Cheerleading Stunts - Small to Medium
Varsity Squads

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STRAIGHT UP EXTENSION LAY OUT- 4 PEOPLE, 1 FLYER, 2 BASES, 1 BACK SPOT You just do a straight up extension and bring the flyers feet in almost so she's doing a QP/awesome. Once she feels stable she arches her back as far as she can and still feel stable, once she's in her arch for a few seconds the bases need to sweep her feet out from under her and she needs to snap into a pike for the cradle. It's easy but it looks neat. You can do a couple right beside eachother and that looks neat also. The crowd doesn't know how easy it really is.

NC STATE- 10 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 4 BASES, 3 BACK SPOTS
To set up you need an elevator group in the middle then on each side of the elevator from inside out you need a flyer and a base, behind the two outside flyers you need a back spot. You want to start with the two outside bases facing in towards the elevator group. Every one needs to start in the ground up positions, so the flyers will be standing on their bases feet bases will be squatting holding the bottoms of their flyers feet and the backs will be around the waists of the flyers. The outside flyers need to have their inside foot on the hip of the elevator flyer. The elevator flyer needs to be holding onto the inside arms of the outside flyers. The outside flyers outside hand should be holding the wrist of their back. If you have extra people you can use fronts for the outside flyers. On the count flyers need to jump and bases and backs need to lift to elevator level. Flyers it is a must that you stay tight, and bases it is a must that you don't walk/get pushed out. Once you get the elevator level down you can either press up to extension or you can do ground up to extension which is easier because then it's not like you are bench pressing. This one takes patients and practice.

ARABESQUE - 10 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 5 BASES, 2 BACKS
To set up you need elevator group, should stand group, elevator group. If you have enough people you can use a back for the shoulder stand or make it a single base, if you have even more people you can turn the shoulder stand into an elevator. The shoulder stand needs to be facing front, the two outside groups need to be facing the shoulder stand. You can do a straight up arabesque or you can do an extension to an arabesque. The arabesques want to lean forward a bit and put their hands on the shoulders of the shoulder stand flyer. Easy and cute.

TORCHES - 10 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 5 BASES, 2 BACKS
Same set up as the arabesques and same thing if you have extra people. The two outside groups can either do straight up torches giving their foot that is closest to the front to the inside flyer or they can do extension to torch. Outside flyers need to make sure that they turn their torsos towards front once they are torched. To dismount outside flyers just fall backwards and cradle, it gives it a more dramatic effect if the outside bases don't give any pop. Easy and cute just like the arabesques.

FRONT HEEL STRETCH TO ARABESQUE- 10 PEOPLE, 2 FLYERS, 4 BASES, 2 BACK SPOTS, 2 FRONT SPOTS
You want to have two stunting groups facing eachother, each group with both a back and a front spot, you want your two tallest people to be either in front or in back so that they can grab the highest. Usually you also want to have your shortest base under the main foot. You want to do straight up QP/awesome. Then quickly hit front heal stretch with the leg that is closest to the front and then back to an arabesque then cradle. The flyers must stay very very tight and have extreme body control and awareness to be able to do this. If you don't have a girl who can do left and a girl who can do right then line both groups up facing the same way but one group right off the shoulder of the other group and a step back. If you don't have girls that can do a front heal stretch then just kick to hip level hold for a second and then swing back to arabesque. If you have more girls do more groups.

INSIDE HITCHES - 11 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 5 BASES, 2 BACK SPOTS, 1 FRONT SPOT
Your set up is elevator group, single base elevator group, elevator group. In your elevator groups you can use a front spot if you want or have the extra people but it isn't necessary. When first learning you want the middle single base group to go up first. The single base flyer needs to lean forward on the front spot so that the flyers back makes a nice flat surface, a different variation on this I've seen done is the flyer goes up into the single base backwards and then does a back bend using her front to support her and then the outside flyers put their feet on her tummy. Then the two outside groups do straight up extended hitches. The hitch flyers want to place their inside foot on the back of the single base flyer, don't put any weight on her because you will kill her, her base, and her front. You can either regular cradle the outside flyers or outside twist down the outside flyers.

LIBS OR OUTSIDE HEEL STRETCHES - 11 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 5 BASES, 3 BACKS
Set up: elevator group, shoulder stand, elevator group
If you have more people use them as fronts or put an elevator in the middle instead of a shoulder stand. Everyone goes up together, outside groups can stop at elevator and then press up to extension and then transfer over to outside libs or outside heal stretches or the outside groups can do straight up extension and then transfer over or the outside groups can do straight up libs or heal stretches. Outside flyers want to blade inside arms with inside flyer, their outside arm can either go to high V or to hip.

INSIDE STRETCHES AND HITCHES- 11 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 5 BASES, 3 BACKS
Same set up as outside stretches but the outside flyers heal stretch or hitch with their inside leg and the inside flyer holds up their legs.

BACK LOOP SPIRAL- 11 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 5 BASES, 2 BACKS, 1 FRONT SPOT
Set up: back loop/ scorpion group using a front, then a couple of steps to the side and a couple of steps forward elevator group, then a couple of steps to the side and a couple of steps forward shoulder sit group. When we did this we did a straight up lib then the flyers bladed arms, then the libing flyer pulled her back loop, some of you may call it a scorpion. You want the other two groups on the side of the main flyer that her base leg is on and spiraling forward. And you want the main flyer to be side ways to the crowd with her bent leg closest to them.

BACK STRADDLE ROLL- 11 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 2 BASES, 5 THROWERS, 1 GUIDE
Set up: In the back row you want two shoulder sits side by side, in the next row you want the guide in between the shoulder sits but a step or two in front of them, next row you want two throwers on either side of the guide but a step forward and facing eachother, the next row is the exact same way, the front row is a single thrower facing the guide and lined up with the guide, the main flyer is in the arms of the throwers her arms are extended by her ears towards the guide, her feet are in the hands of the single thrower.
The finished product should be exactly like the set up except that the main flyer will be in the arms of the shoulder sit flyers and the guide will be in the same line as the shoulder sits. Ok this one is a bit complicated. The shoulder sits need to be pretty close to one another and the shoulder sit flyers need to be ready to catch the legs of the other flyer. The third flyer needs to be laying flat in the arms of the throwers, her head need to be up by the guide and the guide and flyer need to be holding eachothers wrists with locked out arms. The thrower that is in the middle at the bottom is just throwing the feet. On the count the throwers need to absorb and then throw up and back towards the shoulder sits. The flyer being thrown need to stay tight, keeping legs together until she feels herself upside down then she needs to straddle legs. The flyer and guide need to keep arms locked out. The guide is the flyers main support so that she doesn't straddle too far. The main flyer will land in the arms of the shoulder sit flyers. They need to try to catch her with one of their hands between the knee and ankle and the other between the crotch and the knee.

3-2-1 - 11 PEOPLE, 3 FLYERS, 5 BASES, 1 BACK, 2 FRONTS
Set up: back row is an elevator group, then the next row goes base facing in, flyer, base facing front, flyer, base facing in, the front row is a front spot in front of both middle line flyers. The front three bases need to start squatting, the outside two need to be in the ground up position facing the middle base. The flyers need to be stepping on the foot of their outside base and have their inside foot on the shoulder of the middle base who is facing front. The flyers also need to have the hands of their front, fronts need to be squatting facing their flyer and holding her hands with straight arms.
On the count every one goes up, including back elevator group. Front flyers need to stay bent over putting weight on their fronts, both fronts and flyers need to have locked out arms. On the second count the back elevator group needs to either go up to extension and place their flyer on the backs of the front flyers or just pop her up their. Front flyers must try to flatten out their backs as much as possible and they must be as close as they can get to eachother. The top flyer can either be standing on their backs or be on her knees on their backs. To dismount, if she is standing she just falls back and her elevator group cradles her, if she is kneeling her elevator group needs to regrip her feet and bring her back to elevator.

OUTSIDE HITCHES- 12 PEOPLE, 4 FLYERS, 6 BASES, 2 BACKS
Set up: shoulder stand, extension, extension, shoulder stand.
If you have more people you can use them as fronts for the hitches or backs for the shoulder stands. The hitch groups can either go straight up to hitch or transfer over to hitch or elevator press up to extension to transfer. The hitch flyers need to give their hitched foot to the shoulder stand flyers. You want to line up the two hitch groups pretty close to one another. To dismount you can either just cradle or sweep the hitch flyers or you can do inside twist downs.

About Kaitlin - Kaitlin has 16 years experience with various competitive dance companies around the Pittsburgh area. She is knowledgeable in and has taught jazz, ballet, lyrical, character, acro, baton, modern, pom pom and Cheerleading. She has been a high school Cheerleader (2 years varsity captain, 2 seasons most valuable cheerleader) and a College Varsity Cheerleader at Cal U of PA. Kaitlin has coached recreational and competitive gymnastics and recreational Cheerleading classes. Her gymnastics coaching training came from one of the top gyms in Maryland.

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