Pep rallies, ball games, and cheerleading practices are not complete without cheers, chants, and songs.
When to Use Cheers, Chants, and Songs
Using a cheer, a chant, and a song at the right time can be confusing, even for veteran cheerleaders. Your squad captains and cheer coach will make the final decision, but here are some guidelines to help you make your decision.
Chants
The length of a chant is much shorter than that of a cheer. A chant usually consists of two to four lines repeated repeatedly. Chants are short and make a point quickly. Here are some examples of chants:
- Take them down with a punch. Reverse the situation. It’s time for defense to work.
- The buzz is all about the Hornets. We don’t have a lot of fuzz. That’s cool! Points two and three. The swish! There are two points.
- Eagles got that basketball (or football) jam, but Mary had a little lamb.
With dozens of cheers to choose from, your squad will be able to make up their own chants. The majority of chants are either offensive or defensive in nature. Chants can be used at the following times:
- During a game while on the sidelines.
- Your team will be more defensive if you take the ball back or make a basket or goal.
- Short timeouts and quick breaks that require something from the cheerleaders but don’t allow for a full cheer.
Remember that chants tend to be easy to remember, so encourage the audience to participate as well. A cheerleader can motion them to join in, with cards or by placing a few students in the stands to encourage other fans to join in.
Cheers
The cheers tend to be longer than your typical one or two line chant. A cheer serves a specific purpose as a filler to rev up the crowd. Before a game starts or during halftime and quarter breaks, you’ll often hear longer cheers.
During cheers, you’ll often see a pyramid or other stunts as well as more complicated words and movements. Cheers might sound like this:
Now is the time to fight. Now is the time to yell. Beware (other team name), we’ll step on your tail (works best if the mascot of the other team has a tail). Let’s go fight and win!
Now is the time to win. Victory is at hand. It’s time to hurry up, Eagles. Let’s fight and win!
Skills are what we have. We’ve got game. I’ll tell you what, Eagles, you’re lame. Let’s go fight and win!
There are many ready-made cheers that you can customize with your own motions and movements, or you can make your own. It is best to use a cheer during longer breaks, such as halftime and quarter breaks, or before a game begins.
Songs
There is a distinct difference between songs and cheers or chants. During halftime shows and pep rallies, you’re likely to hear songs. It can be as simple as getting the crowd to sing along to the school fight song or as complex as a compilation of songs to rev up the crowd, like “We Will Rock You”, “Whoomp, There it Is” and “Get Ready for This”. There are also some schools that use songs that have a military theme, such as:
- The Eagles are the mighty mighty Eagles.
- Although we don’t know, we’ve been told. The Eagles team is one of the most bold teams in the league.
It’s possible to make up just about any words you want with a military style chant song, creating a unique focus for your song. Generally, songs are used at halftime or at the beginning of games as fight songs or halftime dances.
With so many cheers, chants, and songs to choose from, choosing which ones to use will likely keep your squad busy. Find the perfect mix for your school’s sporting events by listening to your coaches and cheerleaders.