Skill Progression Chart

Your roadmap from Foundations to Level 7

HQCheer uses a structured 9-level progression system designed by coaches with 55+ combined years of experience. Each level builds on the previous one, ensuring athletes develop proper technique and safety fundamentals before advancing. Below is an overview of what to expect at each stage across all five skill categories.

How Progression Works

Every athlete starts at the Foundations level. As you master the skills at each level, your coach or a HQCheer Pro Expert can verify your progress through video review. Once all required skills at a level are marked complete, you unlock the next level's training content. Your progress is tracked automatically in your Athlete Dashboard under My Progress.

Skill Categories

Skills are organized into five categories, each color-coded throughout the platform for easy identification.

Tumbling

Rolls, handstands, walkovers, handsprings, tucks, layouts, and fulls. The foundation of individual athleticism in cheerleading.

Stunts

Partner and group stunts including preps, extensions, liberties, arabesque, scorpion, and advanced one-leg variations.

Baskets

Basket tosses from straight ride to toe touch, kick, twist, and advanced combination tosses.

Jumps

Tuck jumps, toe touches, pikes, hurdlers, and combination jump sequences with proper technique and height.

Pyramids

Multi-person structures from basic shoulder stands to advanced 2.5-high pyramids with transitions and dismounts.

Level Overview

Foundations

Basic body positions, conditioning, flexibility, and introductory skills. Required for all new athletes regardless of experience to establish HQCheer technique standards.

Level 1

Forward roll, cartwheel, basic prep-level stunts, straight ride basket, tuck jump, and basic shoulder-sit pyramids.

Level 2

Back walkover, round-off, extension stunts, toe touch basket, toe touch jump, and prep-level pyramids.

Level 3

Back handspring, standing back tuck, liberty stunts, kick basket, pike jump, and extension-level pyramids.

Level 4

Standing back tuck series, advanced one-leg stunts (arabesque, scorpion), twist basket, hurdler jump, and 2-high pyramids with transitions.

Level 5

Standing full, running tumbling passes, advanced stunt transitions, combination baskets, combination jumps, and 2-high pyramids with release moves.

Level 6

Double full, elite tumbling combinations, one-arm stunts, elite baskets, advanced jump combinations, and 2.5-high pyramids.

Level 7

World-class skills. Elite tumbling passes, creative stunt sequences, elite combination baskets, and complex multi-transition pyramid structures.

Tips for Advancing

Focus on mastering technique at your current level before rushing to advance. Clean execution scores higher than attempting skills beyond your level. Use the video review feature to get personalized feedback from Pro Experts on what to improve. Watch the training videos for each skill multiple times and practice the drills before attempting the full skill.

Safety is the top priority at HQCheer. Never attempt skills without proper supervision, spotting, and equipment. Refer to our Equipment Requirements and Spotting Guidelines pages for detailed safety information.