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Cheer Camp Tips for Coaches

Cheer Camp Tips for Coaches

How to Prep for Cheer Camp as a Cheer Coach

Our cheer team attends an overnight UCA Cheer Camp every summer. We keep coming back because it is our cheerleaders' favorite memory of the season. Cheer Camp is the best place for your team to bond, make memories, and build skills of endurance.

1. Plan Team Bonding

There are so many ways to have your team bond. Camp is busy so I recommend planning the games ahead of time and choosing games with minimal materials.

Check out my post here for Cheer Camp Bonding Ideas

You can have your seniors plan bonding, just make sure so that all bonding is appropriate, positive, and encouraging!

2. Prepare Lineups & Stunt Groups Ahead of Time

Plan out a cheer lineup and dance lineup ahead of time. Place your team in these lineups at practice before you head to camp and tell them to remember 

This will save you so much valuable time at camp! You won't need to spend time placing a lineup, reteaching roll offs and ripples. 

Base your lineups off of the placements of your stunt groups so when it's time for your team to put the routine altogether, they can seamlessly transition from their stunt groups to their lineups.

3. Prep Your Team Before Camp

During the practices leading up to camp, sit with your team and talk them through what to expect at camp! Some of your athletes haven't traveled away from their families for days at a time. Some of your cheerleaders have never been to a college campus (if that where your camp is hosted).

A week before, review the packing list. Don't forget to tell them to bring bedding, towels, and shower shoes if they will be in a dorm!

Prep them for the long days. Hydrate, sunscreen, good attitudes!

4. Assign Tasks to Cheerleaders

Your cheerleaders will learn dances, cheers, and sidelines at camp. To help your squad remember the material, choose 3-5 cheerleaders to be in charge of memorizing one routine.

For example, have one of your captains learn and remember the main camp dance. Assign another captain to learn and remember the main camp cheer. 

Then go down the list of cheerleaders who you can rely on and assign them material to remember.

Take videos of the material as often as you can to refer back to while reviewing. 

When it comes time to practice the material with your team at camp, having one person who is an expert at that dance will be helpful!

5. Extra Practice at Camp

Camp is busy. I recommend adding extra practice time at camp outside of the camp day structure. But of course include downtime for your cheerleaders to rest to find balance.

Practice for an extra 20-30 minutes at the end of the camp day before heading to the dorms. 

Sometimes teams are dismissed in intervals for meals. For example, Group A will be released at 5:00 while Group B will be released at 5:20. If your team is in Group B, use those extra 20 minutes to quickly review dances or cheers they learned. 

6. Have Fun!

Cheer Camp is ultimately to have fun! Get to know your cheer team, enjoy your time with them. These memories will genuinely last a lifetime for them, and for you!


What are your top tips for camp? Comment down below!



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