Staying Organized

Getting organized as a coach can make the difference between a hectic year and your best season ever.  All it takes is a little start up time and the discipline to stick with it.  Here are a few of my tricks to make getting and staying organized easier.

Supply List

• 3-Ring Binder
• Clear Page Protectors
• Tab Dividers
• Heavy-duty plastic folders with clasps to hold in hole-punched paper
• Composition Book
• Heavy Duty Bag.  Either a Duffle or a Curriers bag

BINDER

The front of the binder should have a master calendar.  I use Microsoft Word to create a calendar on my computer.  Print the whole school year. Use this to add all events and record any absences that your cheerleaders tell you of in advance.  Make sure that you add all events that you have scheduled and dates for.  Update weekly with new events or changes.  Put your calendar in a page protector.

Next, have a Contact list for your team or teams.  Include the full name, cell phone and email for each student.  You can also add the name, phone and email address of a parent.  Put your contact list in a page protector.

Also, keep any forms or documents that your school uses.  I keep a list of all administrators and contact info.  There is a gym schedule of what teams schedule the gym and when.  Include a contact list for other coaches.  In addition, the game schedules for the other sports teams on campus.

You should have a tab section will blank copies of all of the paperwork that the students get. Keep it in order and as you hand out papers, add to this section.  You can write the date that you handed it out on the bottom.

Have a tab for each team.  In my case, I have a tab for the JV and one for Varsity.  Include copies of all the signed paperwork.  Organize it alphabetically by student. Student paperwork includes, permission slips, fees list, cheerleader information sheet, team rules, spirit pack order form, any doctor’s notes and parent communications.

Make sure that you have a tab for individual accounting.  Depending on your records, this should include a ledger of any fees paid, the dues required by each student and any money from fundraising.

At the back of your binder keep any discipline forms and injury report forms so they are ready when needed.

PLASTIC FOLDERS
Most schools require you to carry a parent emergency form or clearance form for each child in case of emergency.  These include all contact information for parents and backup contacts along with allergies, injuries and hospital/Doctor information.  I keep copies of these for each cheerleader in the plastic folders.  I keep the folder in my coach’s bag with my team binder.  It is separate for easy access.  If an emergency occurs, I don't want to dig through the team binder to find the one form.

COMPOSITION BOOK

Purchase a simple composition book use it to keep a daily journal.  Record any absences, tardies, discipline, and parent contact.  Jot down what you did that day at practice or the game and the overall feeling of the event.  I also write down what we did for team bonding that day. If we had a discussion, I record the topic and notes on what was said.  This becomes a great tool if you ever have to go back and remember and absences, conversations with students, what day you taught a dance, etc. 

COACHES BAG

In my coach’s bag, which is my life for the duration of cheer season, I keep my team binders, the emergency forms, my NFHS rulebook, coach’s journal, pens, pencils, hair ties, timer, calculator, and scratch paper.  Depending on your team you can adjust what you carry.  My bag has LOTS of pockets and a heavy duty strap since I drag it everywhere!

This all may seem like a lot, but if you set it up in the beginning and once a week update your binder, journal and clean out your bag you will stay on top of your cheer life.  Use it as a learning tool and set an example for your teams to stay on track!

Cheers

*\o/*

CW3

Planning Practice

I think that maybe I have gone through enough touchy feely stuff this week.  

Lets get back to some actual material...

You may have heard the phrase “Championships are won at practice, competition is just where you pick up the trophy.” 

There is a lot to be said about a well-run practice.  Organization, time management, goals and commitment are all key to a successful practice.  Many times cheerleaders have far more on their plate than time allowed at practice.  There are many ways to accomplish what you need during practice time. Evaluate your upcoming events and incorporate those things into your weekly goals.  Prioritize and work on the things that are most important and will take the longest to accomplish first. 

I have found that creating a practice plan helps keep me on track.

I have a binder that I have copies of the practice outline in.  Each day I fill in the goals for each day.

The outline looks like this:

At the end of each practice, I use the back of the practice plan to make notes about things that happened at Practice.  Record any praise or problems, goal achievement, etc.  If we did not accomplish something on the list that needs done I will make a note to remind myself to get back to it.

Fill in the blanks for the items that need attention the next day.  If you take something out to work on a special project, make a note.  If you notice that you are not getting through certain tasks, evaluate the time, determine if you need more time or if you need to keep the team on track, and focused.

One idea for staying within your time is to get a countdown timer.  I found a nice one at the dollar store that will count down to the second.  At the start of each task set the timer, when it goes off they have 1 minute to get a drink of water and move to the next task. 

Some coaches find that writing out the plan on a large piece of paper to display at practice is helpful.  The whole team can see it and know what they are working on next.

You could also use the poster idea as a reward tool.  If you want to get out of practice early or if they want time at the end of practice, make a list of all the things that they need to accomplish before the end of practice.  If they get through the list early, they may get out early or they can have the left over time to work on something special.

Most importantly – Make Notes. 

If I don’t write something down, it doesn't happen.  Make a list, make a chart, or write goals on a calendar… What ever works for you will help you and your team successful.

Cheers!!

*\o/*

CW3

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

There is a saying that says: “Practice is where champions are made, competition is where you pick up the trophy.”  This is true only if you know how to practice.  A good practice is well organized so that the athletes and coach do not waste time. 

Goals should be set each day, week, month and season.  Start with the biggest goal and break it down to the month, week and day.  Assess your team early on to find its strengths and weaknesses as a whole and on an individual level.  Make sure that practices are geared toward improvement and not just going through the motions.

I always start practice with a short discussion about our goals for the day.  Letting the team know what to expect make it easier to keep them focus for the whole time.  It may even help if you take a large piece of paper and write out the objectives so that you can mark them off as you go. 

Start the physical part of your practice with a warm-up.  There are many choices for warming up.  What ever you choose, make sure that you are getting the blood flowing heart rate elevated and starting to engage muscles.  Some coaches choose to have their team jog or do a dynamic warm-up and some dance.  I prefer to use the UCA warm-up.  It good choice because it warms up the body, does some light stretching, and allows me to have 6 minutes of time to process paperwork or finish preparing for practice.

There are certain skills that need to be addressed everyday.  Work on basic skills to help with memory of motion and timing as a team.  I have a few motion drills that we use to keep up on sharpness.  Then we do kicks and jumps.  I don’t worry about conditioning at this point because I want them to save their energy for the heart of the workout.  We condition at the end.

Tumbling is an important daily activity.  Have everyone start the same, forward rolls, handstands, cartwheels, round-offs, etc. and then work into standing and running tumbling.  Everyone starts together and when they reach their highest skill level have them step out to a skill group and work on drills that allow them to advance their skills. 

Then I transition into stunts.  Just like tumbling, warm up stunts the same.  Start with the basics and work up to the elite level stunts.  As a stunt groups hits their skill level have them work on skills and drills that allow them to work towards harder stunts.  Divide your time so that you can work on group, partner stunting, and some time for pyramids.  Set time limits to keep the kids on task.

At this point your team may be running out of energy.  Transition into working on dancing and learning cheers and chants.  Always take a little time to review what has been learned.  You don’t have to review everything, but keep their memories fresh.  Spend some time learning new material.  There should always be upcoming performances, halftimes and events that could use new material.  If you dont have an upcoming event... brainstorm things you can participate in.  Does the ROTC need cheerleaders at an upcoming event?  Is there a community event that you can perform at?

At the end of the physical part of practice have the team start conditioning.  I make sure that I do this when they are tired so that they can work on building stamina. There are hundreds of ways to integrate conditioning.  I don’t use the same one each day.  I mix it up and target different parts of the body each day.  There are games you can play that allow the team to run around and climb on each other.  You can utilize circuit training, workout videos; the schools weight room, etc.  If your not sure what to do you can always ask.  Check with the Track coach for plyometric drills, The Soccer coach for stamina, the Football coach for strength training.  Check to see if the P.E. department has workout videos that they use in class.  You are also welcome to ask me, I have MANY ideas that I can share… perhaps a topic for another day.

At the very end of practice, I save some time for team bonding activities and discussions.  Always review what you did that day and get the team input on their workout and performance.  See what they fell they excelled at and where the weaknesses were.  What they feel and what you see may not always be the same.  If they are not comfortable, they wont perform well.

When setting up your practice know your team and work on building them up as a whole.  A team that has a good understanding of the goal and what needs worked on focus’s better and works together well.  Find what unifies and motivates them. 

Practice doest not make perfect… Perfect Practice makes Perfect.

Cheers!

*\o/*

CW3

Organization

Getting organized as a coach can make the difference between the year from hell and your best season ever.  All it takes is a little start up time and the discipline to stick with it.  Here are a few of my tricks to make getting and staying organized easier.

Supply List

·        3-Ring Binder

·        Clear Page Protectors

·        Tab Dividers

·        Heavy-duty plastic folders with clasps to hold in hole-punched paper

·        Composition Book

·        Heavy Duty Bag.  Either a Duffle or Curriers bag

BINDER

The front of the binder should have a master calendar.  I use Microsoft Word to create a calendar on my computer.  Print the whole year. Use this to add all events and record any absences that your cheerleaders tell you of in advance.  Make sure that you add all events that you have scheduled and dates for.  Update weekly with new events or changes.  Put your calendar in a page protector.

Next, have a Contact list for your team or teams.  Include the full name, cell phone and email for each student.  You can also add the name, phone and email address of a parent.  Put your contact list in a page protector.

Also, keep any forms or documents that your school uses.  I keep a list of all administrators and contact info.  There is a gym schedule of what teams schedule the gym and when.  Include a contact list for other coaches.  In addition, the game schedules for the other sports teams on campus.

You should have a tab section will blank copies of all of the paperwork that the students get.  Keep it in order and as you hand out papers, add one to this section.  You can write the date that you handed it out on the bottom.

Have a tab for each team.  In my case, I have a tab for the JV and one for Varsity.  Include copies of all the paperwork that was signed.  It is organizd by student and in alphabetical order. My binder includes, permission slips, fees list, cheerleader information sheet, team rules, spirit pack order form, any doctor’s notes and parent communications.

Make sure that you have a tab for individual accounting.  Depending on your records this should include a ledger of any fees paid, the dues required by each student and any money raised from fundraising.

At the back of your binder keep any discipline forms and injury report forms so they are ready when needed.

PLASTIC FOLDERS
Most schools require you to carry an emergency form or clearance form for each child in case of emergency’s.  I keep copies of these for each cheerleader in the plastic folders.  I keep it in my coach’s bag with my team binder.  It is seperate for access.  If an emergency occurs I don't want to dig through the team binder to find the one form.

COMPOSITION BOOK

Purchase a simple composition book use it to keep a daily journal.  Record any absences, tardies, discipline, and parent contact.  Jot down what you did that day at practice or the game and the overall feeling of the event.  I also write down what we did for team bonding that day.  If we had a discussion, I record the topic and notes on what was said.  This becomes a great tool if you ever have to go back and remember and absences, conversations with students, what day you taught a dance, etc. 

COACHES BAG

In my coach’s bag, which is my life for the duration of cheer season, I keep my team binders, the emergency forms, my NFHS rulebook, coach’s journal, pens, pencils, hair ties, timer, calculator, and scratch paper.  Depending on your team you can adjust what you carry.  My bag has LOTS of pockets and a heavy duty strap since I drag it everywhere!

This all may seem like a lot, but if you set it up in the beginning and once a week update your binder, journal and clean out your bag you will stay on top of your cheer life.  Use it as a learning tool and set an example for your teams to stay on track!

Cheers

*\o/*

CW3