How to Judge High School Cheerleading Tryouts

Cheerleading is a highly competitive sport in some high schools. Cheerleaders are highly motivated, flexible, bubbly and very active in their extra-curricular activities. Choosing the right girls and guys for the team is important, as you want to make sure your squad is strong.

Instructions

1. Understand cheerleading firsthand. Have some sort of background in cheering, dancing or tumbling so you know what to look for in the candidates. If you've gone through tryouts before, you're more likely to understand what the girls have to go through to impress you.

2. Pay attention to how well prepared the girls and boys are for the tryout. If you ask them to create a routine beforehand, take note of who stands out as strong performers. If you teach them a routine, notice the ones who catch on quickly and remember the moves.

3. Look at the faces to see which participants are nervous, and which shine through the nervousness. You shouldn't pick a cheerleader based solely on her smile, but confidence goes a long way in cheerleading so take note of it.

4. Judge candidates based on the qualities your cheerleading squad focuses on. For example, if you take your girls to competitions, look for girls with the star quality that can help you win. If you do a lot of tumbling, find girls who can do back hand springs and flips easily and flawlessly.

5. Watch the tryout routines and find girls and guys with strong voices. Of course you can't expect all your cheerleaders to project well, but having a few strong voices comes in handy at games and competitions.

6. Judge fairly. Look at how well the candidate moves, sounds and looks together with the rest of the girls. Don't focus on weight, height or beauty--instead look for the positive qualities each possibility may bring to the squad.

7. Choose a variety of girls and guys for your cheerleading squad. For example, a pyramid stunt requires strong cheerleaders for the bottom and great balancers and lightweight jumpers for the top. Routines often require some cheerleaders to perform gymnastics while others to get the crowd going. Find the mix that best represents your school and team.