High School High School Tryouts

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

We have two teams. A JV and Varsity with Varsity being the competitive squad that also cheers for Varsity FB and BB. JV is sideline only with one local comp, as well as JV FB and BB.

There is a definite talent disparity, but it creates a situation in which those on JV want to work hard to be on Varsity. There are also girls who choose to be on JV because they want to cheer but do not want to compete for a number of reasons (ex: wanting to cheer but also playing Varsity soccer and being on two travel basketball teams.)

One of the hardest things I have ever done was to step back from coaching both and remain coach of the competitive team only.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

What do you do about football games? There are so few, do the girls switch off for them too or do they all cheer for football?

And is there a talent disparity between the two, or do you strive for 2 equally strong teams? And I'm assuming that you attempt to keep them in separate divisions so they aren't going against each other in competition?

It's a solution to a problem that I wish we would have thought of. This year we have 2 boys and 22 girls (plus 4 alternates) - too many humans for UCA's small coed division. We're still building a program at this school, so with states being this year's goal, we are just going with it. In the future, we hope to be aiming for NHSCC, so we won't be able to do that.

For football, everyone cheers on sidelines at home games and any away games that are in town (there are four high schools here). We are much less formal with our timeout and between quarter stuff for football season because we don't have a lot of depth in our assigned area. We create a chant line formation that puts our seniors forward and toward the center, then place everyone around them according to stunt groups.

Is there a talent disparity...loaded question....Let's just say, that my ultimate goal is to get rid of the disparity. This year they are closer than they were last year. Last year we competed large all girl and small non-tumbling. This year we have a medium all-girl and a small coed. This is the first year I have coached coed at this school, and the first year in recent memory that the school has had more than one or two guys. Coming in every year knowing that a state championship and NHSCC is the ultimate goal, I am forced to create a team that has the ability to win. I then put the others who I take at tryouts into whatever division makes sense for them to be as competitive as possible. You are correct in that they are never in the same division.

 

[cheermommaRN]

We have 3 sideline teams (Freshman, JV, V). Freshman is the smallest at 15 athletes and I think the other two have 24 each. This past week the head coach and our choreographer/tumbling coach held competition team tryouts. One team is 12 with 4 alternates and the other is 24 with 4 of those kids being the alternates for what we call the "Disney Team". It was extremely competitive to make either team and some athletes that were on the competition team the year before made the larger team. My cp was 1 of only 3 freshman to make the UIL (larger team), no freshman made the Disney team. She will compete at the UIL State competition and at NCA in Time Out categories.
There is still confusion over which is the higher level team since UIL you can perform level 3 skills but the smaller team is competing small novice division (level 2). Cp was just happy to make a competing team!

 

[CoachTamara]

For football, everyone cheers on sidelines at home games and any away games that are in town (there are four high schools here). We are much less formal with our timeout and between quarter stuff for football season because we don't have a lot of depth in our assigned area. We create a chant line formation that puts our seniors forward and toward the center, then place everyone around them according to stunt groups.

Is there a talent disparity...loaded question....Let's just say, that my ultimate goal is to get rid of the disparity. This year they are closer than they were last year. Last year we competed large all girl and small non-tumbling. This year we have a medium all-girl and a small coed. This is the first year I have coached coed at this school, and the first year in recent memory that the school has had more than one or two guys. Coming in every year knowing that a state championship and NHSCC is the ultimate goal, I am forced to create a team that has the ability to win. I then put the others who I take at tryouts into whatever division makes sense for them to be as competitive as possible. You are correct in that they are never in the same division.

What school are you at?? I've always wondered and haven't put the pieces together.

 

[Official OWECheer]

We have two teams. A JV and Varsity with Varsity being the competitive squad that also cheers for Varsity FB and BB. JV is sideline only with one local comp, as well as JV FB and BB.

There is a definite talent disparity, but it creates a situation in which those on JV want to work hard to be on Varsity. There are also girls who choose to be on JV because they want to cheer but do not want to compete for a number of reasons (ex: wanting to cheer but also playing Varsity soccer and being on two travel basketball teams.)

One of the hardest things I have ever done was to step back from coaching both and remain coach of the competitive team only.

What made it hard?

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

What made it hard?

I just really am a control freak of sorts and I wanted to coach both! Best choice for me and the JV staff is awesome so it works out. We are on the same page with a lot of things.

 

[Official OWECheer]

I just really am a control freak of sorts and I wanted to coach both! Best choice for me and the JV staff is awesome so it works out. We are on the same page with a lot of things.

That would be me. It's hard when you're afraid that the new staff won't be just like you.

 

[EWalsh1029]

my tryouts start on Monday! I'm so excited (and anxious) to see the new talent and skills!

 

[Pebbles49]

Last week, my daughter (rising Freshman) was sent a letter with a packet for attending her prospective school's 1 week NCA cheer camp in August. Tbh, I was quite surprised because my daughter never mentioned wanting to cheer in HS...
However,
Question for the HS Cheer Coaches, if my daughter decides to participate, what should she expect and is it anything like AS Cheer?

 

[AScheer]

Last week, my daughter (rising Freshman) was sent a letter with a packet for attending her prospective school's 1 week NCA cheer camp in August. Tbh, I was quite surprised because my daughter never mentioned wanting to cheer in HS...
However,
Question for the HS Cheer Coaches, if my daughter decides to participate, what should she expect and is it anything like AS Cheer?

Congratulations to your daughter. From what little I know about your school, I know that they don't run anything like we have here. It's a little odd to not have tryouts and invite kids to camp. Only saying this because my advice and experience may not apply at all!

NCA camp (assuming they attend a traditional summer camp) will probably be nothing like she is used to with allstars. It's common for AS background kids to go into high school camp as "know it alls" or with attitudes that it's beneath them. If she goes into it with an open mind and positive attitude, she should do well. We have a few NCA staffers on here (@yooolizzi @omgitssydthekid ) that can add more specific info.

 

[Pebbles49]

@AScheer,
Thank you for the quick response..I think my daughter is now feeling scared and intimidated by the invite... She feels like they will expect a lot more from her and she may not meet their expectations. So, she definitely feeling opposite of knowing it all...
Anyway,
I just told her to try her best and not put any extra pressure on herself. She have taken time off from cheering and she just might have to remind people about this fact...

Do Cheer Coaches go into tryouts with any perceived thoughts about athletes?

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

@AScheer,
Thank you for the quick response..I think my daughter is now feeling scared and intimidated by the invite... She feels like they will expect a lot more from her and she may not meet their expectations. So, she definitely feeling opposite of knowing it all...
Anyway,
I just told her to try her best and not put any extra pressure on herself. She have taken time off from cheering and she just might have to remind people about this fact...

Do Cheer Coaches go into tryouts with any perceived thoughts about athletes?

I do...

Only because I follow our middle school feeder programs very closely, so in any given year, I will have advanced knowledge of 75-80% of the incoming freshmen. The other 20-25% sometimes surprise me, so I've learned to be open about them.

The way the school is doing this makes me wonder if you're not in a state in which spring tryouts are a no-no. If you don't have tryouts in April around here, you're screwed until July. that makes planning for camp virtually impossible.

 

[Zyylophone]

During our tryouts we bring in outside judges that judge the athletes, but us as coaches are in the same room, not on the panel. We mainly over see the tryout and guide the athletes through the try out experience. This way we know not only the skill and athleticism of the athlete, but also their attitude and the way they carry themselves during the tryout. And just like @Official OWECheer said, if a vet comes back that we know has a bad attitude or bad with punctuality, we can still oversee the results and go from there. Good luck everyone during tryouts! It's never easy for any coach or athlete!

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

During our tryouts we bring in outside judges that judge the athletes, but us as coaches are in the same room, not on the panel. We mainly over see the tryout and guide the athletes through the try out experience. This way we know not only the skill and athleticism of the athlete, but also their attitude and the way they carry themselves during the tryout. And just like @Official OWECheer said, if a vet comes back that we know has a bad attitude or bad with punctuality, we can still oversee the results and go from there. Good luck everyone during tryouts! It's never easy for any coach or athlete!

If you're overseeing everything, and making all the decisions, why have judges?

 

[Pebbles49]

I do...

Only because I follow our middle school feeder programs very closely, so in any given year, I will have advanced knowledge of 75-80% of the incoming freshmen. The other 20-25% sometimes surprise me, so I've learned to be open about them.

The way the school is doing this makes me wonder if you're not in a state in which spring tryouts are a no-no. If you don't have tryouts in April around here, you're screwed until July. that makes planning for camp virtually impossible.

Well, her prospective HS school actually had tryouts for Cheer and Mascot in May, so maybe they are opening more spots for girls who missed those tryouts dates...Who really knows?

...