- Nov 29, 2011
- 29
- 51
Hi everyone! I have a complicated question.
Background Information: I have coached one year (two seasons) in my current district. I was hired to coach here in May of last year. The team cheers for football games and basketball games. They do not currently compete. However, that is a direction that both myself and the athletic director would like to head. Due to the format of competitive cheer in our state, the traditions of our school and program, and the current skill levels of the kids in our program, that will be a long process.
The school traditionally holds two tryouts: one in mid-August for football season sideline cheer, and one in November for basketball season sideline cheer.
I would like to take the girls to cheer camp this summer (UCA) for the first time in recent school history. The AD is really supportive of this as long as we can make it affordable for everyone without doing a bunch of fundraisers. However, as you all know, cheer camps are mostly in July, and teams generally hold a spring tryout (i.e. in May, before school is out) so teams can practice and attend camp during the summer.
Our AD is not in favor of a spring tryout. They tried it once a few years ago. Due to the transient nature of our school district (and, in some part, to the way the program was run as a lower athleticism, strictly cheering-on-the-sidelines kind of program) there were all kinds of issues in the summer of kids leaving the district, kids deciding to do another sport, kids quitting because they got a job, etc. I see his point, and I think it's fair that he is basing his dislike of spring tryouts on actual experience
My Question: He has suggested going to cheer camp without doing tryouts first - in other words, any girl who wants to pay and buy the camp clothes can go to UCA camp in July. Then, they can all try out for the team in August; the tryout is also open to kids who didn't attend camp. I have never done this in my years of coaching, and I am not sure what the pros and cons are.
So: does anyone here bring any kid who wants to go to summer cheer camp and then hold a tryout in August? Has anyone tried this without success? What are possible positive points and pitfalls of doing it this way?
My other options are (a) talk him into trying a spring tryout and hope that goes well, or (b) holding an August tryout with a home camp.
Thanks!
Background Information: I have coached one year (two seasons) in my current district. I was hired to coach here in May of last year. The team cheers for football games and basketball games. They do not currently compete. However, that is a direction that both myself and the athletic director would like to head. Due to the format of competitive cheer in our state, the traditions of our school and program, and the current skill levels of the kids in our program, that will be a long process.
The school traditionally holds two tryouts: one in mid-August for football season sideline cheer, and one in November for basketball season sideline cheer.
I would like to take the girls to cheer camp this summer (UCA) for the first time in recent school history. The AD is really supportive of this as long as we can make it affordable for everyone without doing a bunch of fundraisers. However, as you all know, cheer camps are mostly in July, and teams generally hold a spring tryout (i.e. in May, before school is out) so teams can practice and attend camp during the summer.
Our AD is not in favor of a spring tryout. They tried it once a few years ago. Due to the transient nature of our school district (and, in some part, to the way the program was run as a lower athleticism, strictly cheering-on-the-sidelines kind of program) there were all kinds of issues in the summer of kids leaving the district, kids deciding to do another sport, kids quitting because they got a job, etc. I see his point, and I think it's fair that he is basing his dislike of spring tryouts on actual experience
My Question: He has suggested going to cheer camp without doing tryouts first - in other words, any girl who wants to pay and buy the camp clothes can go to UCA camp in July. Then, they can all try out for the team in August; the tryout is also open to kids who didn't attend camp. I have never done this in my years of coaching, and I am not sure what the pros and cons are.
So: does anyone here bring any kid who wants to go to summer cheer camp and then hold a tryout in August? Has anyone tried this without success? What are possible positive points and pitfalls of doing it this way?
My other options are (a) talk him into trying a spring tryout and hope that goes well, or (b) holding an August tryout with a home camp.
Thanks!