My Coaching Philosophy - Spirit Leaders

First and foremost, I want to say that education is key to successful athletes and contributing members of society. I remind my athletes and the coaches that I mentor that we do not attend high school to play sports, we attend high school to gain an education and learn about the world we live in. Those students who are able to juggle academics and athletics will be the best leaders in their community.

I feel strongly that students should take the opportunity to participate in athletics and clubs available to them while they have the chance. We only attend high school for 4 years and the lessons learned, friends made, and experiences we have during that time challenge us and define us as individuals for the rest of our lives. High School athletics put our kids in leadership roles, especially those in the Spirit Positions, i.e. cheer, dance, and mascot.

Cheerleaders and Dancers have always been expected to lead the crowd and keep them screaming and yelling for their team. As time has evolved the expectations of these students have also evolved. Presently they are expected to be ambassadors for their school. They set the example for the student body in athleticism, academics, service, and support. They must uphold themselves in a manner that other members of the student body are not expected to.

I feel that our Spirit Programs, both Cheer, and Dance, should be held to the highest of standards. Coaches should be knowledgeable in their activity and safety should be at the forefront of their minds. Whether a school hosts a program that is sideline based and spends its time supporting other sports or a school carries a highly athletic and competitive squad, their focus should be on their leadership role and safety. Each school has a unique opportunity to develop a program that best fits the needs of their school and community.

Getting Your Life Back!

Getting your life back after the season

The cheer season has come to an end.

You have collected uniforms, handed out pictures and recognized everyone’s hard work at the banquet.

Now what?

Each coach plan’s his or her season differently.  I’m going to talk about what I do for my program and what needs to happen for me to decompress and recharge for next year. If it works for you, awesome! If not, hopefully, there are some things that you can use or modify for your program.

After the banquet, I meet up with the Bookkeeper and make sure that all invoices have been paid and our account is balanced. During the year, I keep an extremely tight hold on our finances in a 6-part file folder.  There is a section for my account balance sheet, the school's balance sheet, Fundraisers and Income, purchases, spirit pack info (the kid's order forms and master checklist), and the individual account balances.  I gather up all lose accounting paperwork and put it in its place so that I can file this away for reference.

My Coaches Bag

I take a quick look through my coach’s bag for any items that need to be returned. (Click Here to see/purchase mine.)  
This can include items cheerleaders have lost, a medical kit that goes back to the trainer, or any random snacks or water bottles left over from games.  Once I have done a quick check, I put gather all cheer related items that have scattered to my desk, table, car, etc. and put them back in my coach’s bag. I take the bag and set it out of sight for TWO WEEKS!  This step is very important to my mental recharge and albeit hard is necessary. This gives me time to let the dust settle and any feelings about the year to fall into their true meaning.  
Here’s what I mean by that:

Each year is different. Some years are wonderful and some years, not so much.  At the end of the season, you can be ready to turn in your keys and call it quits, or you can be so excited that you forget that cheer is actually over.  Sometimes you are so emotional about the class that is graduating you can forget about those upcoming kids that want to be equally successful.  The other thing I need to let settle is my family life.  My husband and I both coach year around so our lives are dictated by our coaching schedule.  He coaches Girls Golf in the fall, Wrestling in the Winter and Boys Golf in the Spring.  I coach two separate seasons of Cheer, Fall and Winter, and then if his Golf team is big enough, I am his assistant Golf Coach.  This two weeks off allows us to switch sports, reconnect our lives with our six-year-old, and plan the next season and then summer. During my two weeks “Vacation” I don’t check my Coaching Email, check my box at the school, or take any cheer-related phone calls. My coaching email gets a vacation signature and If I get a phone call I send an email or text (if appropriate) letting them know when I will return. During my vacation, if I have any thoughts or notes that pop into my head I write myself a quick note to be addressed later.  This helps keep me organized and not forget some of those great ideas.

Ok, it’s been two weeks! Remember that bag you stuffed in a closet? Yeah, now it’s time to take it out and clean it up.

Start by removing everything from it. All pockets, pens, notebooks, rule books, scraps of paper… everything!

Sort it all into piles. 

Throw out the trash and scraps of paper that you don’t need (now’s not the time to be a hoarder.)

You’ll probably have a pile of pens, pencils, markers, etc.  Check to see if they still work and place them in a pocket. 

Next, you need to dissect your clipboard and binders. 

Make a pile that includes flyers, event requests, charity information, tournament brackets or any information that was specific to this season.  Put these in a file folder along with the attendance sheet, team calendar, workouts and any notes regarding that season that I want to remember to refer to.

There should be a pile of chant lists and game plans and material notes – save these to file into a master folder.  I refer to this year after year. 

Sort all cheerleader specific paperwork.  All Emergency / School paperwork should be filed and saved until the cheerleader is 20 years old.  This includes and doctor’s notes and injury or discipline reports.  The scary thing about coaching is that we are responsible for these kids and anything that happened to them while on our watch until they are 20 years old.  18 plus two years is the statute of limitations on all injuries and issues that can come up.

As scary as it sounds, it can come up.  I had a girl come to me 7 years after I coached her on a youth team that had back issues and wanted to discuss my treatment.  Because I had a copy of her doctors note and release back to cheer, I was not at fault.

Once everything is sorted out start dissecting your year to see what worked and what didn’t.

Here’s my list with notes on what to look for:

Program

Is the program where you want it?

Is there a good balance between competition and school support?

Was the administration happy with the program, and does it fit in their vision?

Where do you want the program to go? More athletic, more school spirit, more community involvement?

Budget

Spirit Pack, contents and costs.

Did we need/use everything that we purchased?

What can we do without to save money?

What should we add to make life easier?

Plan around what you need, what the kids want and what is cost-effective for your program. Know your families.

Fundraisers

What Fundraisers we successful?

Which were not?

Are there other fundraisers that we didn’t use or haven’t done in a while that can come back?

Again, understand what the needs of the program are and know your families.  This is different each year.

Team Rules

What were our biggest issues this year/season?

Is there a part of the team constitution that covers this already?

Does it need written in or re-written for clarity?

Are there rules or items that are no longer valid or school rules that need to be adjusted?

Tryouts

Were tryouts effective in choosing the best kids for the team?

Were they too strict and there were kids that missed out unnecessarily?

Were they to laid-back and there were kids that were chosen that were not a good fit for the program.

Based on where you would like your program to be going, what changes do you need to make to the tryout process?

Practices

Were practices organized and effective?

Were the practices adequate to prepare for games and events? 

Did you have to add or remove practices during the season?

Was the team meeting its goals and progressing?

Planning the whole year is key!

Schedule

How did the schedule (the part you can control) work? (practices, events, fundraisers, community service, etc.)

When planning the next year, sit down with a blank calendar, last year’s calendar, the new school calendar, and your personal calendar.  Start filling in dates and events that you know.  If you have a family vacation planned or school functions that always happen at a certain time, put those in first.  Add in school vacations, days, off, holidays, finals and graduation. If there is an event or fundraiser that coincides with a community event, add it.

Look at the best times for open gyms and tryouts, and pencil those in.

Practice

If you practice in the summer, look at your schedule and put those down.  Please remember that the kids need a break. They need to recharge and get excited too.  I have found that If I keep them away for at least a month they will be excited to return and typically work on skills on their own. Decide on a camp date and practices to prepare for camp and the welcome back festivities.

Fundraisers, Payments, and Team Meetings. 

Schedule these and get them on the calendar ASAP.  Give the parents time to plan their summer too.  If you have a plan, they will trust in the process.  Don’t wing it.  It causes stress for you and the kids can feel it and parents will be frustrated.  Let them know ahead of time what the fundraisers are, when they will run and when money is due.  Try to work it out so that fundraisers end at the same time a spirit pack payment is due. They should understand that you provide the fundraisers as a courtesy and if they choose not to participate then the money is still due. 

At your team meetings, update cheerleaders and parents on the upcoming events and any changes.  Thank them for the previous participation and events and be their cheerleader for the next ones.  If you are excited, they will be excited.  Learn how to sell it. 

Games

You should have an idea of when games are, pencil those in.  You don’t have to put the specifics in, but you can write JV Game – 4:30. Time/Location TBA. If you plan on cheering at Soccer or Volleyball once a week, then put that in.  We cheer for other sports on Tuesdays (home only). If soccer has a game, we go to that. If its Volleyball, we go to that.  If there are multiple sports playing we divide and conquer.  Sometimes there is no game so we spend that time making signs or goodie bags for the sports we don’t physically attend (Golf, Cross-Country, and Tennis).  There have even been times when we were all caught up with our own school sports that we write out encouragement cards for other school’s cheerleaders in the area.

Community Events, School Functions, and Assemblies

These are events that tend to get scheduled at the last minute.  As soon as I know these I add them and send out an updated calendar.  The communication of the changes is KEY!

Keep yourself organized and always refer to your “Year of Cheer” schedule to stay focused.  Write notes and reminders to yourself to order awards and contact certain vendors.  Google calendar can be a lifesaver!

Once you have the paperwork updated, tryout process planned, and your calendar started the rest falls into place. 

Now that your season is outlined, you can take a break (If the schedule allows), or you can get started putting the season plan into motion!

I will now begin my time off.  My bag is in the closet, them vacation email response set up, and my cheer box at the school is empty! 

See you mid-March!

-CW3

Keeping The Spirit ALL YEAR!

Tryouts in May, Camp and Practices in July & August, School, and Football Games run from September to November, Winter Tryouts in November, Basketball Games, and Competitions from December through March. Nine months is a LONG time to keep kids motivated.  Even longer if you don’t have the second tryout in November.  Keeping your athletes from getting bored is an art!  There are many, many ways to help them stay motivated and excited all year long.  Here are just a few.

No Cheering Allowed!

No Cheering Allowed

For one practice each month, have a team outing or gathering that has nothing to do with cheerleading.  Go bowling, roller skating, or have a team dinner and watch funny movies.  Have a rule that they are not to talk about cheerleading or wear anything cheerleading related.  It will be a bonding experience for them.  Play a game that is a variation on the baby/wedding shower game.  Give each girl a necklace or a pin and if anyone is caught saying the word Cheer, they lose their item.  The cheerleader with the most collected items wins.

Themed Practices

Have dress-up days.  One day we had a day where the cheerleaders had to wear the t-shirt of a different school to practice.  It could be any school, but they were not allowed to wear our school colors!  You can have superhero days, idol days, color days, etc.  The limits are endless.  Just make sure that they are safe for practice.

Team Bonding 

Have team bonding activities at least once a week at practice or instead of practice.  There are a million different bonding activities that range from mushy to sappy.  You can play games that force them to work together.  Sit in a circle and talk about things, such as; Why are you here? Why do you appreciate the person next to you? What is your favorite commercial? Etc?

Community Service & Volunteering

If they can work together off the field they will be amazing on it.  Taking time away from cheer to help others and spread kindness can really help to motivate a stagnant team.  It gives them goals to work toward that are not skill based and are very attainable.  This section is brought to you by the letter C.

Weekly Praise

Weekly Praise

Choose a stuffed animal or a trophy to give out to a cheerleader each week.  This traveling trophy can be a source of motivation.  Give it out to the best all around cheerleader from the week.  They take turns with it and on Friday when the new winner is announced they can ceremoniously hand it over.  Take a picture of each week's winner and make a collage at the end of the year.  If your mascot doesn’t lend to a good animal or trophy you could use a stuffed COW.  For Cheerleader of the Week!

Rotating Captains

Until your team votes or your captains are chosen you could have a captain for a day.  The daily choice can lead stretches, take turns calling chants, choose the dance or material to work on that day.  They could even take turns teaching the team material or bringing the team a snack.  You may like this setup so much you will keep it all year long!

Team Journal

Each week, sit down with a notebook and your team and have them contribute comments, notes, anecdotes, and stories from the week.  Have someone write them all down and then journal them.  At the end of the season put them together and give a copy to team members to remember the season.  You could also do this with a Video Journal.  You could film throughout the week and at the end, they could each take turns talking about the week.

Material Update
Take a look at your chant lists for both Football and Basketball.  Are you in need up updating them? Take some time in between seasons to review and remove any that are no longer effective, or simply not fun.  You may have some football chants that you can change up the words to and carry into basketball.  You could break your team into small groups and have them come up with one revision and one new chant. Then they all could take turns teaching their chants.

When trying to motivate your cheerleaders, make sure you stay motivated too.  Your enthusiasm for the sport carries through to your team.

Cheers!

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CW3

Material Makeover

Quick ways to update some of your outdated material.

Every couple of years it is a good idea to go through some of your cheers and chants and evaluate what is working and what isn't.  Sometimes we have cheers and chants on our list that we hear parents say “I know that one! We did it when I was in school!”  This is probably a good sign that your material needs some updating.

Here are a few things you can update and how:

Chants

Some schools take their chants and re-learn new moves every year.  Our school keeps chants from year to year but we take out the ones that are the least successful and add new ones from camp.

One fun way to get updated chants is to take your chant list, assign a chant to a pair of cheerleaders, and have them make up new motions or new words with the current motions.

Cheers

Go through your cheers and see if you can incorporate stunts, jumps, tumbling, signs or poms into each one.  This will give the crowd something to look at other than just the cheerleaders yelling at them. 

The cheers then selves may need words updated or specific motions that are no longer appropriate or trendy.  You can always try the mash-up idea with your cheers and chants too.

Dances

If your squad has a dance that they really like doing you can change it up by simply changing the music.  Find a new song on the radio that gets everyone up and moving.  While top hits are never a good choice for competition routines, they can be very effective when working with the crowd. 

You can also do a dance mash-up.  Mash-ups are usually when you take two songs and mix them together to make a new song.  You can do this with your dances.  Have each girl choose her favorite 8 count from any dance that your squad does and take turns making up a new dance with those favorites.

My favorite way to make up new dance moves it by using chants.  Most chants are set up on an 8-count beat.  Just take those motions and set them to counts an add music!  This works really well if you need band dances or fill in 8-counts when working on choreography.

One thing you don’t want to do is get rid of the crowd involvement cheers and chants. Those take a few seasons to catch on anyway, if you change them all the time the crowd doesn't know WHAT you want them to do!

Best of Luck!!

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CW3

How, What, and When of Cheerleading

If you have grown up with cheerleading or cheerleaders, you know the sport can be HIGHLY addicting.  For most girls once they try it they are hooked for life.  There are a few that out grow it quickly, but for those that do not I have listed the Options for cheerleading by age.  Also included is the cost and the time commitment expectation.  It is not a complete or an exact list, but will give you an idea of what you can look forward too.

Youth Cheer

Pop Warner and Recreational Leagues

Ages: 5-16 years

Practice Times: 2-3 times per week plus games or competitions

Time Commitment: 4-5 months (August to November or December)

Cost: approximately $120 for registrations, plus uniforms and travel expenses.

Youth cheerleaders typically are assigned to a youth football team.  They follow the team around to their games and most are offered a local competition toward the end of the season.  The older girls may have an opportunity to cheer at a Regional and/or a National Competition.  The time commitment is a little shorter if you are worried about burnout, but the training and coaching is not always intense.

All Star Cheerleading

Cheer and Gymnastics Gyms

Ages 3-18 years (and older)

Practice Times: 2-3 times per week plus Saturday competitions and other events.  No Games.

Time Commitment: approximately 10 months. Tryouts start in May, competitions start in September and run through April.

Cost: Varies by Gym.  Registration Fee, Monthly Class Fees, Uniform Fee, Travel and Competition Fees.

All Star cheerleading is not like traditional cheerleading.  It basically runs year around.  There are no games to cheer at, but the teams practice 2-3 times a week and focus on jumps, tumbling, stunting and routine work.  They perform and local events and travel to 1-2 day competitions on weekends.  The coaching and training is intense and the commitment is big to include practices, performances and fundraisers.

High School Cheer

Games, Competitions, School Functions, and Community Involvement

Ages: 13-18 years - Freshman to Senior Year of High School.

Practice Times: 4-5 times per week plus games, competitions and events

Time Commitment: 8-9 months (Tryouts in May. Practice and games from July to February)

Cost: Varies by school but can be from  $350 to $1000 for uniforms, spirit packs, and competitions.

High school cheer is the most traditional type of cheer.  Sideline cheerleaders perform  at games and assemblies.  Many cheer squads are also attending competitions and events throughout the year.  The commitment is big.  Lots of time spent at the school.  There is also a grade requirement and you may be asked to take outside classes for tumbling and dance.

College Cheer

Games, Competitions, School Functions, and Community Involvement

Ages: 18+ years - Freshman to Senior Year of College.

Practice Times: 3-4 times per week plus games, competitions and events

Time Commitment: Year around.  Tryouts are usually in April or May and Events, games and competitions run all year.

Cost: Varies by school but can be from  $0 to $500 for uniforms, travel, and competitions.

Collegiate cheer is a very large commitment with many benefits.  Some schools offer scholarships to cheerleaders and access to gyms, trainers, tutoring, etc.  While busy, collegiate cheerleaders learn valuable time management skills and get to travel.  Making the team is very competitive and the requirements often include elite stunts and tumbling skills.  Typically it is easier to make the team as a guy, but the work-load is the same.

Professional Cheerleading

Professional Sports Teams (Games and Community Events)

Ages: 18+ years

Practice Times: 2-3 times per week plus games and community events

Time Commitment: Year around.  Tryouts are usually in April or May and Events, games and competitions run all year.

Cost: Usually you are paid to be on these teams.  The pay is minimal, $50-100 per game.

Pro Cheer is one of the most elite squads you can join.  The tryouts are incredibly competitive and can last a few weeks.  Pro Cheerleaders are typically more dance related and less like traditional cheerleaders.  They must have a dance background or have taken dance classes.  The opportunities for Pro Cheerleaders are endless!  Many companies support our military and travel all over the world to entertain.  There are a lot of community performances and the coveted cheerleader calendar.

If you are interested in any of these cheerleading options, you should be able to do an online search to see what is available in your area.  Check around and make sure that you are working with a good organization. 

Good Luck!

*\o/*

CW3

Evaluating Rules

It has been four and a half months since my last post.  I would like to say that I have a great reason for not writing.  The real reason is that I was overwhelmed at the cheer season starting and a little bit lazy.  The 30-day challenge made it easy to write because it had a focus and a goal for each day.  Unbelievably even after 17 years of coaching, I still learn something new every day that I am coaching.

My topic for today is Rules.  When setting your team rules, make sure that you are setting rules that you intend on enforcing.  Recently I placed in a position where I had to enforce a team rule that involved removing a cheerleader from my team.  I tell my cheerleaders and parents that the rules are there for a reason.  We have developed the team rules to protect the students, maintain the integrity of the program and keep everyone on the right track.  My team rules can be summed up as common sense.  I expect them to try their best, to work hard, to show up, stay out of trouble and maintain good a standing as students in their classes. 

The issue was a cheerleader got in an altercation with a student from another school.  The cheerleader was one that has a good home life, works hard at practice, is a good student and has lots of potential as a cheerleader.  Unfortunately, she made a poor choice and as a coach, I had to do the right thing and remove her.  It was hard on both of us.  I understand that students can make mistakes and I believe in my heart that she will learn this lesson and come tryout again with a better grasp on her emotions and what is important in her life.

Enforcing the rule made me look at myself as a coach and evaluate (again) what we are really teaching.  Yes, our main focus is to teach our athletes how to be cheerleaders.  Motions, Jumps, Cheers, Stunts, Tumbling, Leadership, etc.  However, the other part is teaching them how to be contributing members of society.  The rules that I set each year are rules that are good to follow throughout life.  Try your best, work hard, show up, stay out of trouble and maintain a good standing as a student, employee, leader, etc.  High school is about so much more than the education.  We learn how to interact with our peers and our teachers who later evolve into co-workers and bosses. 

I will be keeping the rules as they stand.  I think that it was an important lesson for the cheerleader and the rest of her team to learn.  She was a major part of the team and they had to come together to rework routines and formations with one less cheerleader.  They worked hard and went to the game the following day and did great.  If one did not know there were supposed to be 16 on the field instead of 15, you would not know that there was ever an issue.  For that I am proud of them. 

I mentioned that I had to re-evaluate myself as a coach, again.  I say this because each day I take a step back and look at what we did and ask myself if I was effective, what I could do better, and how to handle each day in the future.  The parents and cheerleaders may not appreciate it now, but someday when the kids are grown and they remember the lesson learned, good or bad.  They will understand.

Cheers!

*\o/*

CW3

www.readysetyoubet.blogspot.com

D For Decision - Deciding on Cheer Camp

Cheer camp is an event that can be the best part of the year or an icky stain on your season.  Choosing the camp that is right for you and your team is key.  There are 4 types of cheerleading camp with numerous options for each one at a coaches disposal.  Before deciding on whether to host a private camp for just your squad, attending a commuter camp, or heading out for an over-night or resort camp take some time to evaluate what your team needs.

A Private camp is a camp where the cheer company sends a few instructors to your location and customizes the material taught to your specific needs.  If you want to spend three days learning dances, then they will tailor that to you, or if your team knows how to stunt but needs new game material they can work with that.  You can also get a little of everything cheers, dance, stunts, team bonding, etc.  The point is they focus on just you and what you need for your team.

If your team is young, meaning that there are not a lot of returnees, or that the skill level as a whole is not high then I would suggest a private camp or a commuter that specializes in core skills. Private camps are also good for very advanced teams that have some specific goals they want to work on and don’t want all the frills of a commuter or over night.  Private camps can be spendy depending on the number of people on your team and how many instructors you want them to bring.  You will be in charge of feeding your team for lunch breaks.

Commuter camps are centered on teaching a little bit of everything over a few days in a shorter period.  These camps are hosted at a local school or gym and run for 2-3 or 4 days from 9am to 5 pm.  The skills are taught somewhat quickly.  There is some one on one time but depending on the commuter you may only see individualized attention for 30 minutes to an hour a day.  Commuter camps can be less

If your team has a good grasp of skills, many returning members or just learns quickly, a commuter may be good for you.  These are good for teams that want to get a lot of knowledge but do not have a ton of money to spend in traveling.  You still get a great camp experience with daily evaluations and usually a camp competition at the end against other teams.  You will be in charge of feeding your team on breaks here too.

Over-night camps are the most involved.  These camps are usually 3 to 4 day camps held at a college or university.  Your team will attend classes all day long and lodging and meals are provided.  The classes are considerably longer and more involved.  They run from 9 am to 7 pm with breaks throughout the day.  There are more classes offered and usually more instructors.  The one on one time is still about an hour.   These camps can be exhausting and will push your teams ability to work together for long periods of time.  These are great for team bonding and total immersion into the cheer world.  These camps can be costly, but since most everything is provided it can be a good choice.

Another option is a Resort camp.  These pretty much take the overnight option and offer “down” time during the day so that your team can go play.  They are hosted at locations near theme parks, beaches, mountains, etc.  These are the most costly, but can be treated as a Team Retreat.  Also great for bonding.

When choosing your camp, do your homework.  Take to the camp director and determine what the theme of the camp is.  Make sure that it is right for your team.  There are so many camp companies out there, there will be one that works for you within your budget.

CHEERS!

*\o/*

CW3