Improve your cheerleading skills by learning new tricks or steps everyday. Start by familiarizing yourself with the basic cheerleading movements before you start doing the intermediate and difficult cheerleading skills.
Besides, even if you start doing the difficult skills, you will still be required to learn the basic skills needed to perform the difficult skills.
Among the basic but impressive cheerleading movements are the tuck jump and eagle spread jump, also called as spread eagle jump.
Both the tuck and eagle spread are very easy to do. These are usually among the first skills taught to kids in the cheerleading. These jumping skills are also necessary to add energy for the cheer.
The Tuck Jump
This jumping skill is called as such because your belly has to be tucked by moving both knees up to cover it. Here are the steps on how to properly do the tuck jump:
- Be at the tuck jump starting position. Stand up straight, feet flat, straight, and standing together, with your hands resting beside you.
- Raise your hands. Imagine that you are holding a three-foot wide banner. Your hands should be about 45-degree angle from your shoulders and are stretched out but pointing in slanting position.
- Rotate your arms by crossing them over each other. Your left arm should rotate clockwise while your right arm should rotate counterclockwise. Don’t do a complete revolution of your arms, though. Stop rotating them when they are stretched from your side and are already parallel to the ground.
- Tuck your knees up to your chest. Both your knees should touch your chest. Jump off the ground and tuck your knees up without bending your back. Your knees should be together when you jump up.
- Go down to the starting position. There should be a synchronized movement of your hands and feet. Your hands should be down when your feet are about to touch the floor.
Spread Eagle Jump
You’ll look like forming an “X” when you jump off the floor with the spread eagle jump. This has the same starting position as the tuck jump.
- Raise your hands. Just like in the tuck jump, imagine like you are holding a banner. Your hands should be forming a wide letter “V.”
- Rotate your arms. Again, this is the same as in the tuck jump. Rotate your left arm clockwise and your right hand, counter clockwise. But instead of stopping the rotation once your arms are stretched from your side, you should stop once your hands are at the Step 1 position. So, with this jump, your hands should do a complete revolution.
- Jump off the ground after completing the revolution. But instead of bending your knees and tucking your stomach, you will spread your legs out so they will form an inverted “V.” Together with your raised hands, you will look like forming an “X” on the air.
- Come down to the starting position. Again, put your arms down only once your feet are about to land.
Although these two are basic jumps, you might still find it difficult to perfect the moves the first time you execute them.
Tucking your stomach can be challenging and stretching out your legs perfectly can be difficult. Take your time and you’ll soon realize that you are finally doing the tuck jump and spread eagle jump perfectly.