Try-out Tips for Cheerleading Coaches

This is the time of year when many schools begin holding try-outs for various sports. They are gearing up for the next season to come. Over the summer the newly elected team will spend much time practicing. I was a cheerleader for eight years. Four of the years were spent in high school and four in elementary and middle school. Therefore I have been through several cheerleading try-outs. I have also coached a cheerleading squad for three years and conducted three cheerleading try-outs.

I often receive calls from schools to help judge their cheerleading try-outs. Therefore, I have served as a judge on several occasions. I feel that when it comes to cheerleading try-outs, I have a sort of expertise.

In my current position now, I try to offer support and advice to new cheerleading coaches. It can be quiet an undertaking to begin a teaching career and also be given the title of cheerleading coach. This can especially be a difficult task if the position was not desired by you.

Below I have offered some advice to cheerleading coaches.

Choose your judges for cheerleading try-outs carefully. Make certain that you have a variety of judges with knowledge about cheerleading. Never have only one judge. This actually happened to me. There was no doubt who I did and did not vote for. This placed a lot of pressure on me. Former cheerleaders and coaches make great judges.

Make sure that there are no personal connections between the judges and the girls trying out for cheerleading. Select people to judge who do not know the girls and are not employed at your school.

Take time and put thought into creating your judging sheet. A good judging sheet is specific with small number ranges. Scoring girls from 1 to 5 is plenty of lead way. Numbers over 5 become difficult to deal with. Never only give the judges one or two categories. It is harder to judge if you are not looking at a specific characteristic. I like to have categories such as facial expressions, motions, knowledge of cheers, voice, jumps, etc. This way the judges know exactly what they are looking at.

Get input from teachers. Before the cheerleading try-outs ask the teachers of the girls (or boys), to score them based on grades, discipline, and personality. This will give you an idea of any future problems that could possibly occur.