Cheerleading Cheers and Chants

From LoveToKnow Cheerleading

Every squad wants to make their cheerleading cheers and chants the best they can possibly be. The better and more creative that your cheers are, the more your squad will be known as one of the best in town!

Motions for Cheerleading Cheers and Chants

Once you know the basic steps, choreographing cheerleading cheers and chants, as well as following choreography for a routine, will be much easier. For each position it’s important to always remember to:

  • Keep your motions stiff and clean.
  • Practice "snapping" from move to move, always taking the shortest route possible.
  • Stand at attention; keep the rest of your body taught while cheering and avoid doing extra movements. No sloppy posture or limp limbs!

Hand Positions

There are three basic hand positions: the basic clap, blades and sparkles. When you are clapping, regardless of whether or not your hands are in a basic position or in the blades position, you want to clap in order to make the loudest sound possible.

  • The Basic Clap: Hold your hands slightly cupped when they are clapping so you can make the loudest noise possible. Your clasped hands should be just under your chin and slightly away from your body. Your elbows should be at the side of your body and not pointed out.
  • Blades: Being careful to keep your thumb next to your fingers, hold your hands straight with palms together. When you clap, do not clasp hands as you normally do. Your hands should almost look like a single line or a "blade".
  • Sparkles: Remember the "jazz hands" from the cheerleading movie, Bring It On? If you do, you are well on your way to imagining sparkle fingers. Sparkle fingers are when your fingers are spread apart and taught, generally showing your palms and shaking your wrists or "sparkling".

Arm Positions

In general, these positions look just like they sound. For example, if the arm motion is named after a letter of the alphabet, you can bet that doing said arm motion will make your body form that letter.

  • The High V: Making sure that your arms are taut, extend them upwards to make a "V". They should not be extended straight out to the sides but rather at an angle. You should be able to see your arms from the corners of your eyes when you’re cheering.
  • The Low V: Similar to a High V, except that your arms are extended downwards to the side and slightly in front of you, making a "V" shape.
  • The T: Your arms should be taut and extended straight out to the sides, parallel to the ground.
  • A Broken T: This is the same as a "T", except that your arms are bent at the elbows inwards.
  • Touchdown: Extend your arms above your head, parallel to each other. Turn your wrists so that your thumbnails are facing inward. Your arms should be as close to your head as possible.
  • Low Touchdown: Extend your arms so that they are parallel, but are downwards and in front of your body.
  • High Punch or "Number One": Extend your right arm upward, keeping your arm very close to your ear. Put your left hand on your hip.
  • Broken High V: Make a high "V", and then bend your arms at the elbows. Your wrists should point inward and downward.
  • Table Top: Keeping your elbows in at your side, bend them so that your wrists are near your shoulders.
  • Diagonals: Pretend you are making one diagonal line with your arms. One arm will go up in one direction and the other arm will go down in the opposite direction.
  • Checkmark: While your right arm is up in one direction diagonally, your other elbow is at your side with your arm extending out, making a check mark.
  • Clean: The clean/starting position is at attention with arms down by your sides.

Leg Postitions

Once you know your leg, arm and hand positions, you can come up with limitless possibilities for choreographing your cheers.

  • Lunge: Keep the front leg bent and the back leg straight. Your legs should be to the sides. The straight leg is usually the leg that determines whether or not the lunge is "right" or "left". Women usually keep their heels "popped up" while men usually have their entire foot on the floor.
  • Back Lunge: Keep your back leg straight and your front leg bent. Your hips should face squarely to the front and your back leg should be straight back.
  • Wide: Your leg stance should be open, with your feet standing slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

Practice Makes Perfect

It’s always a good idea to begin the year with several drills to help sharpen skills and train newer members of the squad. Teaching girls to keep their motions sharp, and making sure they are able to recognize movements by their names will go along way towards sharpening your squad's cheers and chants..

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Comments

Hi Steph, thanks for contributing!

-- Contributed by: Kelly Roper

come on crowd can you hear that sharples high red white and black in it to win it with cheer and might weve shown you our moves and got it right

-- Contributed by: steph

Thanks Megan for sharing!

-- Contributed by: Valorie Delp
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