Cheer Stunts for Beginners

Cheerleading is a sport that begins at a very young age and progresses to advanced routines for older, more experienced teams. Before you can perform routines with complicated stunts, however, every team must first learn how to handle the basic cheerleading stunts. Once you have mastered the building block stunts, you can then increase the difficulty along with the skill of your team.

  1. Pony Stands

    • The pony stand is the most basic form of elevated stunt in cheerleading, making it ideal for teaching to young teams as a foundation stunt. A pony stand is similar to a piggy back ride, with one cheerleader atop the back of a second cheerleader. The most basic pony stand features the base on all fours and the second cheerleader atop the first cheerleader's back. For a slightly advanced pony stand, the second cheerleader gets on the back of a crouching teammate who then stands up with her teammate still on her back.

    Kneeling Lifts

    • Kneeling lifts are slightly more advanced than pony stands, however, are still easy tricks for a beginning cheerleading team to learn and incorporate into its routine. For a basic kneeling lift, four cheerleaders are needed. Two bases kneel down with one knee extended forward, so their knees are pointed at each other. A third cheerleader stands atop the legs and strikes a pose while a fourth teammate stands behind the formation to catch the elevated girl if she falls.

    Basic Stands

    • In addition to kneeling stands, there are other basic stands that a beginner level cheer team can incorporate into its performances. In a table stand, two teammates get down on their hands and knees, with their shoulders nearly touching. A third teammate climbs onto her teammates' backs and strikes a pose while a fourth stands behind as a spotter. A turtle bow and arrow is similar, however only one base is used and the climbing team member raises one leg up. This stunt is not too difficult for beginners, but does require a flexible team member to strike the pose.

    One Base Stands

    • A one base kneeling stand is an advanced form of the basic kneeling stands, and an ideal transition stunt for beginning squads who are gaining experience. Combining the single base of a turtle bow and arrow with kneeling stands, one cheerleader stands atop the extended thigh of her teammate and strikes a pose while a third teammate stands behind her to serve as a spotter in case she falls.