A Parent's Guide to Cheerleading

Quick answer: if your child has just joined a cheer team, the fastest way to understand what's happening is to learn four things: what type of cheer they're doing, what role(s) they play, what level they're in, and what a competition day looks like.

My Child Has Started Cheer - Where Do I Start?

It's completely normal to feel lost the first few weeks. Cheer has its own vocabulary, its own structure, and its own competition format - none of which is obvious from the outside. Here's a simple order to work through it:

1. Find out what type of team it is. Is it a school team, or an All Star team based at a private gym? This affects the schedule, cost and season structure.
2. Learn your child's role. Are they a flyer, a base, or a back spot? Roles can also change over a season.
3. Learn their level. Levels determine which skills the team is allowed to perform - it's not a judgement of your child individually, it's a team classification.
4. Know what to expect at a competition. See What Happens at a Cheer Competition? for a full walk-through.

Common Parent Questions

What does "hit zero" mean? It means the team performed with no deductions - see What Does Hit Zero Mean?.

What does my child need to bring to competition? This varies by team, but commonly includes a competition uniform, bow, shoes, and any team-specified touch-up or grooming items - see What Should My Child Take to Competition? for a full checklist, and always confirm with your coach for your team's specific list.

What happens at tryouts, and how does my child get placed on a team? A tryout is how coaches evaluate athletes before deciding team placement - which team and level each athlete joins for the season. Placement depends on more than skill alone, including team balance and stunt compatibility, so it's not always easy to predict.

Is this safe? Cheer does carry real physical risk, particularly in stunts and tumbling, which is why qualified coaching and proper progressions matter. See our safety policy for how this site approaches that.

Why does terminology seem to vary between gyms? Some terminology and most rules-sensitive details (levels, age grids, scoring) vary between governing bodies and even between gyms using informal shorthand. When in doubt, ask your coach what applies to your specific team.

Keep Exploring

Browse the topics below, or head to the glossary any time you hit a term you don't recognise.