1. Drills
  2. Cheer
  3. Stunts

Base Hand Shapes

Learn the hand shapes bases and backs use, by yourself, with no one lifted.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Hold your hands at chest height, palms up, like a flat table.

Core: Counts and positions on the ground. Move up only with your coach’s OK.

Ages
7 and up
Time
6 min
Space
Gym or court
Bring
Floor
Level · skill
Beginner · Stunts

The steps

How it works

  1. Hold your hands at chest height, palms up, like a flat table.
  2. Change to a cupped hand, like holding a foot.
  3. Lock your elbows in by your sides each time.
  4. Switch on a parent's call 20 times.

Coaching point

Flat, firm, elbows in.

Safety: No stunting at home. This is a floor drill only: nobody lifts or stands on anyone.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Count-and-sync game: your stunt group practices the counts and positions at ground level while the coach watches, and every clean run of the counts earns the group a clap.

Challenge

Pick a level: Less (counts only), Core (counts and positions on the ground), More (the full routine with the coach spotting). Move up only with your coach’s OK.

Story

You are builders stacking a tower, one careful block at a time.

My best

Beat your own count

Move up only with your coach’s OK. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

Print it now, or save it free

Free for families and teams

Save this drill to your child or team, free

Sign up and the free cheer week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.

14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free

Does your child's coach know about this?

An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.