In this video lesson, Cheerleading Instructor Lucy Spain teaches the cheerleading herkie jump, which can be done to the left or right, and is often incorporated into cheerleading routines, cheers or just when showing spirit.



Video Transcript: LUCY SPAIN: "Hi, I'm Lucy Spain here to show you how to do a cheerleading herkie. A herkie is a jump that cheerleaders perform. It's slightly more difficult than the most common jump, a toe touch. When you're doing your herkie, it's really important to make sure you stretch out, because this jump is a higher level of difficulty. A cheerleading herkie in air is going to look like this. You're going to have either your right or your left leg out just like you would in a toe touch. The opposite leg is going to be bent at a ninety degree angle. The front part of your leg jetting out like it would in a toe touch, and the back part of your leg bending straight in a ninety degree angle. You want to make sure your toes remain pointed. Your arms are going to hold a V position parallel to your legs. You can also choose to put your arms in blades. When doing your herkie, you can either do a right herkie like I'm demonstrating right now, or switch it up and do a left herkie. It is important to maintain both of them, because in a routine you may need to do it to one side or another. It's appropriate to do these jumps within a cheer or in a choreographed routine, or just when you're showing spirit in general. A herkie jump is going to look like this. And that was the right herkie."

1. How to Do a Cheerleading Toe Touch
2. How to Do a Cheerleading Herkie
3. How to Do Splits for Cheerleading
4. How to Make Cheerleading Hair Bows
5. How to Make Cheerleading Pom Poms
6. How to Make Cheerleading Tryouts
7. How to Perform a Cheerleading Pyramid
8. How to Perform Popular Cheerleading Chants
9. How to Practice Cheerleading Jumps
10. How to Practice Cheerleading Stunts
11. How to Choreograph a Cheerleading Routine

In this course, Cheerleading Instrucutor Lucy Spain gives 11 video lessons on Cheerleading Stunts and Accessories.



Cheerleading was invented by a man in 1898, who first directed a crowd in cheering on the University of Minnesota. Since then, cheerleading has become a popular culture phenomenon and a sport. Cheerleaders began as male; but slowly females, who had few offerings for collegiate-level athletics, dominated the hobby. In the early 1970s, the Dallas Cowgirls changed professional cheerleading into simply dance, removing most of the stunts and tumbling in favor of revealing outfits and choreography. In the early 1980s, cheerleading as a competitive sport became popular, and stunts and gymnastics gained in popularity for high school teams. Now there are both amateur and pro official styles of cheering. In this free video series on cheerleading, an experienced cheerleader demonstrates a variety of cheerleading stunts and explains cheerleading accessories like hair bows and pom poms. Learn to do cheerleading toe touches and cheerleading jumps. Perform the splits and a cheerleading pyramid with the help of an expert, all in this free video series on cheerleading.