Command Respect for Your Cheer Program

Are you trying to get respect for your cheerleading program and not making much progress?  I know many coaches that are in this boat. The viral post about the new rule at a school – everyone makes the cheerleading team or no one does – inspired me to share with you how you can command respect from the school including the administration, teachers and the students. 

If you haven’t seen the article, check it out here.

This article further explains the school’s decision. Click here.

The “cheerlebrity” Maddie Gardner who is now a news reporter even sounded off about it.  Check it out here.

Much has been said about this story and I am sure everyone has their opinions.  I also know that we do not have an inside look at that particular school. We don’t know the details of what went on at the school and the cheer program. We do know as coaches the many things that can happen that could cause a school to make a decision like this.

I do want to clarify that every school is different.  Some schools have policies where every student can make any sports team if they tryout.  They do this because the school may be very small or they have multiple teams, such as JV and Freshman teams so they have available spots on multiple teams. Your goal is to make sure your team is treated like the other sports teams, which means you need to coach Cheerleading for the sport that it is.

The best thing you can do as a coach is to build your program as a sports program, so you are not put in a situation where the school may make a different decision than what they would make for other sports teams. 

While you don’t have control over every decision a school makes, you can use these simple steps that will possibly prevent rulings like this being made. 

I go into much more detail on how to build your program in the video The Key to Coaching Cheerleading that you download here.

1. Build a relationship with the Administration.

It is critical that you meet with the administration before and during each season.  Outline the expectations of the program you are building. Discuss your disciplinary procedure, your tryout procedure and everything else about your program. Get input from the administration and make sure they are on board with what you are doing. You can find out more in the Best Cheer Year Yet booklet. Download here.

2. Have a complaint process for parents.

You need to be clear with the parents what the process is if they have a concern about the program. They need to come to you first. You need to work it out with the administration that if the parent comes to them first, then the administrator will not meet with the parent until they have met with you. When the administration has your back in this way, you are going to hush up a lot of parents.

3. Treat your team like a sports team – starting with tryouts.

In general, I have had most people agree with my opinion to NOT bring in outside judges for your tryouts.  You and your coaching staff should be judging tryouts, just like every other coach for every other sport. They don’t bring in outside people to decide their teams.  By bringing in someone from the outside will hurt your credibility as a coach. You are not only showing that you are not capable of deciding who is good enough for the team or what team to place the athletes on.  You are also giving the impression that you are not capable of making tough decisions and then being able to stand by them.

4. Practice like a sports team.

You need to make sure your practices operate just like other sports teams. Practices are not a time for sitting around in a circle and talking for 20 minutes or longer.  Yes, you have announcements, but you need to have structure in your practice and the majority of your time should be spend practicing skills and then followed by conditioning. 

5. Show your athleticism at games.

You should always be performing to your best at games.  The team needs to be jumping and tumbling throughout, along with the cheers.  You need to showcase the stunts you have mastered and continue to progress. Even if the crowd isn’t receptive, you need to be performing your best at all times.  Your performance is not dependent on your crowd. Demonstrate that cheerleading is hard work. When your team is standing on the sideline periodically doing and twirling hair and talking during most of the game, you will not command the respect of the school and the crowd.

If your school is not treating your team as a sport, before you blame the school, first look at what you are doing as the coach to command respect from the school, including the administration.  If it appears your team is just a club that stands around at games, then you may not like decisions the administration might make for your team.

If you are doing all of this and you still are not getting the respect your team deserves, then if you are a serious coach, you may need to make the decision to coach at another school.  When you coach, you are pretty much volunteering all of your time. You deserve the respect and support of the administration, especially if you are doing your job. There are plenty of other schools who would value what you have to offer.  If you are at a school and it is a lost cause, you may need to go elsewhere.

In most cases, with a little work you can change the perception of your team and command respect for your program. 

Building respect for your cheer team can happen by demonstrating safe technique when stunting. Ensure that you have the know-how to continue to advance your skills safely through Stunt School 2.0 for Cheerleading Coaches. You will receive lifetime access to 80 stunts as well as a number of training videos. Coach stunts with confidence – find out more here: www.cheercoachacademy.com/stunt-school-2-0