High School Captains

[CheerGlammie]

So, we started a new season, but we don't have any captains. It's hard to decide whether to have the best cheerleaders to be captain or the most qualified to lead. Any ideas?

 

[Twinklestars]

The best leader should be captain, IMO. The best cheerleader isn't always the best leader. Leadership skills trump cheer skills for captain.

The best cheerleader is going to end up shining. She will be point dancer, jumper, etc...

The captain needs to be good at cheering and leading.

 

[AScheer]

The best leader should be captain, IMO. The best cheerleader isn't always the best leader. Leadership skills trump cheer skills for captain.

The best cheerleader is going to end up shining. She will be point dancer, jumper, etc...

The captain needs to be good at cheering and leading.

Yes! To add to this, the girls who's cheered the longest also does not equal the best leader!

 

[Cheer Dad]

Skills do not equal leadership.

The most talented girl could also be the least respected. Look for someone the kids respect, like, listen too and the one who works the hardest regardless of their skill. They could be the one you are looking for.

 

[gymcatmomx2]

I think it is a delicate balance. In my opinion, the cheer captain has to have maturity, responsibility, leadership experience/skills, AND have high level cheer skills. They don't have to be the best, but they have to be at the top of the pool if they want to be respected by their team mates. In addition, they must have good grades. As a side note, no matter who is chosen, everyone who isn't captain will make up excuses for why they didn't make it and there will be a ton of "back seat drivers" that think they can do a better job or would have made a better captain. Just ignore them, they are just bitter.

 

[courtness_m]

Unfortunately, at my CP's high school, it's pretty much a popularity contest.

 

[eferrig1]

Always go with who is the best leader on the team. At the school I coach at, us coaches pick the two/three best leaders and let the team vote on who they would prefer to be their captain. Alternatively, there have been years where we have chosen not to have captains because we saw more attitudes than leaders.

 

[ScottyB]

Democratic voting is good. One thing to do to take it a step further to avoid issues, is having a leadership team of multiple captains so that multiple views can be represented.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

We always had multiple captains in high school. If you were interested in running for captain (you had to be an upperclassman but typically only seniors ran) I know that you had to give a speech to the team and explain why you would be a good captain. I'm not sure if it entailed anything else, I was never interested in the position.

My sophomore year we had two captains. One of the girls was a top girl, she had a standing tuck and a round off backhandspring tuck, and great jumps. She was also well respected, kind, and a good leader. Skills wise she was roughly middle of the pack. She competed at both regionals and state all three years she was on varsity. The second captain was a backspot, she had a standing backhandspring but it was inconsistent, and her jumps weren't very good. She didn't compete at regionals or state either of her years on varsity. Skills wise she was definitely one of the lowest but she was an incredible leader and made an amazing captain. She was highly respected as well as intelligent and I really looked up to her as a person. I don't think skills should matter as much for a LEADERSHIP position.

 

[jessicastuart]

Every year I open up 2 captain spots to my juniors and seniors. They are given Varsity Captain Interview questions that they must turn in before the final day of tryouts. There are all types of questions that aim to highlight their leadership skills, as well as cheerleading knowledge. During our first practice, I have the candidates line up and I ask them one of the questions on their sheet. They must answer it in front of their other teammates. Following that, the team votes. I review the votes because if it turns out to be a popularity contest, I'll catch it and make changes where I think they are needed. It has been working for the past couple seasons. The ones elected for captains have been responsible, respectable and reliable. Here's my questions!:

1. What are three characteristics that you feel are most important for cheerleaders to possess?

3. What is one thing that you believe you can bring to the team this year?

4. Why is it important for a cheerleader to maintain good grades and good behavior in school?

6. If you had an issue with a teammate, how would you handle it?

7. How do you earn respect from others?

8. If chosen for the Varsity team, what is one goal you have for yourself as a cheerleader? What is one goal that you have for the team?

9. Having a bond between our JV and Varsity squads is important. If chosen for captain, what kind of squad-bonding would you have for our teams?

10. Scenario: A teammates is making negative posts about your team on social media. How would you handle this?

11. Scenario: A teammate is consistently late to practices and games. How would you handle this?

12. Scenario: There may be freshmen and sophomores on the team. As an upperclassmen, how will you make them feel welcomed and comfortable on the team?