Cheerleading Practice Attendance Policy and Consequences
Do your cheerleaders keep missing practice? It affects the success of the team. You have to rearrange stunt groups, line ups, and choreography. Often times this means watering down stunts.
I coach a high school cheerleading squad and I made the mistake my first year as head coach by not having an attendance policy. I always had cheerleaders absent! But once I implemented our attendance policy, we almost never had a cheerleader missing from practice.
Whether it be a doctors appointment, the flu, or a family emergency. Absences happen. There is no way to fully avoid them. However, you can set your team up for success by implementing a fair and consistent attendance policy.
Write Out Your Attendance Policy Clearly
Include your attendance policy with your list of rules. We have a cheerleading contract that includes the attendance policy. Your attendance policy is implemented to ensure the safety and preparedness of your squad. Emphasize this to your team.
Explain your attendance policy and the consequences at your Parent Meeting before tryouts so they know what to expect.
Have Cheerleaders AND Families Sign the Attendance Policy
Have your attendance policy ready to be signed right after tryouts by both the cheerleader and a parent/guardian.
What is considered an absence?
Look at your school's website to see what they consider an absence. I pulled the verbiage directly from their student handbook. It is up to you what you consider 'excused' or 'unexcused'. I tell my team that whether an absence is 'excused' or 'unexcused', they can still ultimately be removed from performances due to the safety and preparedness of the team. It comes down to safety.
Consequences for the Missed Practice NOT the Cheerleader
It can feel frustrating when a cheerleader misses practices, however it is important to not harbor those feelings toward cheerleaders.
We all have busy lives and they are learning to juggle several responsibilities at once. Having a structured attendance policy provides clear guidelines for them to make the best choice for their situation.
I have cheerleaders who tell me, "I know I missed practice which means I know I won't be in the upcoming performance." This is exactly the response I am looking for. No hard feelings!
Sample Attendance Policy
I have an attendance policy in my editable packet you can get here: Editable Cheerleading Tryouts Packet
We practice several weeks throughout the summer, and this includes cheer camps. We learn two full routines at our cheer camps and learn material we will use during season.
Sample Summer Cheerleading Attendance Policy:
1 Missed Cheer Camp = Removal from first halftime performance
2 Missed Cheer Camps = Removal from first two halftime performances
3 Missed Summer Practices Allowed
4 Missed Summer Practices = Removal from a halftime
I remove cheerleaders from a halftime they did not learn at camp. If a cheerleader misses both camps and 4 summer practices, they are removed from halftimes for the first three games. This deters them from missing.
Sample Attendance Policy: School Year Practices
During the school year, we practice three days a week after school and have football or basketball games on Fridays.
Here is a sample of School Year Cheerleading Attendance Policy for Each Week:
1 Missed Practice = Removal from stunts in upcoming halftime performance
2 Missed Practices = Removal from entire halftime performances
I choose to remove cheerleaders from halftime rather than having them sit out during sideline cheers. This is up to you, but I find that cheerleaders are more motivated to attend practice to be in the halftime routines. Plus, we spend a majority of our practice time each week preparing for halftime, so if they are not present, we cannot safely prepare stunts without them.
You want to put your best performance out there, plus you want your team to feel confident in their performance. They cannot feel as confident or prepared if they had missing teammates.
Here is an attendance policy in my Editable Cheerleading Tryouts Packet
Be Consistent
You have to follow through with the consequences. This will be difficult at first, but once your cheerleaders see that you mean what you say, you will not be questioned on your policy. The team will know what to expect.
Cheerleaders prefer to have structure! They feel frustrated when their teammates are missing or that someone isn't held accountable. Your team will respect you for having those boundaries and fairly implementing your attendance policy.
Offer Grace
There will be situations that come up that will fall outside of the attendance policy. Tragedy may strike in a cheerleader's life that is unavoidable. Cheerleading should be a safe space for them to return to, so there will be times when you will bend the attendance policy.
What if You Can't Require Practice?
If your school district does not allow you to mandate practice for your cheer team during parts of the year, make sure to follow their direction.
If you have 'optional' practices that you would like the team to show up for, make it fun! Ask the cheerleaders what they want to work on to create buy in. We had optional spring practices and most of the team came! We focused on stunting and tumbling.
If you can post on social media, post what they are working on! Post the new stunts they are hitting or group photos of who showed up to practice. If your cheerleading team is like mine, they love to post new skills! Maybe the cheerleaders who are missing practice just don't know what to expect. Seeing photos from optional practices will encourage them to attend.
Once the time of year comes when you can mandate practice, your team will be stronger because of the work they put into off season.
Plan for Breaks!
Reflect
At the end of the season, reflect on your attendance policy. What worked well? What can be improved? What was common feedback you got? Make any necessary adjustments for next season. You got this!
As your preparing for your next season, check out my Editable Cheerleading Tryout Packet to help you have the best season yet!
What is your attendance policy? Comment below!
Feel free to ask any questions or advice, I am happy to help. Wishing you a great cheer season!
Comments
Post a Comment