How To Make Your Cheerleading Squad

Being on a cheerleading squad can be a fun and exciting experience, but making the team can be difficult. Many times talented girls are overlooked because they just arent prepared, but you can take some steps to get yourself noticed and give yourself a leg-up for getting on the team.

Before you even get started, find out what is required to be on the squad and make sure youre able to meet those requirements. Cheering can be expensive and time consuming. If you decide to stop after youve started, youll have wasted not only your own effort, but that of your parents, coaches and everyone else on the squad. Find out how much it will cost and what kind of a commitment it will take ahead of time. You also might want to consider getting a physical to see if youre able to do such demanding activities.

After youve decided you want to try out, you should first talk to coaches and others to find out exactly what is required, this includes deadlines and paperwork, along with specific skills youll need to know to make the team. This will not only make you breathe easier by knowing what to expect, youll also get your face out there so theyll know youre dedicated and up to the challenge. Once you get this information, learn what youll need to know. Watch old tapes (the cheer coach should have copies and will hopefully be impressed that you want to see them). Take initiative to learn the moves and cheers ahead of time. Research online. If you dont know what a move is, look it up or ask someone for help.

Once you know what you need to learn, you should get started on learning it. If you arent in shape, you need to get there. This means eating right and working out, but it also means developing the specific muscles and skills that will be needed to cheer. You should enroll in cheer, gymnastics, tumbling, or dance classes. You should also attend cheer camps if you can. You might even consider joining a different cheer squad. Many YMCAs and other similar organizations have cheer squads where you can learn the skills and get real experience.

Once you know the skills youll need and the cheers you need to learn (from the tapes, or from going to games and other cheer events), you should start practicing, A LOT. Tape yourself doing the moves, if need be, compare it to video tapes of current cheerleaders. Have friends or parents objectively observe you and tell you what they think needs work. This might feel weird, but if you cant cheer in front of them, youll have a harder time cheering in front of a big crowd.

Some people may advise you against it, but a good way to improve your chances of making the squad is by talking to a current cheerleader. You obviously want to talk to the cheerleader that you think is the nicest and most likely to help you, but picking a senior is also a good bet. Seniors are not only not going to be competing with you for a spot on the team, they also have invested 4 years and this specific squad and want to see that its headed in a good direction once they leave. Helping someone whos very dedicated is a good investment in helping the team to succeed in the future and many of them will be happy to help you. They know exactly what is expected and are likely to be honest and helpful to you. And, in some squads, they have input on who makes the team or not.

While you may think cheer skills are all you need to make the squad, theyre not. Like it or not, personal appearance matters. As a cheerleader, it is your responsibility to represent your school, and not just when youre cheering. You need to work on looking good and keeping up your personal appearance. Not only does it help people have a better opinion of you, it will also make you feel better to know you look good. And even if youre not the prettiest girl in the world, you can still look good. You can always look to see what the girls on the squad are wearing, or how they do their hair and make-up. You dont have to be a clone of them, just think of them as advisors. Theyve already got what you want, so theyre a good starting point.

Along with how you look, how you act matters too. Its important for a cheerleader to be able to present a positive attitude. You need to practice not only smiling, but also positive body posture. Sit up straight, hold your head high, look people in the eye, be confident. The most important part of making others think your right for the job is to act like you know youre right for the job.

If you follow these steps, youve definitely improved your chances of being on the cheer squad. Just remember when it comes to the tryouts not to be nervous. You should smile, look them in the eye and be confident. You worked hard to get on the team and you deserve to be there. If you do mess up, dont make a big deal out of it. If you just keep going and keep smiling, its much less obvious and easily overlooked. And if you dont make the squad, its not the end of the world. You should feel proud of yourself that you worked hard to accomplish something you wanted. And remember, theres always next year.

Kerri Stalton is a featured writer for http://www.cheerleadingstips.com/. for more tips on cheerleading, visit http://www.cheerleadingstips.com/cheerleadingteam/

Miami DolphinsThe New Bengals? Not Yet

With the arrest of Miami wide receiver Chris Chambers this past weekend, some might start to wonder if the Dolphins have evolved into Bengals over the off season. Chambers, a 2005 pro bowler and star of, ahem, my fantasy team, was picked up in North Carolina for driving while impaired, reckless driving, and speeding on July 14th. With the arrest, Chambers is now the third Dolphin to be taken into custody this year. If eight more Dolphins find themselves behind bars, they will pass the Cincinnati Bengals and lead the league in most (jail) yards gained.

Besides Chambers, Fred Evans, a defensive tackle with Miami, was arrested on June 23 for trespassing, resisting arrest with violence, disorderly conduct, and battery on a police officer. Joey Porter, the Steeler turned Dolphin, was arrested for a March conflict where he was accused of punching Levi Jones, an offensive lineman for the - go figure - Cincinnati Bengal. Porter was eventually charged with a misdemeanor.

So, there you have itare the Dolphins taking a page from the Bengals and - in lieu of evading sacks and tackles - focusing their time on evading the law? Well, not exactly.

To being with, this is a first offense for Chambers: before Saturday, his professional record was completely clean. He also - according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel - passed a breathalyzer test while at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police station. While he certainly shouldn't have been doing any kind of drinking and driving, he can chalk his arrest up to a mistakeand NEVER do it again.

Fred Evans offense, a violent crime, wasn't as benign, and this wasn't overlooked by the Dolphin's coaching staff. In the aftermath of his arrest, Evans found himself unemployed: Miami let him go. Cam Cameron, the head coach, released a statement saying, "We will not condone this type of behavior. I assure everyone it will be dealt with seriously." And seriously dealt with it was. Good for Cam for standing by his word, and his morals.

Joey Porter's arrest for hitting Levi Jones makes me think that neither party was innocent. When you have football players, packed with testosterone, and add the element of alcohol, these things will happen. Still, Porter is a bit of wild card and someone Cameron should keep an eye on. Porter has not only spat out accusations of cheating, (jokingly?) said he was going to give George Bush a piece of his mind, uttered homosexual slurs, and been voted one of the NFL's dirtiest players, but he also owned two dogs who killed his neighbors miniature horse. How, exactly, does that kind of thing happen?

Nonetheless, for now you can chalk Porter up to a talented player with a lot of passion (if not too much) who likes to run his mouth, and sometimes puts his foot in it. He's hardly the first NFL player to get in a fist fight and he won't be the last. Porter and Chamber don't quite deserve to be labeled Bengals just yet. As for Evans, well maybe Cincinnati has an opening.

Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for http://www.milleniumlimo.com. An avid sports fan, she likes the Miami Dolphins but her heart belongs to the Denver Broncos.

Dog Chewing: 4 Essential Steps to Stop the Destruction

Humans play solitaire to keep themselves occupied when theyre alone. Dogs chew. Its what they do. Actually, chewing is much more important to dogs than solitaire is to humans. Dogs need to chew on things to maintain healthy teeth and gums and good jaw strength. Solitaire will do nothing for your dental hygiene.

Puppies need to chew even more when they are teething (in fact, there are special chew toys that can be dampened and frozen to provide relief for painful gums during this process). So chewing isnt a problem in itself, but destructive chewing is. Dogs need to learn what they can and cannot chew on, and they are quite capable of doing so when properly taught. Here are four steps every dog owner should take to encourage constructive chewing.

1. Prevent. As always the best cure, but dog owners should always dog proof their home, especially with puppies. They can be very creative with what they chew. Anything not removable that has been or is likely to be targeted can be sprayed with a deterrent, such as Bitter Apple.

2. Interrupt. Whenever you are there with your dog, it is important that you actively teach them commands for leave it or drop. These are given whenever you see them taking something into their jaws that should not be in there. You may have to orchestrate this training process by adding some of the items that you removed in step 1. But thats what training is all about - setting up safe scenarios in which you can help them differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. These commands will also work well when you are out with your dog and they want to pick up something dangerous or just foul.

3. Redirect. Heres where you start teaching your friend which toys belong to them, to chew to pieces if they like (and they will). Immediately after removing the inappropriate item from their clutches, replace it with an appropriate toy. It will take some time to really zero in on a few of your dogs most favorite things. But as you try lots of different toys to encourage constructive chewing, keep in mind that the best ones are those designed to promote healthy teeth and gums such as dental chew ropes. Also, try to find what are called active toys, which give your dog something to do for an extended period of time. For example, Kong balls and rubber toys can be stuffed with food, such as peanut butter or whatever they go for. Often dogs are inactive when they are alone because theyre missing you.

5. Praise. The final step is simple but not one to forget.

The good news is that most dogs will grow out of this phase somewhat at the same time as they figure out whats chewable and whats not. If your dogs chewing problem continues, however, it is likely to be an expression of nervous energy (the same goes for excessive licking, of themselves and others). The number one cause of nervous energy for dogs is lack of exercise.

A brisk 15-minute walk is simply not enough for many dogs, barely a warm-up for a Border Collie, and it is important to understand that exercise is different from a play session or outing to the park.

The mistake that a lot of dog owners make, which is an unfortunate function of their busy schedules, is that they pack in two high intensity (15-20 minute) fetch sessions at the beginning and end of the day. True, this is much better than nothing, but the fact that the dog goes more or less from sleeping to sprinting, then from lying around all day to sprinting again, can cause extra wear and tear on the joints and possibly early arthritis. Like humans, a dog benefits from a decent warm-up and warm-down, and busy owners should do their best to sneak in some longer, less intense exercise sessions.

All the best with it, and dont chew out your dog in the meantime.

Martin Olliver is a proud member of the Kingdom of Pets team (http://www.kingdomofpets.com). For more great articles on chewing and other dog habits, visit: http://kingdomofpets.com/dogobediencetraining/articles/dog_training_solutions.php.