How to Rock Cheer Tryouts as a Coach
Oh, cheerleading tryouts! What an exciting time in the season. You get to meet all of the new athletes while your returning athletes are looking forward to a new season. I have ran tryouts for six years as a head coach, and I learn something new every year. I've put together a list of tips and advice to help you run your tryouts.
If you're looking for an editable packet with everything you need, check out my packet! I use this for my high school cheer tryouts.
BEFORE TRYOUTS
Meet with your Administration
Your administration will have guidelines for your squad. For example, our athletes trying out are required to bring a copy of their physical.
I have listed several steps below, be sure to get approval from your admin along the way of planning tryouts.
Meet with your Assistant Coaches
Have a meeting with your assistants to map out a plan for the year. Align on your vision for coaching by creating a cheerleading contract. Create a calendar that allows for your assistant coaches to be at every practice and event.
Create a Cheerleading Contract
This is so important! Outline the rules and expectations of your team. Include an attendance policy. You will go over these rules during your Parent Information Meeting & your New Team Meeting. Have your athletes and their parent sign this contract right after you announce the team. I have an editable cheerleading contract in my editable tryout packet.
Meet with your Uniform Representative
Reach out to the company you purchase uniforms from to create your uniform package. The sooner you can do this, the better. I reach out to our representative in January/February. They will work with your budget!
Choose your Cheer Camp Dates
As soon as camp dates are posted, sign your squad up for camp. We LOVE going to camp, it is our cheerleaders' favorite memory year after year.
Create an Outline of your Practice Schedule
Fill in a calendar for the ENTIRE season of what you expect to be practice dates, games, events, competitions, etc. It's easier to cancel practices later than it is to add on practices. Make sure to reserve all facilities with your administration. You will give this calendar to your team at the New Team Meeting.
Set Up Fundraisers
After knowing your camp cost and uniform package cost, decide how your team will fundraise. Reach out to vendors to set these up so you can share this information at the New Team Meeting.
TRYOUT PREP
Reserve Facilities
How many days of tryouts do you plan for? We plan a Mandatory Parent Meeting, two Tryout Clinic Practices, and one Tryout Evaluation. I recommend giving yourself extra time during your Tryout Evaluation. Reserve these facilities with your administration. Here is a sample of our tryout schedule:
Monday 5:00-5:30 Mandatory Parent Meeting
Monday 5:30-7:30 Tryout Clinic 1
Tuesday 5:30-7:30 Tryout Clinic 2
Wednesday 5:00-8:00 Tryout Evaluations
Wednesday 8:30 Team Announcement & New Team Meeting
Decide Material to Teach
If you have graduating seniors, I recommend having them teach the tryout material. In the past we have taught a cheer, a dance, and a band dance.
Make sure your leading seniors are role models for your new team. They should come in matching practice clothes, hair in a clean pony tail, no jewelry. Emphasize this to your seniors.
Meet with them to ensure they know the material they are going to teach. It is important for them to have a professional presence to set the tone for your new team.
Schedule Judges
Reach out to judges you trust. I ask women who have coached in our area that I know personally. This past season, I did not score the tryout participants because I felt we had enough judges to create an average score for each participant that was fair. I noted a simple "yes, no, maybe" on each applicant so that when we reviewed the applications, I felt confident in the decision.
I recommend compensating your judges for their time. Ask your booster club if you can pay them for their time or give them a gift card with a Thank You card.
Create Tryout Flyer & Social Media Posts
Get the word out! Announce tryouts one to two months in advance. Create flyers that you can drop off in the school office. Bring these flyers to the junior high schools so incoming freshmen come try out. Email the high school and junior high schools to include your tryout information in their announcements.
Ask your returning cheerleaders to bring flyers to teachers to hang in classrooms. Ask to hang flyers around campus.
Create social media posts. Share on your team pages. Post in community groups. Pass the information along to the youth cheer programs in your area.
Include the tryout days and times, location, the mandatory parent meeting, and your contact information.
TRYOUT DAYS
Parent Information Meeting
Have athletes and parents sign in with their name and phone number.
One of the most important events of your season! This meeting sets the tone for your team. Dress professionally and coordinate with your assistant coaches. We wear matching school polos with athletic pants and shoes.
At this meeting, we give them our Cheer Information. This includes an outline of the financial commitment and time commitment.
Include in your Cheer Information Packet:
- Cost of Cheer
- Fundraisers
- Summer Practice Schedule
- Cheer Camps
- School Year Practices
- Additional choreography dates
- Football Schedule
- Basketball Schedule (or an estimate)
- Competition Schedule (or an estimate)
- Expectations such as grade eligibility, attendance policy, jewelry policy
Cheerleading Tryout Application
Give athletes a Cheerleading Tryout Application to gather important information. I give this application to athletes on the end of the first day of clinics and require them to bring it back before Tryout Evaluations. I have a cheerleading application ready to go in my editable tryout packet.
Tryout Clinic Days
During these days, you will teach the athletes a cheer, dance, and band dance. Go over technique for jumps. We don't stunt during tryouts. I recommend doing a 'mock tryout' and have your graduating seniors demonstrate a tryout. This helps the athletes feel more prepared for what to expect.
Give them extra time to practice. We allow them to take a video of the routines so they can go home and practice. We do this because during season, we allow them to watch videos to help them practice on their own time too.
Tryout Evaluation
Create a schedule of time for each athlete trying out to help you and your judges stick to that schedule. We have athletes try out one at a time, but do what works best for you. There are a couple of different score sheets options in my editable tryout packet.
We announce the team that same day so that we can hold the new team meeting right after.
New Team Meeting
Yay, congratulations! Take a picture of your new team. This is when you give your new team important paperwork to prep them for season. I also take the first payment right after the team is announced. Here's what to give your team
- Cheerleading contract (have them sign and return it to you that day)
- Calendar for the entire season
- Fundraising information
- Communication plan - however you plan to communicate with your team. (Google classroom, Band information, GroupMe code, etc.)
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