TCU Cheer Tryouts and Clinics
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TCU CHEERLEADERS
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Cheer Clinics
TCU Cheer Clinics are optional but highly recommended, as they are the best way to prepare for tryouts. These clinics provide a valuable opportunity to train and connect directly with our coaches and current cheer members. During each session, participants will learn technical skills and spirit-raising techniques from our coaches and team members, offering firsthand insight into collegiate cheer and our tryout process. All clinics are open to high school and college students and offer opportunities for both group and partner stunting with our All-Girl and Coed teams. Registration is required.
TCU Cheer Tryout Clinic
*Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026
*Time: 1:00 to 5:00pm (Check-in begins at 12:30pm)
*Location: Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility
*Cost: $100
*Participant Registration: Register Here
*Attire: Please wear any form-fitting athletic wear (short are okay as well) and cheer shoes/athletic shoes (no black sole sneakers).
Parking is available in Lots 6 and 8. See here for a map of TCU’s campus and visitor parking lots. All portions of the clinic are closed to the public - only participants, coaching staff, and TCU athletic department staff will be allowed inside.
All Girl and Coed Open Practices
Both the All Girl and Coed Open Practices are exclusively for high school juniors+ and college students to gain an inside look into our individual teams and practices. Experience is not required and is free of charge to participants. Participants will get to practice with the current All Girl and Coed teams, gain instruction in group (all girl) and partner (coed) stunting, learn about the perks and perspective of being a TCU Cheerleader, and answer any questions with the team and coaches. Registration is required.
2026 All Girl Open Practices:
*Tuesday, March 10th from 7:00 to 9:00pm
*Thursday, March 12th from 7:00 to 9:00pm
2026 Coed Open Practices:
*Tuesday, March 3rd from 7:00 to 9:00pm
*Thursday, March 5th from 7:00 to 9:00pm
Open Practice Participant Registration: Register Here
*All open practices are hosted in the Sam Baugh Indoor Practice facility. Parking is available in Lots 6 and 8. See here for a map of TCU’s campus and visitor parking lots.
*Attire: Please wear any form-fitting athletic wear (shorts are okay as well) and cheer shoes (or athletic shoes for males) (no black sole sneakers).
All portions of open practices are closed to the public - only participants, coaching staff, and TCU athletic department staff will be allowed inside.
Male Prospects Open Practices
Male Prospects Open Practices are exclusively for high school juniors+ to get an inside look into our Coed Cheerleading Team! Experience is not required and is free of charge. Participants will get to practice with the current coed cheerleaders, instruction and participation in coed stunting, insight into the Coed perks and perspective, and answer any questions with the team and coaches. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged; however, walk-ins are welcome and may register upon arrival.
2026 Male Prospects Open Practices:
*Tuesday, February 24th from 7:00 to 9:00pm
*Thursday, April 2nd from 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Open Practice Participant Registration: Register Here
All open practices are hosted in the Sam Baugh Indoor Practice facility. Parking is available in Lots 6 and 8. See here for a map of TCU’s campus and visitor parking lots.
*Attire: Please wear any form-fitting athletic wear (short are okay as well) and cheer shoes (or athletic shoes for males) (no black sole sneakers).
All portions of open practices are closed to the public - only participants, coaching staff, and TCU athletic department staff will be allowed inside.
2026-2027 TCU CHEER TRYOUTS
Dates:
*First Round Tryouts: Friday, April 17, 2026
*Second & Third Round Tryouts: Saturday, April 18, 2026
Location: Schollmaier Arena
IMPORTANT: The Online Tryout Application must be submitted no later than Monday, April 13, 2026 at 12:00pm. Faxes, e-mailed, mailed, or forms brough in person will not be accepted. See below for more details.
All candidates must be present at all parts of the tryout, and no videos will be accepted for the tryout as all candidates are required to be seen by our judging panel in-person.
All portions of tryouts are closed to the public. Only Candidates, coaching staff, judges, and TCU athletic department staff will be allowed inside.
TCU Cheer Tryout Process
Tryouts will be an evaluation process during which cuts will be made throughout each day until approximately 18-26 All-Girl and 10-16 Coed candidates are selected. Candidates will be evaluated based on their cheer skills, strong work ethic, public speaking ability, performance quality, and overall ambassadorship.
Cheer Tryout Material
The material evaluated at tryouts will be distributed via email on Friday, April 10th. If you submit your application between April 10th to April 13th, the material will be sent to you once you application is received and processed. This material will not be taught at tryouts. All candidates are expected to arrive fully prepared and confident in the material.
Tentative Tryout Breakdown*
*All information is subject to change.
First Round – Day 1 (Friday, April 17th)
4:00 pm: Females Check-In at the Schollmaier
*Warm-up & Dynamic Stretch
*Running Tumbling (on mats): Each applicant has 2 warm-up passes, and 3rd pass will be judged (Minimum Requirement: Running handspring back tuck)
*Standing Tucks (on mats; no poms): 3 tucks performed in a ripple
*Cheer Material: Cheers and Cadences (material sent via video prior to tryouts)
6:00 pm: Males Check-In at Schollmaier
*Stunt Tryout: Candidates paired/placed in groups and will be asked to perform basic to performance-level stunts
~8:00 pm: Dismissal
Candidates advancing to Second Round will be notified via email that evening.
Second Round – Day 2 (Saturday, April 18th)
Each participant will be assigned a one-hour time slot between 8:00 AM and approximately 1:00 PM. You will arrive at your designated time to warm up, complete your formal tryout material (below) in small groups (3–5 Candidates), and then be dismissed afterwards.
Formal Tryout Material:
*Introduction
*Personal or TCU-related question
*Running Tumbling (2 passes) with spiriting at the end – on mats (males exempt)
*1 Running Tumbling Pass - on wood (males exempt)
*Fight Song with Standing Tuck (females with poms on wood; material sent in video prior)
*Optional: Additional Standing Tumbling – on mats
*Cheers/Cadence (material sent in video prior)
Candidates advancing to Round 3 will be notified via email following the conclusion of Round 2.
Third Round – Day 2 (Saturday, April 18th)
*Formal Stunt Tryouts: Candidates will be placed in partners/groups, and asked to perform stunts ranging from basic to elite level
*Dismissal at the conclusion of the Third Round
The final 2026–2027 Cheer roster will be sent via email the same evening as the Third Round.
The 2026–2027 Cheer Team will have its first team meeting at Schollmaier Arena later that evening (Saturday, April 18th).
Tryout Attire
Female attire:
*Attire: Black Shorts/spandex (flyers must wear spandex; colored waistband permitted) and any colored sports bra (no cleavage). No writing/advertisement on clothing other than TCU paraphernalia.
*Shoes: Athletic/Cheer Shoes.
*Hair: Half up with a bow towards the back unless otherwise stated by the Director (no bangs/ponytails; must be secure and not fall out during tryouts)
*Make-up: Gameday Make-up. Shades should complement your natural beauty. As a performance group, makeup must enhance your features from a distance.
*For reference and inspiration, our hair and make-up sponsor is The Styling Stewardess.
Male attire:
*Attire: Black Athletic T-shirt and black gym shorts. No writing/advertisement on clothing other than TCU paraphernalia.
*Shoes: Athletic Shoes.
*Clean cut hair style; facial hair groomed.
Summer – Material and Work Weeks
Over the summer, you will be required to learn material over video and maintain a workout and tumbling schedule. The teams will re-gather prior to the start of school in August. The focus of this time is to mainly prep for all season game sideline stunts and chants, as well as the pre-game routine. If final changes to team placement and positions are needed, they will be made based on the person's ability to maintain their performance level as well as their ability to work with their peers and coaches.
How to Prepare for TCU Cheer Tryouts
TCU Cheer encompasses well rounded individuals of both good character and gameday spirit. Due to their high visibility within our community, we are looking for those that best represent the University in a positive way. We are also looking for those that exude strong leadership qualities, confidence, strong work ethic, willingness to try new things, good response to correction, positivity, respect for everyone, and ability to engage an audience. How well you work with our coaches, each other, and receive correction will be highly considered at tryouts. In support of TCU athletic games and other appearances, commitment to a full year of participation is absolutely mandatory. Our active year begins on June 1st following tryouts and meets in-person again the beginning of August for work weeks in prep for the Fall season. Games begin late August/early September and the season finishes up the following May. The TCU cheerleaders support Horned Frog athletics by cheering at volleyball, basketball, and football games. In addition, they facilitate pep rallies and special appearances, including community service activities, alumni events, civic events, and charitable events in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Tumbling: A clean consistent standing back tuck and running handspring back tuck is required to make the team. Additional higher level standing and running tumbling will elevate our cheer program’s ability to perform more elite skills at games. You will be asked to perform tumbling on the basketball wood court in addition to a cheer mat/turf field (i.e., tucks with poms). Most females on the current team have additional standing tumbling (standing back handspring tuck, layout, full), as well as several running full twists, and/or specialty passes. The males range from no running tumbling to specialty passes; however, some have standing back tucks. Jumps are not performed.
Stunts: Local cheer gyms and college squads are good resources for private coed and all-girl collegiate stunt lessons. The minimum for Coed is a toss hands, while most have a toss extension working up to a lib/stretch/cupie. All-Girl performs the following: full up, round off up, back hand spring up, hand in hand, low to high full around, high to high full around all with clean dismounts. All-Girl also focuses on single basing skills to allow for maximum crowd engagement when traveling with smaller squads. Being able to stunt with multiple stunt partners/groups is a necessity. When we are choosing teams, we consider who is easy to work with and can be used in different positions/groups - this shows us that you know proper technique and can work well with anyone. We also consider if candidates can easily make corrections. At tryouts we ask that you stunt with the group (All-Girl/Coed) you marked having the MOST experience on your application, however may be asked to move around.
We do not have specific weight or height restrictions. However, candidates must demonstrate sufficient physical fitness and appropriate training to safely and effectively perform all required skills.
Our clinics are helpful to gain an inside perspective on elite training, tryouts, and what it’s like to be a TCU Cheerleader. It is also a good opportunity to attend one of our games to see TCU Cheer in action, as well as follow us on all our social media platforms. All portions of tryouts are closed to the public. All candidates must be present at all parts of the tryouts, and no videos will be accepted for the tryouts as all candidates are required to be seen by our judging panel in-person. The purpose of the tryout is to choose the best all-around representatives for TCU Cheer and Athletics.
Application to Tryout
All participants must be full time TCU students, an incoming transfer student, or an incoming first year with proof of acceptance to TCU. Current students must be enrolled in 12+ hours to be eligible. Any Candidates on the admissions wait list can still tryout and if selected for a roster spot, will have pending membership until full acceptance into the university is offered.
The Online Tryout application is open and must be submitted by MONDAY, April 13, 2026 at 12pm CT. Faxes, e-mailed, mailed, or forms brought in person will not be accepted. Submit your application here.
IMPORTANT: The following items are requested along with your online tryout application. You will not be permitted to tryout without the following items submitted:
1. Proof of Grades* or Admissions**
2. 1 CURRENT headshot
3. Signed Medical Consent Form, Release and Indemnity Agreement***
4. Signed Expectations Form
5. Copy of Health Insurance (front and back of card)****
6. Copy of Physical Examination completed and signed by physician within the past 6 months.
7. $50 Tryout Processing Fee
8. Coaches Evaluation Form completed by your current coach and sent directly to Spirit Director, Esther Pae – e.pae@tcu.edu . Returning TCU Showgirls are exempt from this portion.
*Those currently enrolled at TCU must include unofficial transcript (available at my.tcu.edu)
**Freshman or Transfer Students must be in the process of admission to TCU prior to tryouts. Please visit www.admission.tcu.edu for more information. In addition, we ask that you provide your status of admission to the University with a copy of your letter of acceptance or correspondence showing that you are on the waitlist.
***If you are under 18, your tryout application form MUST BE SIGNED by a parent or guardian in order to participate.
****Candidates must provide complete insurance information to participate in tryouts. Squad members must maintain insurance all year to be an active team member.
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