Coach
• Competitive scorecard

Choreograph a Cheerleading Routine

1. Determine which type of routine you are trying to create. In cheerleading, the three main types of routines are cheer, chant and dance. They may share some similar moves, but each routine has a distinctly different style.
2. Warm up before starting any cheerleading routine. Walk or jog lightly for 5 to 10 minutes. This gets the circulatory system flowing and reduces the chance of injury.
3. Stretch to avoid straining any muscles. Some common team stretches include hamstring, quadriceps, shoulders, calf, canoe stretch (with two people) and back arm lifts. Remember to breathe while you stretch.
4. Review the basic poses. Cheerleading is about using your body to send a message to the crowd. This is done primarily through the way the cheerleader uses her arms, hips, head and legs. Several poses are used in virtually all routines. Learning and reviewing these basic poses is like learning and reviewing the cheerleading language.
5. Add in specific stunts, chants and moves to personalize the routine. If you are creating a routine for a pep rally, you may want to include more chants for the crowd to yell along with. If you are creating a routine for a football game, you will want to prepare cheers and develop a halftime show. If you are entering a cheerleading competition, you will want to include difficult stunts and moves that will score your team the maximum amount of points.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to drink plenty of water while cheering. Cheerleading is a sport and team members are athletes that need to be re-hydrated constantly.
• Recycle old cheers and add a few extra moves to make them new and unique.
• Practice, practice, practice! The best cheers are those that are performed as second nature. Practice really does make perfect!
• Never perform any acrobatics or stunts without a coach and spotter present.
• Don't incorporate pom-poms into a complex acrobatic routine. They will just get in the way.