Advice for HS freshman and sophomore cheerleaders

 

A lot of cheerleaders, getting ready to end their Freshman or Sophomore year in high school, sometimes believe that they need to wait until they are a senior to start thinking about cheering in college. This is not true!

 

In fact, I have lists of players that I've been tracking three years out. Recruiting is a never ending task for college coaches, and we know that we need to begin scouting young cheerleaders now before our competition begins recruiting that cheerleader.

 

Scouting and tracking the progress of a cheerleader during the cheerleader's first few seasons in high school gives me a better opportunity to evaluate that cheerleader's growth, both athletically and academically.

 

This early contact with a college coach gives the HS cheerleader an opportunity to really get to know a coach over a long period of time, as well as having the opportunity to carefully consider all of the positives and negatives about the school, the program and other decision-making factors.

 

Freshman and sophomore high school cheerleaders who are interested in college cheerleading should:

 

• Make contact with as many coaches as possible. Since you might not be a varsity cheerleader yet, most college coaches won't even know you exist. That isn't to say that they would not be interested in you early in your high school career, but they need to find out why they need to keep their eye out for you.

 

• Be open to different opportunities. College cheerleading scholarships are very competitive, and you need to be open to every opportunity that presents itself no matter how big or how small the school is.

 

• Focus on academics, as well as athletics. Good grades matter, and now is the time to set a good foundation for the next few years in high school. The time to make sure you are on track to successfully complete all of the NCAA academic requirements that are needed if you want to play college athletics is at the beginning of your high school career, not at the end. Athletically, make sure you master the fundamentals. Coaches will want to see good mechanics and form.

 

• Be persistent. If you want a college coach to take you seriously, they need to know that you are interested in playing college athletics at their university. I look forward to receiving emails updating me on athletic and academic progress of high school recruits.

Those Crazy CHEER PARENTS

 

One of the reasons I was excited to embark on a new journey of coaching college as opposed to coaching at the HS level was that I no longer had to deal with parents – or so I thought.

 

As much as I encourage independence, parents still hover and college students still depend on their parents to get them out of a situation. I find that it's mostly the local girls, who are still living at home, whose parents do not view them as adults.

 

As a coach, we make decisions based on what is best for the team. Parents make decisions based on what they feel is best for their child. As a parent myself, I understand that sometimes a parent's love overrules logic or reason.

 

Effective communication is what will help bridge this gap between coaches and parents.

 

At the first team meeting – immediately after tryouts, I meet with the team and go over the rules and expectations, having each of them sign a copy, and keep a copy for themselves.

 

Keeping your parents and athletes informed from the very beginning helps with cooperation for the year. I provide the girls with access to the team's website, and soon after tryouts, provide them with a contact list for all coaches and everyone on the team. They know from the beginning, they can call or text me, email me, facebook me, etc… Due to technology, there is no excuse. I am always available (is that good or bad??)

 

Our team has an alumni committee, who designs and sends out a newsletter to alumni letting them know of the team's accomplishments and events. This year, we are also sending it to the parents, to keep them updated on the team.

 

It is always nice to have a couple of local parents willing to step up and help out with events such as dinner parties (so they have an opportunity to leave campus, and not have it at your house!) and any fundraising.

 

Keep the lines of communications open and the less likely it is that problems will arise. Also, make sure to keep the calendar on the team website updated and accurate. (I use yahoo groups). Listening skills are extremely important for a college cheerleading coach. Most of the time, all the parents or your athletes are looking for is a good listener.

A little Humor!

Below is an email I received (exact copy, including spelling errors) and my response:


Subject: Intrested in Becoming a Cheerleader

hi how are you my name is xxxxxxxx and I'm interested in becoming a (name of school) cheerleader. Funny thing is I've never cheered nor am i flexible. however i think i am a fast learner. i was wonder if in order to try-out would have to know how to do stunts or do you guys train and coach us on how to do so? please get back to me...thank you and have a nice day.


Subject: RE: Intrested in Becoming a Cheerleader

Hi - Thank you for your interest; however at the collegiate level, you would need to be able to tumble, stunt, jump, dance and cheer. These girls usually have at least 5-10 years of experience. I do not want to discourage you, but because you asked, I will tell you that experience is a requirement. Thank you and I wish you all the best! Please come to the (My school's name inserted here) games and be a Sharks fan (the finatics)!!!


Subject: RE:RE: Intrested in Becoming a Cheerleader

I understand what you are say but I'm not sure if I know how to stumble because I've never done it before. I know how to dance and cheer but for the stumbling and stunts I've never do but I'm willing to learn.

Banquet Gift Ideas

Updated: 12/2/23

End of the year banquets are a great way to recognize your cheerleaders, parents and all supporters. It definitely “takes a village”  and a banquet is an excellent way to recognize everyone who helped you throughout the year. 

For this year's Cheerleading banquet, I've been searching the web for some inexpensive gifts to give to my team. I found some cute ideas, most of which are affordable and unique. Check them out! I got 4x6 frames at Joann fabrics, inserted their competition group photo on the front and wrote an end-of-the-year-poem on the back. There are also these really cool pack of five floating frames on Amazon   Easy to do, and very inexpensive! Here are a pack of 12 adorable  bags for the team and so affordable! 

For girls to whom I presented awards, I found these adorable cheerleader makeup bags . They had really cute wine goblets that I thought would be perfect for parents who went above and beyond to help out throughout the year. I also loved these earrings as a cute gift for the team because they are tiny and can't really come out and they can sleep in them! And this big pack of hair ties which you can use in the packaging of your gifts to your team!

Tryout Tips for Cheerleading Coaches

Get yourself organized and have a plan! Make sure you have each candidate complete registration forms and a health history form as well as a waiver of liability. If you feel a Dr's note is required for clearance to tryout, request it. I make sure all forms are in and complete one week ahead of tryouts. 

Also, when tryouts are over, provide feedback to each candidate - start with their weaknesses and inform them on where they can improve. I have found that because of the relaxed and professional way I conducted tryouts, I have girls who come back the following year to re-tryout! By providing feedback to these girls/guys, you assist them in developing skills that are lacking and fine tune those they have mastered.

Good luck!

End of the Year Cheerleader Evaluations

So important to developing a strong cheerleading program is getting feedback from your team at the end of the year. I take the time to meet with each team member for one hour. During that time, they bring with them a feedback form I provided to them containing questions about the program and events we did as a team that year. I also ask them to evaluate such things as their equipment (I discover a lot each year about practice  T shirts - one group likes short, tight shirts, while another year, big and baggy is in!), their personal performance, their choreography, their coaches, conditioning, practices, and more. During that time, I also evaluate them and provide feedback on how I believe that individual performed and offer suggestions on improvement if she plans on returning the following year. I always learn a ton, so I keep three pads handy during each individual meeting: one for things to institute for the following year, one for things that I need to bring to the attention of my AD, and things to think about.

Cheerleading Tryouts – Safety, Safety, Safety

Tryouts are approaching! During the process of putting together the best possible team, coaches need to keep safety in mind when forming their new team. Stunting has become the forefront of cheerleading at games and competitions. Because of this, coaches have to focus on training and safety. If your team is going to stunt, safety education is of the utmost importance!

One of the most important elements of being a safe team and preventing injuries is having a safe practice area. We spent our first year practicing at night in the dark on a patch of grass and dirt! We spent that summer fundraising for mats. Mats are an essential element of cheerleading. There are several places to purchase cheer mats. We bought ours at tiffinmats.com and they were delivered very quickly!

When your team stunts, the focus should be on the stunt and no talking should occur until the stunt is back down on the ground. Designate a member of the stunt group (usually the backspot) to verbalize the counts of the stunt. This way, you ensure additional safety with all attention on that stunt.

Coaches need to become safety certified. There are several clinics and conferences that coaches can attend where hands-on safety techniques are taught.

Coaches need to know the rules of the sport at their level. For example, I just found out that in our conference, the cheerleaders are not allowed on the court during the last 3 minutes of a basketball game. Who knew? Now, I know! Check your rules website frequently for rules updates.