FAD Blog: Cheerleading Jumps - Herkie, Side Hurdler and Front Hurdler!

Wed, 14 Aug 2013

FAD blog

cheerleading jumps!

Hi All FAD Cheerleading Fans,

I hope you are all having a fabulous week at your Cheerleading Classes and are getting those stunts and tumble passes strong and solid, ready for grading!!! :-)

This week’s blog is for you! I am going to be going through the 3 jumps in Cheerleading that are all very similar and get confused A LOT of the time!! Can you guess which jumps I am talking about...? You got it! Herkie, Side Hurdler and Front Hurdler!! Even their names all sound similar, so no wonder we get confused! :-)

Difference between the Herkie, Side Hurdler and Front Hurdler Jumps!

Herkie Jump: The Herkie jump is where one of your legs is bent towards the ground and your other leg (usually your strongest) is out to the side as high as it will go in the toe touch position. Your chest remains upright with arms in a T motion/Prep position – Depending on which leg Herkie the athlete is performing. In a right Herkie your right leg is straight with your left leg bent and the opposite is true for a left Herkie.
Side Hurdler Jump: The side hurdler jump is very similar to the Herkie but the difference is in your bent leg – in a side hurdle your bent leg is level with your hip instead of pointing down to the ground like a Herkie. There are left Side Hurdlers and right Side Hurdlers. Your chest remains upright in a side hurdler and arms are in a T motion. In a right Side Hurdler, your right leg is straight and in the Toe Touch position; your left leg is bent, level with your hip and pointing forward.
Front Hurdler Jump: The Front Hurdler jump is almost identical to the Herkie jump with the exception of your front leg. In a Front Hurdler your front (straight) leg is right in front of your face and your bent leg has the knee pointing down to the ground. There are right and left Front Hurdlers.

WOW!! Confusing?? I think so! :-)

So let’s do a quick checklist of the differences....

Herkie:

Your Bent leg is pointing down towards the ground & your straight leg is out the side in a Toe Touch position.