Jumps are scored in competition and watched closely at tryouts. Height matters, but so do flexibility, technique, landings and timing with your team. This guide covers what judges look at, how to build jump power safely, technique for the main cheer jumps, and a conditioning drill published by Varsity that you can use with your team.

What Judges Look For in Jumps

The USASF all-star scoring rubric for Levels 1-5 (2026-27) treats jumps as their own category, scored on two things:

• Difficulty: how many “advanced” jumps most of the team performs. USASF lists herkie, hurdler, toe touch, pike and double nine as advanced jumps. The top difficulty range requires most of the team to perform three advanced jumps, with at least two connected, synchronized and showing variety.
• Technique and execution: flexibility, uniformity and synchronization.

So a high jump that’s out of time with your team, or a toe touch with bent knees, can still cost points. College tryouts often list jumps too, such as a toe touch, a connected triple jump or a jump into tumbling. Our tryout fitness self-check has examples.

What Makes a Jump High

• Leg power: your glutes, quads and calves push you off the floor.
• Arm swing and timing: a fast arm swing, timed with your leg drive, helps lift you.
• Core and hip flexor strength: these lift your legs into position at the top of the jump.
• Flexibility: hip, hamstring and straddle flexibility let your legs reach the position without collapsing your chest.

Jump Technique

The Approach

1. Prep: feet together, arms in a high V or your team’s prep.
2. Swing: swing your arms down and around (or cross them, depending on your team’s style) as you bend your knees.
3. Lift: push hard through the balls of your feet as your arms swing up.
4. Hit: hit the jump position at the top, with your chest up.
5. Snap and land: snap your legs together and land with your feet together, knees bent, rolling through your feet to land quietly.

Toe Touch

• Bring your legs up to your arms. Don’t drop your chest to reach for your toes.
• Roll your hips so your knees face up and back, not forward.
• Keep your legs straight and toes pointed.
• Snap your legs together quickly before landing.

Herkie, Hurdler and Pike

• Herkie: one leg out to the side like a toe touch, the other bent with the knee pointing down. Keep the bent knee down and the straight leg high.
• Hurdler: front leg straight, back leg bent behind you. Square your hips forward.
• Pike: both legs straight together in front, chest up. This needs hamstring flexibility.

Strength and Power Exercises

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) says age-appropriate plyometric (jump) training can be a safe, worthwhile part of conditioning for young athletes when it’s appropriately prescribed and supervised by qualified adults. It also warns that injury can happen if the intensity, volume or frequency is more than the athlete can handle. Its general youth guidelines include a 5-10 minute dynamic warm-up, a focus on correct technique, gradual progression, and starting resistance training 2-3 times a week on nonconsecutive days.

Exercises Varsity recommends for jumps include:

• Leg explosions: dip slowly until your knees reach 90 degrees, then jump without using your arms and absorb the landing. Varsity suggests starting with three sets of five and building to fifteen in a row.
• Sitting toe touches: sit balanced in a tuck with feet just off the floor, then quickly lift your legs and arms into the toe touch position and snap back. Varsity says this isolates the hip flexors and abs that lift your legs.
• Straddle lifts: sit in a straddle with your hands on the floor between your knees and lift one straight leg a couple of inches for a count of two, then the other.

Other common choices are squat jumps, tuck jumps and calf raises. Start with low numbers and good landings, and add volume slowly.

Flexibility for Jumps

Straddle (middle split) flexibility helps toe touches, and hamstring flexibility helps pikes and hurdlers. Stretch when you’re warm, often, and without forcing it. See our guides to split stretches and effective stretching.

Varsity’s Jump Conditioning Drill

Varsity publishes a team jump drill for strength, stamina and muscle memory. It says your team should have good technique first, because repeating jumps with poor technique is counterproductive. Every jump is done on the same set 8-count, starting from a high V with holds between jumps, so the team stays together. The sequence:

• Five T jumps, five tuck jumps, five left hurdlers, five right hurdlers
• Rest (Varsity’s drill says “rest for 3 sets”)
• Five pikes, five toe touches, ten toe touches, five toe touches, five pikes
• Five right hurdlers, five left hurdlers
• Rest again
• Five tuck jumps, five T jumps

That’s 70 jumps, which Varsity says takes about six to seven minutes. It’s an advanced drill, so start with a smaller version if you’re new. Varsity also notes it can take several weeks to see results and that over-exercising can lead to injury.

Landing Safely

• Land on the balls of your feet, then roll through to your heels, with your knees bent.
• Land with your knees in line with your toes, not caving inward.
• Practice on a forgiving surface, such as a sprung floor or mat, when doing high-volume jump work.
• Pain in your shins, knees or heels that keeps coming back is a reason to rest and see a qualified medical professional. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that overuse injuries such as stress fractures can build up from repeated impact in cheer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to improve jump height?

There’s no set timeline. Varsity says it can take several weeks to see results. Consistent strength, flexibility and technique work matters more than doing lots of jumps at once.

How often should I do jump training?

The NSCA’s general youth guideline is to start strength training 2-3 times a week on nonconsecutive days. Your coach can fit jump work around practice so you’re not doing hard jump sessions every day.

Is it better to jump higher or have better form?

Both count. USASF judges jumps on difficulty and on technique, flexibility and synchronization, so a clean, synchronized jump beats a high, messy one.

For more training, see our guides to strength training, home conditioning and warming up.

Sources: US All Star Federation, Cheer Scoring System (2026-27 Level 1-5 rubric); NSCA, Youth Resistance Training Position Statement; Varsity, Skills and Drills: Jumps and 5 Tips to Improve Your Jumps; American Academy of Pediatrics, Cheerleading Safety. Last checked October 1, 2026.