Words for Cheerleading Cheers

Many people who go to games wonder where the words for cheerleading cheers come from. Is there some great manual to draw from? Are they passed down from generation to generation? What makes some cheers work well and others seem to fall flat?

High School Basketball Cheers Slideshow!

Trying to Get Attention

That's the entire purpose of a cheer: First, to get the attention of the crowd , and second, to motivate them. How is this done? Several criteria go into the words for cheerleading cheers to maximize their effect.

First, they need to be simple words, usually monosyllabic, or at the very least with clear, hard consonants separating the syllables. Examples are the traditional "Go! Fight! Win!" that are often used to close out floor cheers, or chanting the word "Vic-To-Ry" in three very separate sounds.

Other short words are used to get the attention of audience members, such as "Hey! You!" and "Let's Go!" The idea behind these phrases is to get the people in the stands to identify with the cheerleaders and the team they support. That is the meaning behind the name, to lead the audience in cheering on their team to victory.

"The audience never, ever gets a cheer down with the rhythm," says Danielle Miller of the Madison East High School Cheer Squad in Madison Wisconsin. "We do it anyway because it's tradition!" The rhythm she is talking about can be both a blessing and a curse to the cheerleaders leading a crowd. Using claps and foot stomps to syncopate and accentuate the words, it can be easier for the audience to get an idea of how to do a cheer, especially cheers that spell out words such as "E-A-S-T." However, the odds that a crowd will be together and clear as they chant the words are very slim. It takes cheer squads quite a bit of practice to get the words to cheerleading cheers down and together, and expecting an audience to get it right away is unrealistic.

Choosing the Words to Cheerleading Cheers

What words work well with cheers? Consider some examples:

"We're here to cheer our winning team,

Come on, everybody scream!

Feel the spirit movin' in

Cause tonight we're gonna win!

Say it proud, say it loud, E-H-S!

One more, E-H-S!"

This cheer has very simple words, and this makes it easy to yell. By putting the words into rhyming couplets, it is more likely to catch the ear and attention of the crowd. The last two lines emphasize the identity of the crowd and the team. By repeating it, the cheerleaders give those who missed the first cheer an opportunity to join in and make the second even louder.

Another way to attract attention is to include numbers in your cheers. Something about the recitation of numbers makes people want to join in. So, "1-2-3-4, This is what we're fighting for! 5-6-7-8, Victory to celebrate!" can be an effective cheer. The words don't necessarily have to rhyme to make this strategy work, but single digits and simple progressions of numbers work best to avoid confusing the crowds. Using countdowns to build anticipation can also work very well.

Being Original

While it may be easy to go on the Internet and find many different words for cheerleading cheers, it's kind of like dance moves: simply copying them verbatim and using them in your cheers is unethical and lazy at best. At worst, it can be a copyright violation. More than simply substituting the initials of their high school or the school colors, cheer squads should take the time to truly make the cheers their own, using inside jokes specific to their schools. By putting clever words into their cheers, squads can really get the audience participating because they will want to be in on the joke.

With a little planning and forethought, any school can develop its own cheers that will last for many years and many victorious games..

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