Nailing It

[tiana]

I am proud to say as of October 3rd, 2014 (MY BIRTHDAY) I am now a College Cheerleader! Can you believe that? I tried out for Cheerleading ON MY BIRTHDAY, and made it! Well now I'd like some advice from you! I know this is a pretty basic question but how do you memorize your cheer dances perfectly? I want to be-able to learn it, take it home, come back and nail it. I practiced the tryout dance at home and still messed up (due to nerves). How do I memorize the dance even when I'm nervous? How do you memorize your Cheer dances? Give me a method! How many times do you do it over? How to I develop confidence in my Cheer dances when I present them to the Captains of the Cheerleading squad? How do I NAIL IT?

I would love any advice I can get!

 

[SharkDad]

CONGRATULATIONS. My first advice if for you to post this question in the college forum, there are lots of college cheerleaders that post in there with great advice. You'll get great advice here as well, but the thread may get lost in the shuffle with all the other subjects.

My CP is on her 3d year of college cheer. It's a lot of work to balance work, school, and her cheer. She's always starving and lacks sleep, but that's the college life she is choosing.

 

[BuegeSmalls]

My CP is on her 3d year of college cheer. It's a lot of work to balance work, school, and her cheer. She's always starving and lacks sleep, but that's the college life she is choosing.

Lol I'm on my 3rd year of college cheer and I second this. Always starving and lack of sleep is a way of life.

But for memorizing dances, just do it over and over again. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people still can't remember dances that we learned back in July.

 

[ilikebigbows]

Start doing your dances slowly, and as you get good at doing them slowly, you can speed it up little by little until you can do it as fast as the music goes. Practice specific tricky parts or "that one part you always mess up on" (story of my life) in the mirror until it's muscle memory. Soon, you won't be able to listen to the radio without doing your dances along with the song! Good luck, happy belated birthday and CONGRATS

 

[WinstonsGirl]

Ditto everyone else. Do them slow until you get comfortable and then speed it up. If you've got most of it, work the section that is giving you trouble on its own, and then put it back together. But it's all reps. The more you do it, the better your body and brain remember what to do next. Learning dances comes easier with time too.

Oh, and start at different points, connecting different sections. I always find it hard to connect 2 sections that were learned separately, or several mints apart. Don't stop on that first 8 count. Do the next 1-2 counts after, so you have the connection of what your next move is. Congratulations!! I had a great time cheering in University.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Once I have it down enough to feel comfortable, I do the dance to different songs with varying tempos.

 

[tiana]

Once I have it down enough to feel comfortable, I do the dance to different songs with varying tempos.

OOOOOOOOOOHHHH!

That's a GREAT idea! I'm gunna try that!:cheering:

 

[DaniV]

I am proud to say as of October 3rd, 2014 (MY BIRTHDAY) I am now a College Cheerleader! Can you believe that? I tried out for Cheerleading ON MY BIRTHDAY, and made it! Well now I'd like some advice from you! I know this is a pretty basic question but how do you memorize your cheer dances perfectly? I want to be-able to learn it, take it home, come back and nail it. I practiced the tryout dance at home and still messed up (due to nerves). How do I memorize the dance even when I'm nervous? How do you memorize your Cheer dances? Give me a method! How many times do you do it over? How to I develop confidence in my Cheer dances when I present them to the Captains of the Cheerleading squad? How do I NAIL IT?

I would love any advice I can get!

I don't know how many different dances you have and if they have names associated with them but this worked well for me when I was in HS learning all of our different cheers. I made flashcards with the name of the cheer on the front (words on the back in case I forgot) and I would shuffle them up and go through the deck. If I messed up it went back in the pile to do again. The more you practice each dance (even if it's easy for you) the more it will become muscle memory and you don't even have to think when doing it. Start slow but make sure to do it perfect and sharp. Speed it up as you get better and better until it's finally at tempo and then add music.

 

[ARajamin]

Once I have it down enough to feel comfortable, I do the dance to different songs with varying tempos.

I have my cheerleaders do the same thing

 

[Coach Sara]

I am proud to say as of October 3rd, 2014 (MY BIRTHDAY) I am now a College Cheerleader! Can you believe that? I tried out for Cheerleading ON MY BIRTHDAY, and made it! Well now I'd like some advice from you! I know this is a pretty basic question but how do you memorize your cheer dances perfectly? I want to be-able to learn it, take it home, come back and nail it. I practiced the tryout dance at home and still messed up (due to nerves). How do I memorize the dance even when I'm nervous? How do you memorize your Cheer dances? Give me a method! How many times do you do it over? How to I develop confidence in my Cheer dances when I present them to the Captains of the Cheerleading squad? How do I NAIL IT?

I would love any advice I can get!

I know you posted this about a month ago, but just wondering how it's going. If you're still working on memorizing routines, try using imagery (visualizing) to experience he routines in your mind. You can play the music and picture the routines in your mind, or hear the music in your head. Congrats on making the team!