Cheer drills for recreational youth squads, with video, setup and coaching points, within youth safety rules. For 5U to 14U.
3 drills · 26 minutes if you ran them all
Spread the squad out an arm's length apart and lead a slow beginner flow: downward dog, lunges, cat and cow, and standing balance holds. Move together on the coach's count and finish with a long seated stretch. Good for the first practice of the week or a cooldown.
Slow and controlled, nobody races. Long spine, belly tight, breathe through the nose.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeRun this as the longer stretch block on a jumps or tumbling day. Players work through hamstrings, hips, splits progressions, and shoulders, holding each position while the coach counts. Partner up older players so one can gently hold the stretch for the other.
Square the hips and point the toes in every stretch. Flexibility comes from showing up every week, not from pushing hard once.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeAfter a light jog or two laps of the mat, sit the squad in lines and follow the coach-led stretch series: straddle, pike, butterfly, lunges, and shoulders. Hold each stretch fifteen to twenty seconds with no bouncing and switch sides on your count.
Breathe out as you sink into the stretch and stop at tight, not at pain. Same order every practice so they can lead it themselves.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You Tube2 drills · 20 minutes if you ran them all
Line the squad up facing the coach and teach a short cheer four counts at a time, saying the words and hitting the motions together. After each new chunk go back to the top and run it all. Finish with the full cheer three times loud and at game speed.
Words and arms land together. Tight fists, locked elbows, and shoulders down so every motion looks the same down the line.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeWalk the squad through the five parts of a youth cheer practice shown in the video: cheer and motions, dance, jumps, tumbling, and stunts. Spend most of this block on the motion lineup: high V, low V, T, broken T, touchdown, punch, and clasp, held for four counts each and then hit on one count.
Hit the spot and stop. Call the motion name out loud so the kids learn the words as fast as the arms.
Watch: National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS)2 drills · 22 minutes if you ran them all
Pair players up and run the base and back spot drills from the video without a flyer: squat stance with flat back, dip and drive on a count, and hand position holds with a weighted bag or partner's foot. Rotate roles every two minutes.
Flat back, chest up, dip and drive together on the count. Strong bases come from legs, not arms.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeTeach the safety rules first: a spotter on every stunt, bases in a solid stance, and a called count. Then build the beginner stunts in the video on the mat, starting with the double based thigh stand with a back spot. Each group loads, hits, holds for three, and dismounts on the count.
Spotter never takes their eyes off the flyer. Bases lock the stance, flyer stays tight, everyone counts out loud.
Watch: National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS)4 drills · 36 minutes if you ran them all
Run this before any walkover progression. Players follow the back and shoulder flexibility series: bridges with feet walked in, shoulder stretches on a wall, and kneeling arches. Hold each for the coach's count, then rest.
Open the shoulders first, the lower back comes last. Nobody pushes into pain.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubePlayers lie on their backs with hands by the ears and push up into a bridge, holding for a count of five. Then work the body line drills from the video: tight arch holds, hollow holds, and bridge rocks. Always a coach or partner at the shoulders for the first few.
Push through the shoulders so the arms stand straight. Head stays relaxed, never crank the neck.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeSet up a line across the mat with a coach spotting at the first station. Players progress through the beginner skills in the video: tight body holds, handstand kick-ups against a spotter, and cartwheels down the line. Add the core drills shown between turns so nobody stands still.
Tight body, arms by the ears, look at the hands. Spot the first attempts and let them earn the unspotted rep.
Watch: National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS)Only for players with a clean cartwheel. Use the drills in the video: cartwheel with a snap-down over a line, hurdle step practice, then round offs with a spotter at the hip. Keep the line moving one at a time with a coach at the landing.
Reach long, snap the feet together, and land facing where you started. Rebound tall with arms up.
Watch: National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS)3 drills · 26 minutes if you ran them all
Use the cheer dance cardio as a full-out run block. Play the music, run the routine or dance sections back to back with the coach counting, and take only a short rest between runs. Three to five runs depending on age.
Full out every run, no marking. Sharp motions and loud voices even when tired, because that is what game day feels like.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeA short follow-along dance for the youngest squad. Learn it in two chunks, then run it with music three times. Let the kids pick which run was the cleanest.
Smile and keep moving. If they are having fun, they are learning it.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeTeach the two eight counts from the video four counts at a time. Run it slow with the coach counting, then with music, then with players facing away from the coach. Finish with three full runs at performance speed.
Counts out loud until they know it cold. Big arms, big face, hit every count.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You Tube7 drills · 70 minutes if you ran them all
Set four core stations from the video: plank hold, hollow rocks, side plank, and flutter kicks. Forty seconds on, twenty seconds to switch. Run the circuit twice.
Squeeze everything and hold the shape. Shaking is fine, sagging is not.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeFollow the coach through the full body set: squats, push ups, lunges, planks, and jumps. Work forty seconds on and twenty off and go for as long as the practice block allows, stopping to fix form when you see it slip.
Form first, speed second. If a push up gets ugly, drop to the knees and keep going.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeSet up stations from the video: tuck jumps, squat jumps, mountain climbers, and toe touch reps. Thirty seconds on, thirty seconds off, rotate through all four twice.
Explode up, land quiet. Keep the jumps sharp even when the legs get tired.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeRun the leg set from the video: squats, lunges, calf raises, and wall sits, in rounds of ten to fifteen reps. Rest thirty seconds between rounds and do three rounds.
Knees track over the toes, heels stay down. Strong legs mean higher jumps and steadier bases.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeAlternate a strength move with a stretch the way the video does: squats then a hip flexor stretch, push ups then a shoulder stretch, core then a pike stretch. Three rounds, one minute per move.
Work the muscle, then lengthen it. Both halves count.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeEveryone on the mat in lines and follow the ten minute core set: crunches, leg lifts, planks, and holds in the hollow position. The coach counts the whole way and nobody stops until the count ends.
Lower back pressed to the mat and belly tight. Hollow body in conditioning is the same hollow body you use in a jump.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeBuilt for the youngest athletes. Follow along with the coach through a short body-weight workout with jumping jacks, squats, planks, and fun movement games. Keep the whole squad moving together and make it loud.
Keep it fun and keep it short. Correct the big things only: feet flat on squats, body straight on planks.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You Tube6 drills · 60 minutes if you ran them all
Spread out with room to swing the arms and work through the jump drills in the video: approach on counts, kick drills, and single jumps with a full landing. Do each drill in a set of five, rest, and repeat before adding the toe touch at the end.
Arms lead and the hips follow. Land with feet together and knees soft every single time.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeOn a lighter day, follow the stretch and extension drills built for jumps: hip flexor and hamstring holds, straddle lifts, and partner leg raises. Hold each position for the coach's count and switch sides.
Hips open and knees locked in every hold. Work both sides even if one is tighter.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeRun the power drills from the video: tuck jumps, squat jumps, and quick-feet approaches, each in sets of eight. Rest a full minute between rounds so the jumps stay explosive rather than tired.
Drive through the floor and swing the arms hard. Fast off the ground, soft on the landing.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeSit the squad on the mat in a straddle and work the seated drills from the video: leg lifts in the toe touch position, pike lifts, and holds for a count of three. Do five reps of each, rest, and run it twice.
Chest up and toes pointed. Reach the arms into a T and lift the legs to the hands, never fold the chest down to the legs.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubePlayers stand in lines with space and follow the standing drills: kicks to the T, snap-down landings, and jumps on a count. Build from single jumps to two in a row, resting between sets of five.
Squeeze the legs together on the landing and stick it. If the landing is sloppy, slow the count back down.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubePick five of the ten drills from the video and run them as a circuit, one minute per station with a thirty second reset. Rotate so every player hits every station once, then finish with three full toe touches each.
Quality over count. Pointed toes and a tall chest beat a high sloppy jump.
Watch: Central Jersey All Stars Official You TubeVideos are linked, not hosted, and belong to Central Jersey All Stars Official You Tube and National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS). Drill write-ups are by Cheat Code Coaching. Durations are what we run them at with a youth team; adjust for your group.
Every drill here is already in the Cheat Code Teams Practice Builder for Youth Cheer. Drag them into a plan, tap Start practice, and the clock, the whistle and the next drill are on your phone and your lock screen.