Free Cheerleading Tryout Evaluation Form & Scorecard

The scorecard loads these nine columns. They are short labels, and the labels hide most of the judgment, so here is what an evaluator is looking at under each.

• Jumps. Technique and height in the jumps your program asks for, such as a toe touch, a hurdler or a pike: the preparation, the position in the air and a controlled landing. Score the form and not the flexibility alone, and give every athlete the same number of tries.
• Tumbling. Cleared skills only, scored on form, control and landing, standing or running. Score what the athlete shows on a skill they already do, and leave the cell blank for an athlete who tumbles none. Tumbling is one part of cheer, so keep it in proportion.
• Stunting. Group skills at cleared levels only: the role the athlete plays, the timing, the trust and the communication with the group. Score the athlete in the role and at the level they have been cleared for. Never ask for a stunt beyond what your program and its governing body allow.
• Motions. Sharp, tight, precisely placed arm and hand positions on the counts, with clean transitions. It is teachable, so score what an athlete shows after the motions are taught, and watch who stays on the counts.
• Dance. Learning and performing choreography: picking it up, staying with the counts and performing it with control. Teach a short combination and score on the second pass, since the first pass shows who has seen it before.
• Projection. Voice and presence: a clear, controlled cheer with the words understood. Score the projection and the clarity, not the personality. A quiet athlete can learn to project, and a loud one still has to be clear.
• Flexibility. The range of motion for the skills your program asks for, such as jumps and positions. Score what is shown today and note the potential. Flexibility is trainable, and no athlete should be judged on a range they have not had the chance to build.
• Showmanship. Facial expression, energy and performance quality, the part of cheer that is a performance. Score the ability to perform to an audience and to stay in the routine through a mistake, not how outgoing the athlete is.
• Coachability. The athlete who adjusts when shown something, not the one who nods. Correct one thing in a motion or a jump and watch who fixes it on the next try.

A five point scale gives evaluators a consistent way to compare athletes across the same skills and the same age group. It is printed above the grid so every evaluator reads the same words, and the last column is an average, not a total.

• Agree on the 3 before anyone is scored. Have every evaluator watch the same few jumps, motions and cheers, and say out loud what a 3 looks like for this age group. A lot of the disagreement between evaluators is about where the middle is, not about the athletes.
• Score what you saw, when you saw it. Write the number before the next athlete steps in. Leave a cell blank for a skill the session never tested, such as stunting for an athlete who was not in a group. A blank costs an athlete nothing, because the average only counts what was scored.
• Score each column on its own. A strong tumbler should not lift a voice score, and a quiet cheer should not pull down jumps.
• Score independently, then average. Two evaluators who confer during the session produce one opinion twice.
• Score only what is cleared. A cell for tumbling or stunting is scored on cleared skills, and left blank otherwise. Never ask for a skill to fill a cell.

This is the cheerleading version. The general tryout evaluation scoresheet works for any sport, and the cheerleading forms and templates page lists the other 5 cheerleading documents.

Playbook Logix provides customizable templates for informational and administrative use. They are not legal advice and will not meet the requirements of every organization, sport or jurisdiction. Review anything you intend to rely on with your own attorney or your insurance carrier, and check your league and state requirements.