AES Cougar Cheerleading
Cheerleading 101: Tumbling
Coaching Dance Exercises Jumps Motions Stunting Tryouts Tumbling
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Somersaults Handstands Cartwheels Round-offs Handsprings Tucks Layouts/Twists
Find a cheer gym or gymnastics center
anywhere in the USA!
Beginner Cheer tumbling class: (Video 1) (Video 2)
Be sure to visit the blue links in each section. They include more valuable tips, pictures, and videos that can help you learn these skills. And don't forget to warm up and stretch out before doing your drills.
Tips for making YouTube more
kid-safe.
Please review before watching videos.
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Somersaults Don't forget to use a trained spotter when learning these skills! Considered very basic elements that even a preschooler should know, these skills can still result in neck damage if done improperly; so use a trained spotter to lift your hips until you can correctly tuck your head in, hold your weight up on your hands, and protect your neck.
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Forward rolls
- Very new beginners to this skill prefer to squat down on the
floor before initiating the roll, but as they become more
comfortable with the roll they should learn to start it from a
standing position.
- Put the back of your hands against the top of your shoulders with the palms
facing the ceiling.
- As you lean forward and place the palms of your hands against
the floor, tuck your head in and look for your belly button in order
to have the correct neck placement. If you put the top of your head
on the floor you will fall flat on your back when
you push over. To prevent this from happening remember to keep
looking at your belly button as you roll.
- Lift your bum into the air and push forward with your legs to
start the roll.
- Keeping your chin tucked, your back rounded, and your hands
firmly placed on the floor roll down your spine.
- To exit the skill young children tend to put their hands on the
floor and scoot their bums forward to their feet. Older students
should be able to exit the skill without placing their hands on the
floor, but rather reach forward past their knees with a big stretch
of their arms and use their stomach muscles to help pull them up. A
tighter tuck position held throughout the entire skill will allow
the tumbler to land on his or her feet.
- Some variations on forward rolls:
Handstand roll-downs
(video of a
slow motion roll down drill),
straddle
rolls,
pike rolls,
dive rolls (We are not allowed to do dive rolls in our cheering
division.)
More somersault variations.
(See above for YouTube safety information)
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Forward roll tutorial |
- Again, beginners like to start from a squat but should work
their way up to starting from a standing position.
- Place the backs of your hands on the top of your shoulders with the palms
facing up.
- Tuck your head in and look for your belly button.
- Keeping your head tucked in and your back rounded, roll backward
down your spine. Make sure your hands take the weight as you reach
your neck.
- Push hard off of your hands and land on your feet. If you
land on your knees, try tucking into a tighter ball all the
way through the roll. If your roll goes sideways,
you may have turned your head to the side during the tuck or only
taken your body weight on one arm rather than both.
- Variations on backward rolls:
back extension (video), back roll to pike,
back roll to straddle.
More somersault variations.
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Backward rolls|
(See above for YouTube safety information) |
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Backward roll tutorial
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