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At-home cheer drills for 14 year olds and older

This is a free sample week of at-home cheer training for 14 year olds and older: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 13 to 15 minutes, with every step and minute. Nothing here is written for this page alone; it is what the app gives a family.

Everything here can be done in a room, garage or yard. Drills that need a team are left out; a parent can be the partner in a pair drill.

A free sample week of cheer for 14 year olds and older

Session 1

Dance at home 13 minutes

  1. Energy to the Last Count Run · 4 min
    Last count looks like the first.
  2. Learn a 16-Count Combo · 5 min
    Slow first, then on the music.
  3. Dance Stamina Rounds · 4 min
    Full energy, last count too.

Session 2

Voice & Crowd at home 13 minutes

  1. Voice to the Far Wall · 4 min
    Power from your belly, not your throat.
  2. Call and Response Chants · 5 min
    Call, pause, point.
  3. Voice Warm-Up Routine · 4 min
    Warm up before you go loud.

Session 3

Stunts: Plank Shoulder Taps 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 3 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Plank Shoulder Taps · 5 min
    Hips still as a table. Safety: Keep breathing and stop when your hips sag or your back aches.
  3. T-Pattern Footwork · 5 min
    Stay square, quick feet. Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Want the rest of the plan?

This sample is 3 of the 7 cheer plans SSTracker has for this group. In SSTracker every step is on the screen, your child logs the work, and you see it. No club needed: the family plan is $7.50 a month per player, or $12 a month for the whole household, and the first 14 days are free.

Get the full plan free for 14 days Coach or club director? Set up your team free Print a free week for another sport or age

The drills in this week

Energy to the Last Count Run

Ages 14 and up · 12 min

Keep your arms, timing and energy strong to the very last count.

  1. Run your dance full-out in front of a mirror.
  2. Check your timing and energy in the last eight-count.
  3. Rest 1 minute, then run it again.
  4. Do 3 runs.

Coach's cue: Last count looks like the first.

Bring: music, mirror

Safety: Drink water and stop if you feel dizzy.

Learn a 16-Count Combo

Ages 11 and up · 12 min

Learn a short dance in two eight-counts and remember it.

  1. Learn the first eight-count slowly with your coach.
  2. Learn the second eight-count.
  3. Put them together at half speed, then full speed.
  4. Do it 6 times without stopping.

Coach's cue: Slow first, then on the music.

Bring: music, mirror

Dance Stamina Rounds

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Build the energy to dance full-out to the end of a routine.

  1. Dance your combo full-out for 1 minute.
  2. Walk and breathe for 1 minute.
  3. Repeat 4 rounds.
  4. Keep your face and arms strong in the last round.

Coach's cue: Full energy, last count too.

Bring: music

Safety: Drink water and stop if you feel dizzy.

Voice to the Far Wall

Ages 11 and up · 8 min

Project your voice from your belly so a partner far away hears every word, without yelling from your throat.

  1. Your partner stands across the room or field.
  2. Take a belly breath and say your cheer toward them.
  3. Your partner tells you which words they missed.
  4. Do 6 rounds, resting your voice between.

Coach's cue: Power from your belly, not your throat.

Bring: large room or field, partner

Safety: Sip water and rest your voice between rounds. Stop if your throat hurts or your voice goes scratchy.

Call and Response Chants

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Lead a chant where the crowd answers you back.

  1. Teach your partners a short answer, like "Go team!"
  2. Call your line, then pause and point to them.
  3. Keep the rhythm steady so they know when to answer.
  4. Do 8 rounds.

Coach's cue: Call, pause, point.

Bring: partners or family

Safety: Sip water and rest your voice between rounds. Stop if your throat hurts or your voice goes scratchy.

Voice Warm-Up Routine

Ages 11 and up · 6 min

Warm up your voice like any muscle before a game.

  1. Hum gently for 5 slow breaths.
  2. Slide your voice up and down like a siren on an "ooo".
  3. Say your cheer words softly, then at half volume.
  4. Sip water.

Coach's cue: Warm up before you go loud.

Bring: water bottle

Safety: Sip water and rest your voice between rounds. Stop if your throat hurts or your voice goes scratchy.

Plank Shoulder Taps

Ages 13 and up · 6 min

In a high plank, tap each shoulder with the opposite hand without letting the hips rock.

  1. Hold a push-up position with feet a little apart.
  2. Lift one hand to tap the opposite shoulder.
  3. Keep the hips still.
  4. Do 3 sets of 10 taps.

Coach's cue: Hips still as a table.

Bring: mat

Safety: Keep breathing and stop when your hips sag or your back aches.

T-Pattern Footwork

Ages 13 and up · 12 min

Run, shuffle and backpedal around a T of cones. Builds clean movement in every direction.

  1. Set a cone at the base, one 10 yards ahead and one 5 yards each side of it.
  2. Run forward, shuffle left, shuffle right across, shuffle back to the middle.
  3. Backpedal to the start.
  4. Do 4 to 6 reps with full rest; time a few against your own best.

Coach's cue: Stay square, quick feet.

Bring: 4 cones, stopwatch (optional)

Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.

Safety for ages 14 and up

  • Plans for this age group use beginner, developing and advanced drills only. Advanced drills open from age 13 in the app.
  • Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: cheer

  • Mats or a sprung floor for stunts and tumbling; never concrete, asphalt or wet ground.
  • Stunts only with a coach and a spotter present. At home: no lifting or standing on anyone.
  • Pyramids no higher than two people (AAP).
  • Any hit to the head, or dizziness after a fall: stop, no more stunting until a doctor clears it.
  • Rest your voice: cheer from the belly and drink water.
For every sport and age (7)
  • Head knock or concussion signs (headache, dizziness, confusion, feeling "off"): when in doubt, sit them out. See a doctor, and no return the same day.
  • Back to sport only with a doctor's written OK, after a step-by-step return. Every U.S. state has a youth concussion law.
  • Heat: drink water before, during and after. Take shade breaks, ease into hot weather over about two weeks, and stop if dizzy, sick or headachy.
  • Lightning: if you hear thunder or see lightning, go inside a building or a closed car. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder (the 30-30 rule).
  • Pain is a stop sign, not something to push through. Stop and tell a grown-up; pain that lasts or comes back each session needs a doctor.
  • Water and rest are part of training: 1-2 rest days a week, plenty of sleep, a meal or snack before and after, and other sports welcome.
  • Know where the nearest AED (heart defibrillator) is, and who calls for help in an emergency.

The research behind these plans

Which drills are shown at which age, and the safety notes, follow the 28 sources below: national governing bodies, medical associations and studies on youth sport (last reviewed October 2026). Where no study gives an exact number, the plans use cautious defaults, and we change them as the research does.

Cheer: governing bodies, safety and development (8)
Youth athletic development and safety (20)

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