Flyers balance on one foot above their teammates, bases hold steady under a moving weight, and everyone lands jumps and tumbling. Balance is part of almost every cheer skill, and it can be trained. This guide explains how balance works, what research says about balance training, and how to build it safely for flyers and bases.

How Balance Works

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, your sense of balance depends on signals to your brain from your eyes, your inner ear, and the muscles and touch sensors in your legs. The balance part of the inner ear is called the vestibular system. It detects head movement and position, and works with your vision and your body’s sensors to keep you steady at rest and while moving.

For cheerleaders, that means balance training isn’t only about standing still. It’s about getting those systems to work together when your eyes are busy, your head is moving or the surface under you shifts.

What Research Says About Balance Training

There isn’t much research on balance training in cheerleading specifically, but studies in other sports are encouraging:

• Better balance and control: a 2010 systematic review in the Journal of Athletic Training found that balance training improved postural sway and functional balance in healthy, active people, with larger effects for longer programs. Results for jumping, agility and strength were mixed.
• Fewer ankle sprains: a randomized trial of 765 high school soccer and basketball players, published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2006, found a lower ankle sprain rate in athletes who did a balance training program than in those who did standard conditioning only.
• Injury prevention: a 2010 systematic review in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found balance training alone reduced ankle sprain risk, and programs combining several types of training reduced lower-limb injuries. It noted the training was more effective in athletes with a history of injury.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) lists the ankles, wrists and knees as the joints most commonly injured in cheer. Balance training is one reasonable part of a full conditioning program, alongside strength training, proper technique, safe surfaces and qualified coaching.

How to Progress Balance Training

Make exercises harder one step at a time, and only once you can hold the easier version with control:

1. Two feet to one foot.
2. Still to moving: add arm motions, head turns or reaching.
3. Eyes open to eyes closed. Taking away vision makes your inner ear and body sensors work harder. Stand next to a wall or sturdy support, with clear space around you.
4. Stable to unstable surfaces: a folded mat or cushion, then a balance pad or board. Use unstable equipment only on a clear, flat floor, ideally with someone nearby.

Short, regular sessions fit easily into a warm-up or the end of a workout. Start with our warm-up routine.

Balance Drills for Flyers

Flyers need to hold positions on one leg with a locked knee and a tight body. Practice on the floor first:

• Single-leg stand: locked standing knee, hips square, chest up. Progress to eyes closed next to a wall.
• Liberty hold: free foot at your knee, arms in a set motion. Then add arm motion changes while you hold.
• Body position holds: heel stretch, arabesque or scorpion on the ground. Varsity’s flyer tips suggest kicking a heel stretch up without your hands and holding it as high as you can to build control.
• Foot awareness: as you balance, notice where the pressure is in your foot. Varsity’s top girl tips stress knowing which part of your foot you’re standing on, so you’re ready for any grip your bases use.
• Core work: Varsity recommends planks and V-ups, because a tighter flyer is easier to hold.

Balancing on the ground is preparation, not a stunt. Body positions in the air need a coach, mats and spotters. See our flyer technique guide.

Balance Drills for Bases and Backspots

Bases need a stable platform. Varsity says once a stunt is up, bases should avoid moving as much as possible. These drills build that steadiness:

• Split squat holds: hold the bottom position with your trunk upright.
• Single-leg Romanian deadlifts: hinge at the hip on one leg, bodyweight first.
• Pallof press with a band: trains your core to resist being pulled sideways, like a drifting stunt.
• Light overhead holds: stand tall and hold a light weight or band overhead with locked arms, staying still. Keep it light and controlled.

Our base training guide covers strength work and safe progression.

Balance Drills for Jumps and Tumbling

• Stick the landing: after jumps at practice, hold your landing for a count without stepping.
• Single-leg hops (low): small hops on one foot with soft, quiet landings.
• Slow lunges: forward, side and back, staying balanced at the bottom.

See our guides to jump height and tumbling drills.

When Balance Problems Are a Warning Sign

Sudden balance problems after a fall or a hit to the head can be a sign of a brain injury. MedlinePlus lists walking or balance problems among the symptoms that need medical care right away after a head injury. The AAP says athletes with a concussion shouldn’t return to cheer until a medical professional clears them. If you feel dizzy, unsteady or “off” after a fall, stop and tell your coach and a parent.

The same goes for an ankle or knee that keeps giving way: get it checked by an athletic trainer, doctor or physical therapist instead of training through it.

Balance Training Checklist

• Train balance a few minutes at a time, regularly.
• Progress one step at a time: one foot, movement, eyes closed, unstable surface.
• Do eyes-closed and unstable-surface work next to support, on a clear, flat floor.
• Match drills to your role: flyer, base or backspot.
• Keep stunts and body positions in the air for supervised practice.
• Take sudden balance problems after a fall seriously.

Sources: NIDCD (National Institutes of Health), Balance Disorders; Zech et al., Balance training for neuromuscular control and performance enhancement: a systematic review (J Athl Train, 2010); McGuine and Keene, The effect of a balance training program on the risk of ankle sprains in high school athletes (Am J Sports Med, 2006); Hübscher et al., Neuromuscular training for sports injury prevention: a systematic review (Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2010); American Academy of Pediatrics, Cheerleading Safety (HealthyChildren.org); MedlinePlus, Traumatic brain injury; Varsity, Stunting Basics, Top Girl Training Tips and 3 Top Girl Tips. Last checked October 1, 2026.