Your piece of the puzzle

Last year I had my team participate in a team bonding project. When I first started I though it was going to be just fun and it turned out being one of the most powerful projects of the season.

As a team we were a little disjointed, we were senior heavy and many of them had caught the senioritis bug and were not working to their potential.  The underclassmen were struggling to carry the team and motivate the senior girls that should have been motivating them.  It resulted in weak practices, some very poor performances and the team missing opportunities that could have been amazing.  I had seen the project on Pinterest and figured that it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Find a jigsaw puzzle that has at least as many pieces as you do team members.  Each teammate gets a puzzle piece.  If you have extra, you can take one or give the extras to the captains and managers.

The directions are to decorate the blank side any way they want.  They can color, paint, glitter, add stickers, feathers, etc.  The only rule is that they have to leave the puzzle piece in tact so that we can assemble the puzzle.  Make sure that all decorations are firmly attached.

I handed out the pieces to the puzzle, gave them the directions, and two days to decorate the puzzle.  At practice, I had them get their puzzle pieces and assemble the puzzle with the original image facing up on a board.  Once they had all the pieces collected and assembled, they flipped the puzzle over to reveal the team puzzle.  There were a few girls that did not bring their puzzle piece, so the puzzle was not complete. 

It was interesting that the girls that were the least invested in the team were the ones that did not participate.  The message sent to the team was that you have to do the work to be part of the puzzle and no team is complete without all of its team members.  The team members that did participate were able to see themselves as a part of the bigger picture and it actually motivated them to work harder at the remaining practices that season.  They even started pushing the girls that were slacking off more.  They saw the potential they had and knew that in order to complete the puzzle every piece was important.

Cheers!!

*\o/*

CW3

L-O-V-E We Love Our JV

Supporting the developmental programs at your school and in your community to ensure the future successes of your program.

Very rarely in coaching, does a team come along with so much natural talent that as coaches we can just sit back and let them shine.  More often than not our talent comes from hard working kids that learned by being on the freshman or JV teams.  In some communities, these kids may have learned their skills on a youth team that fed into the high school program.  When kids play sports or participate in activities, they want to be on the best team or the highest team.  Some kids are lucky and get to start there, but mostly we have to start on the developmental team and work them up to being on Varsity. 

It can be discouraging for some kids to have to participate on JV.  As coaches, we need to treat the JV team with just as much respect and adoration that we do our Varsity.  These kids are the future of our program.  If we keep them motivated and excited about being a part of the ‘family’ then they will continue to work hard to make the program better.  Unfortunately, some coaches treat their JV or Freshman teams as lesser athletes and they lose them before they get to move up.

Here are a few ways you can keep them feeling good about them selves:

Team Bonding

Have the JV and Varsity teams bond together.  Have them work together on a project or assign ‘sisters.’ This will allow the varsity to remember what it was like to be on the JV team and they will help keep those kids excited.  Keeping JV on the same level emotionally with also help them with self-esteem and pride in their accomplishments.

Encouragement

Have your Varsity take time throughout the season to support the JV cheerleaders.  Have them attend games as fans to cheer on the cheerleaders.  Have them send notes and letters to keep them feeling motivated throughout the year.

Involvement

Have your JV participate in some of the events that are usually only Varsity.  School assemblies or performances, halftimes or pre-game for Varsity games are other ways to keep them involved.  They will feel accomplished for being involved in the bigger events and it will make your cheerleader as a whole stand out more to have double the amount of cheerleaders on the floor.

JV-Only Events

Allow your JV cheerleaders to participate in a few functions that are just for them.  They could attend a competition with a JV category or perform at a community event that the Varsity is not attending.  Our JV Cheerleaders got participate in a parade and school carnival last year that the varsity could not go to because of an away game.  The JV cheerleaders had a great time and the varsity was able to watch the parade from the sidelines and support them before getting on the bus.

If you are lucky enough to have a youth program in your area that feeds into your school, work with those coaches.  Let them know what is expected of the cheerleaders and what you would like to see.  You could even go as far as having them attend some of your practices.  Your cheerleaders could teach the youth some of the traditional cheers and chants from your school and even the fight song.  It will make both programs better.

The most important thing is to remember that these kids are all really the same.  School Spirit should be equal regardless of what squad you are on.  Varsity gets more benefits because they have the better skills, but they are not better people. 

Cheers,

*\o/*

CW3

I Spy - Someone being good!

Rewarding good behavior and performance

In a sport were we can not judge our wins and losses by the scoreboard each week, how do we define success?  A cheerleader’s success comes in many forms.  If a team makes it through a week and accomplishes goals, has no drama and performs to the best of their ability we are successful.  We see success when we come together as a team to support and lead our fans.  As a coach, we need to recognize those successes to help our squads know when they are successful.  

I have many ways of acknowledging my cheerleaders.  Some of these things I do each year and some come in and out of the program depending on what motivates them. 

Star Awards

A few years ago, I found some star shaped cutouts at the dollar store.  At the end of each practice I would write something good that happened on the star along with who did it.  For example, if I saw Sally make an awesome save in a stunt, Sally would get a star.  If Jennifer improved her jumps, Jennifer would get a star.  If I caught someone being nice or supportive without being asked too, they would get a star.  Stars would go for anything and everything that was positive at practice.  They would look forward to star time and to this day I have former cheerleaders with their stars saved in their cheer stuff and memory books.

Pin It Forward

UCA Spirit Camps had a summer where they handed out Spirit Stick pins to cheerleaders that showed excellent skills, leadership or enthusiasm for a whole day at camp.  Each pin came with a second pin that they in turn shared with another cheerleader that they saw with these qualities.  I adapted this practice for my own squad.  Instead of pins we earned stars (like the star awards).  I would award as super star to a cheerleader and they would choose another super star for that day.  It was nice to see that other team members recognized hard work and dedication to the team.

Cheerleader of the Week

One year I found a cute stuffed cow in a cheer uniform.  I purchased it and had it in my car when I went to cheer practice that day.  While getting practice stuff from my car, one of the cheerleaders saw it and loved it!  She wanted to take the cow home with her.  On the spot, I told her she could earn it.  I took the cow into practice and told the girls that the cheerleader that displayed the traits of cheerleaders the best that week could ‘earn’ the cow for a week.  At the end of the week, we would vote on who represented our school and cheerleaders the best.  The girls worked extra hard and really took pride in taking care of the cow when they earned it.  Each girl got to sign her name on the uniform and at the end of the season the cheerleader that had earned the cow the most times became the cheerleader of the year and got to keep the cow. 

Goal Sheets

Back in elementary school I always had teachers that had the dreaded homework charts.  They had the homework written across the top and our names listed along the side.  Each day when homework was turned in a star was earned.  As a terrible student, I was always missing stars, but seeing this again as an adult I decided to bring it in to my practices.  When we sit down as a team and create personal and team goals they are written on the chart.  When someone accomplishes a goal, they earn a sticker.  When the team earns enough stickers they get a reward.  Sometimes the reward is food, sometimes less conditioning, early out, their choice on uniforms, etc.  This was probably THE most successful motivating tool in recognizing good behavior and performance.  The cheerleaders worked extra hard and made it into a competition to see who could accomplish goals the fastest.  It still use goal charts each year and each.  This year I will be doing goal charts for all of our skills and at the end of the season when we have out banquet, I will be displaying the charts and rewarding the girls again in front of their friends and families. 

The most important thing to take away from this post is that we all want to be recognized when we do something right.  We are almost always recognized for doing something incorrectly.  It helps so much with confidence and self esteem to know when we are doing something right! 

I have a few more ideas that I have for recognizing good, but if you would like to share something that you do, I would LOVE to hear it!

CHEERS
*\o/*

CW3

Eye On The Prize

Determining team goals and how you can reach them

One of the most important things for a team to do is setgoals.  They need to have something that they are working toward collectively. Working together for a common goal will bring them together as a team and a family and it may just teach them the importance of helping each other.  As a long time coach, I have seen teams work hard and reach goals and I have seen them fall short.  At the end of the day the important piece was how hard they worked and what they learned.  Here are a list of team goals that my teams have worked toward in the last few years:

• Recruit more cheerleaders to the program
• Do well at competition
• Don’t drop any stunts during games
• Know ALL game/performance material two weeks before the game/performance
• Don’t lose any team members to grades or injury
• Cheer for more sports than just Football and Basketball
• No team drama
• Full squad tumbling
• Elite stunts before the first game

Some of the goals they accomplished and some they did not.  Some stay on the list year afteryear and some come and go based on the team. Each team is different and each team member should be directly involved in determining that seasons goals.  In order to accomplish a team goal, everyone on the team needs to agree on it. 

One question that I am asked by newer coaches is how to determine realistic team goals.  Most everyone can come up with a list of things we would “like” to accomplish in a set amount oftime, but determining which goals will be accomplished is more difficult.

At one of the earliest practices or summer meetings, I sit down with the team and discuss the previous year.  Get their opinions on what worked and what didn't.  Talk about everything from cheers and chants, stunts and performances, study hall, practice times, team rule expectations, everything.  Make lists or divide things into good and bad columns. For some of the things that they liked or felt that were good, see if there is something that you could do better. For instance, if your team accomplished not losing any team members the year before to poor grades, can we make it a goal this year that not only do wenot lose anyone, but that everyone on the team has a 3.0 GPA?

For the items on the bad list, determine how to move those things to the good list.  If your team was unsuccessful at promoting sporting events and games, you could make a goal that they make all signs and banners before the season starts, or get friends and family at every event they attend. If it is stunt related, determine why the stunt was not good and set a goal to work the skills and conditioning required to hit the stunt.

Other ways to find viable goals for your team is have them watch other teams or talk to other coaches and see what other schools do.  Look at the traditions of other squads.  There may be something that your team would like to incorporate.  You may see some crowd involvement cheers or dances that another school does with their crowd.  They might also have fundraisers or community service projects that your team would like to try. 

For performance-based goals, assign homework to the squad that they have to go online and find at least one new skill, dance or chant to try to incorporate into their skill set. As a coach, determine the skill level, and as they progress through the season have them attempt the skills they are ready for.

Once you have your list of 5-10 team goals (depending on season length).  Write them down andgive team members a copy.  Make a poster for your practice area so that they can see the goals at all times.  Once you have this list discuss with the team the steps you need to accomplish each goal.  Map it out and break it into smaller chunks.  This will help them to see progress and determine what they need to do individually to help the team achieve itsgoal.  Track your progress EVERYDAY.  Take time at the beginning and end of practice to discuss goal progress. Use a check list or make notes on your master sign.  Make sure that you acknowledge all progress in favor of a goal.  If a goal is completed, make a huge deal about it! Reward them with something fun and praise them for their hard work.  If the coach, the athletes and the families get involved then everyone is rewarded when a goal is completed.  Make the goal fun and make the reward worth earning and you will have great success.

*\o/* 
CW3

Victory

Coaches are joined in the task of teaching, leading and setting examples for our cheerleaders. We may not all be friends, but we should respect what we all do. When you think about that cross-town (or cross-state) rival, remember that while you and your team are working hard at practice, so are they. When you have team drama, so do they. When you are celebrating goals and making memories, so are they. We are unique in our sport that we really cannot judge our successes on a daily or weekly basis by wins and losses. We have the harder task of knowing and understanding that our accomplishments are judged in our hearts. We have a successful game when our stunts hit, the crowd stays in control and we keep our spirit up.

When you visit another team or someone visits you in your gym, why not greet them and show them you appreciate what they do? Talk to the coach; get to know the names of their cheerleaders. These things make a huge difference in the spirit of the games.  Try to prepare your cheerleaders before traveling by sharing stories of previous visits and friendships made while at the destination school. It helps the kids to respect what the other team does and goes through. Let us keep the confrontations on the court, spirit leaders are spirit leaders no matter what colors you wear.

CHEERS!

*\o/*

CW3

They told me there was no "I" in Team

I must admit this is not my piece...  I found it online many years ago and thought it was amazing.  I share it with you in the promise that I will also write a piece on Teamwork.

They told me there is no “I” in team

I am an athlete.
I am an individual.
I am strong.
I am weak.
I have desires, hopes, and dreams.
I have goals.
I have fears.

As a team, my opponent will never see my weaknesses.
Only my strength, never my fears, only my goals as they unfold before them.

I am not afraid that my team will see my fears, my hopes, dreams, or desires.
I trust them to an unlimited level.

I am not afraid that my team will see my faults, because with them I can overcome my faults, with them I am fearless, with them I have hopes and dreams.

With my team, I am not weak; I do not have the strength of one athlete, but of many, combined, focused, and dangerous to my un-united opponent.

I become my team and my team becomes me.

I do not judge, and I am not judged.

I have a goal, and the team has a goal.

The team goal is my goal.

All that matters is that the team reaches its goal.

They always told me there is no “I” in “Team”.
They were wrong.

I am the team.
I became the team.
The team became me.
The team becomes an entity unto itself.
The team is strong, creative, compassionate, caring, authoritative, disciplined.
The team absorbs “I”, and then there is “I” in “Team”.

The “I” becomes part of something much more powerful.

They were right there is no “I” in “Team,” but there is “Team” in me.

Cheers!

*\o/*

CW3