the cheerleading guide to

SPIRIT ESSENTIALS

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CONTENTS

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the cheerleading guide to spirit essentials

If a cheerleader were a superhero, spirit would be her power. Cheerleaders have the ability to pump up the crowd, inspire fans, encourage athletes to push harder, and support an entire team or school. With some pom shakes, catchy cheers, and a bright smile, your squad can get the whole crowd spirited.

SPIRIT ESSENTIALS

cheers. You’ll know if your spirit is successful based on the crowd’s participation. Are they joining you in chanting? Are they responding positively to your cheers? The more spirited you are, the more spirited the audience and, as a result, the more spirited the sports team. That can make all the difference between winning and losing the game.

When it comes to poms, go for holographic or metallic ones that catch the light and grab everyone’s attention. You don’t need to use them with every cheer, but they are a great way of getting the crowd to notice what you’re doing. Megaphones are perfect for getting the

PParticularly in the fall season, cheerleading squads at school will be focused on incorporating spirit in almost everything they do. Your squad will be cheering at football games and basketball games, hosting and performing at pep rallies, fundraising, participating in homecoming, and many other school or squad-related events. A good cheer squad uses spirit in all of these events and tasks to keep things fun, light-hearted, and exciting for everyone involved.

At games or pep rallies, it’s important to go all out with spirit. The easiest way to do so is to use pom poms, megaphones, banners, signs, and catchy chants and

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the cheerleading guide to spirit essentials

audience involved with your cheers. While the squad performs a chant, one cheerleader can use the megaphone to encourage the crowd to join in. If you use banners, keep the phrases and words short and sweet, like “go team!” or “win!”. All poms, megaphones, and banners should include your school or team colors.

When performing your chant, keep the words sharp and clear. The better the audience can understand you, the more likely they are to cheer with you. At pep rallies, you can use all of these techniques but include music. Make sure the song has a catchy beat and easy to follow rhythm.

Remember, spirit isn’t easily categorized and there are no certain rules as to what will and won’t inspire spirit. It all depends on the cheer squad and the audience. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when thinking of ways to promote spirit. Ultimately, your goal is to get everyone in a great and competitive mood and to encourage school and team spirit!

We asked our readers what they love to cheer for most and a majority said that as long as they’re cheering, it doesn’t matter the sport or team! This proves that cheerleaders are first and foremost dedicated to spirit.

Cheer on!

Richard Paul Kane

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the cheerleading guide to spirit essentials

Many cheer squads fundraise often throughout the year in order to cut down on the costs of team uniforms, competitions, equipment, and more. Since you’ll be spending so much time fundraising, the best way to make the most out of it and to have fun is to incorporate spirit into your fundraising!

on’t rely on old fundraising methods, like door-to-door selling or waiting outside grocery stores for donations. Take action and use that cheer spirit when planning your next fundraiser.

The most traditional way to fundraise is through sales, such as baked goods, candy, and cheerleading accessories. However, many squads also host events, like car washes, parties, raffles, performances, and more. Whichever style you choose to do, you can easily add some elements of spirit to spice things up.

If you choose the traditional route of a sale, create a spirited setting. Decorate your table with banners, pom poms, or other fun accessories. You want people to notice your table and you especially want

D

FUNDRAISINGPutting the “Fun” in

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the cheerleading guide to spirit essentials

them to be drawn to what you’re selling. If you’re holding a bake sale, think of fun and creative names for your treats. Rather than just calling it a chocolate cookie, call it a “chock full of cheer” cookie. Or, make sugar cookies into pyramid shapes, or design pom poms on them with frosting.

If you decide to host an event like a car wash, bring a stereo and create lots of signs! Encourage people to participate with upbeat cheer music and colorful banners and signs.

A really great spirited fundraiser idea is to sell “cheergrams” at school. Like a candygram, you can sell mini pom poms or megaphones. When you go to deliver them, perform a short cheer! This is great to do before a big Homecoming game or before prom.

Even if you choose to do a fundraiser as simple as Fun“d” 2 Raise cards (where you ask participants to scratch off a card to see how much money they’ll contribute), you can add a dose of spirit. If the scratch-off reveals the largest donation amount – $3 – perform a short cheer for that person as a “thank you.”

add spirit to your fundraising Hold a brainstorming session with your squad to think of fun ways to fundraise. Don’t feel boxed into the traditional methods and don’t be afraid to try something new!

Think outside of the box

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Homecoming parades are a staple during the Fall season for many high schools across the US and the floats included are quite the display!

Many schools will allow each class – freshman, sophomore, junior and senior – to create their own float. In addition, some local businesses may participate. And of course, the football team has their own float, loaded with and surrounded by the team, coaches, and cheerleaders.

While things may vary depending on your role in the float creation, your squad can follow a general plan of attack to build a parade float that’s spirited!

GettinG Started• Decide who is going to work on the float, and which

tasks (like painters, purchasers, designers, props, and costumes) will be done by which people.

• Have everyone contribute their ideas for the float

theme and décor, then have the group leaders (either captains or coaches) make the final decision for the float.

• Secure both a float trailer and a vehicle to use for the parade. The vehicle will need to be able to tow the float, so find an SUV or truck. For your trailer, try to stick with 8 feet or less in width. This will help you travel with more ease.

• Find a location to build your float. Good places to look for are a garage that has a lot of space, or an unused shed – anywhere that can be secured in case of bad weather or vandals.

PARADEFLOATS

decoratinG tipSThe following are a few basics for your float design:

chicken Wire. This is used as the basic framework for your masterpiece, and the decorations will be attached to it.

tissue paper Squares. You can use colorful tissue paper to fill in the holes of the chicken wire. You can also use different colors to make patterns or words.

Fake Grass. This is a great pop of color for the floor of your float, and it can even represent a football field!

Balloons. You can get big Mylar balloons, make a balloon bouquet or just use individual balloons all over the float to add some color and depth.

Streamers. These can be used all over the float, but are especially impactful if you attach them to the back so they blow in the wind during the parade.

common QueStionS• Who drives the float vehicle?

This will be up to the athletic staff, but the safest

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the cheerleading guide to spirit essentials

march on!What’s your role?

Different schools will have different levels of involvement for the cheer squad when it comes to parade floats. Some will be solely responsible while others might just be extra helping hands.

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bet is to have an experienced adult drive (preferably someone that has driven for a parade before).

• What should you do if it rains? The parade organizers will let everyone know if they are going to delay or cancel the parade. There are many décor options that are waterproof, so consider using those just in case.

General tipS• Don’t wait until the last minute to plan and decorate.

Building a float is a lot of work and takes a lot of people and a lot of time. Don’t stress out your volunteers by waiting too long to get started.

• Keeping your idea easy is the best route. Moveable parts, exaggerated decorations, and unrealistic expectations will dampen the experience for everyone. Simple can be impressive!

• If you have the space, try to take the float for a test run to make sure everything holds up and looks the way you want it. Try to do the test run a week or two before the parade so that there is time to make any necessary improvements.

• Be prepared for any weather by having team body basics and warm-ups ready if needed.

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the cheerleading guide to spirit essentials

Y

Team-building activities are important components of any organization, but especially a cheerleading squad. They promote better communication, leadership development, and teamwork. Perhaps most importantly, they are spirited ways to unite the team. There are a number of different ways to facilitate team-building activities, so it is important to find activities relevant to your team.

Your first step when deciding on activities is taking into consideration the age and dynamics of your squad. Are they middle or high schoolers? Is your squad small and intimate or large and diverse?

From there, consider any specific aspects of teamwork or spirit on which you’d like your squad to work. Do you feel trust is most important? What about communication? Maybe you think the best thing for a squad is to learn respect for one another. Whatever the case may be, tailor your activities to these specifications.

The best time for spirit and team-building activities is at practice, either before or after (or as a middle-of-practice wake-up!). Depending on how long your practice session is, reserve some of the time for spirit-boosting activities.

Keep in mind, you don’t have to plan a team-building activity at every practice, but they should be done often in the early months of the season. It gives the team time to bond before games and competitions begin.

Check out these five fun activities:

UNITE YOUR SqUAD

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the cheerleading guide to spirit essentials

mine FieldIn Mine Field, objects are scattered in an indoor or outdoor place. In pairs, one person verbally guides his/her blindfolded partner through the minefield. This is a great way for your cheerleaders to build trust with their teammates because it requires them to rely entirely on one another in order to be successful. Objectively, this exercise exemplifies how important trust is among teammates and how failing to trust one another can reap devastating effects on the team’s overall performance.

deSiGn a meGaphoneIf you plan on using them during football season, let your cheerleaders add individual style to their megaphone before the season begins! Bring the megaphones to a practice session and plan an afternoon where everyone can design, paint, and draw on a megaphone. Everyone can add their own creative flair, whether it’s painting their name or their favorite cheer items.

GueSS the teammateGather your squad in a circle and have everyone fill out a form or list on a card a few of their favorite things – color, movie, book, cheer stunt, etc. Then, shuffle them in a hat or bag. Draw one card out at a time and read the answers aloud. Then, have everyone guess the owner of the card. Your squad will quickly get to know each other!

the KnotWith your team standing in a circle, each person reaches across the

circle with their right hand and grabs someone else’s hand. Once everyone is grabbing another hand with his or her right hand, start again, this time with the left hand. Now, it’s time to get out of the knot

without anyone letting go of a hand. This activity teaches the power of communication and the importance of all working together.

ScavenGer huntThis is a game everyone knows how to play! Divide your squad into small teams and set them on their way. Your squad will enjoy some

friendly competition while learning to work as a team.

cheerleading

blogBy focusing on team bonding, your cheer squad is likely to be more spirited! This will make it easier for the team to remain united during hard times, like a game or competition loss or an injury. Additionally, if your cheer squad is naturally spirited, it will be easier to think of ways to incorporate spirit into your cheers, routines, fundraising events, and more.

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The official cheerleading blog sponsored by industry leaders Omni Cheer®, Campus Teamwear®, Chassé®, Warmups.com, Fun“d”2Raise®, and Glitterbug Cosmetics®. The University launched in 2012 and provides tips and answers for everything cheer including tryouts, uniform ordering, fundraising, living a cheer lifestyle and more!

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