High School Cheer Practice

[omgitssydthekid]

yes! We've been jumping around divisions every year since I got to HS - 5a small, super large, and now 5a Large. It'll certainly be interesting to see how we do... It's a tough division this year! I think there are 10 teams and it's packed with talent. We were the only 5 large team at our regional, as usual, so we really didn't get to see where we stand.

I think there were two at the KC regional! Blue Springs South and Liberty!

Ten teams though? That's crazy. My sophomore year and junior year in high school there were somewhere between 20-35 teams.

 

[cheernerd5678]

I think there were two at the KC regional! Blue Springs South and Liberty!

Ten teams though? That's crazy. My sophomore year and junior year in high school there were somewhere between 20-35 teams.

That's crazy! Where did all the 5a teams go? There were only like 12 in our division when we competed small my sophomore year and I'm pretty sure it's about the same now

 

[omgitssydthekid]

That's crazy! Where did all the 5a teams go? There were only like 12 in our division when we competed small my sophomore year and I'm pretty sure it's about the same now

Maybe they went coed? I know Fort Osage and Oak Park both did! I think they're both 5A but I might be wrong!

 

[cheernerd5678]

Maybe they went coed? I know Fort Osage and Oak Park both did! I think they're both 5A but I might be wrong!

I think they did, bc I just looked at the state schedule and there are 9 in five large and only 7 in five small. But there are 20 in small coed. Hickman went small coed this year where they usually are in 5 large or small (they switch a lot)

 

[omgitssydthekid]

I think they did, bc I just looked at the state schedule and there are 9 in five large and only 7 in five small. But there are 20 in small coed. Hickman went small coed this year where they usually are in 5 large or small (they switch a lot)

Holy crap Coed has exploded. I swear there were like four teams in coed when I was competing.

 

[cheernerd5678]

Holy crap Coed has exploded. I swear there were like four teams in coed when I was competing.

There are 6 new teams in coed this year. I didn't even realize there were 14 last year, but that's probably bc we compete on Sunday and coed is on Saturday so we don't even see them

 

[jessicastuart]

My varsity team practice a three times a week for 2.5 hours. They attend tumbling once a week for an hour at a local gym. If they do not attend tumbling, they must go to mandatory conditioning that is held after one of the practices for 1 hour. When our hardcore competition season begins, I add Saturday practices.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Summers:

M-Th: Noon to 4 PM. (preparing for camp and getting game ready.)

August - February:

M-Th 4:00 - 6 PM (Thursday is a tumbling day)

I will add additional practices the AM of important events such as pep assemblies, or additional Saturdays before big comps (with notice of course because of parents and schedules.)

March- end of season/tryouts:

MWF 4-6

Also: For SUMMERS, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND CREATING A DVD or YouTube channel of CHEERS, FIGHT SONGS, etc.

I had my outgoing seniors tape cheers and fight songs for a DVD. The girls have a break in summer from the end of school to about June 30th. Over that time, I expect them to be reviewing cheers and really learning game day material.

This way, when we start our 12-4 summer practices, we are REFINING cheers and not teaching them from scratch. That frees us up to spend time on stunting progressions, tumbling, etc.

 

[AScheer]

I have to second the chant videos. Best thing ever!! We've done it that way since my first year coaching. Aside from review we don't spend time on chants and band dances. They're told which chants they need to know by certain dates, on that day we review and what they don't know we run for. Frees up a lot of practice time!

 

[MHSCheercoach]

I have to second the chant videos. Best thing ever!! We've done it that way since my first year coaching. Aside from review we don't spend time on chants and band dances. They're told which chants they need to know by certain dates, on that day we review and what they don't know we run for. Frees up a lot of practice time!

ABSOLUTELY! I did this my first year as it seemed to help those that were new. Have done it ever since and it frees up so much time. Instead of spending hours teaching the sidelines, I spend 1/4 of the time working with them to clean them up. So much better on them as well as they aren't overwhelmed and they don't get bored. I also do this with tryout material that way if they can't make a clinic or just want extra help they can access it online.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I have to second the chant videos. Best thing ever!! We've done it that way since my first year coaching. Aside from review we don't spend time on chants and band dances. They're told which chants they need to know by certain dates, on that day we review and what they don't know we run for. Frees up a lot of practice time!

YES!

It also tells me a lot about which of my rookies may have been "putting on" for me at tryouts in terms of their work ethic.

It's easy for you to appear enthusiastic about learning a cheer over 2 days at a tryout. It's another when you have a TON of cheers but I give you a whole month AND a DVD. You can't fool me or give me the "well, it's new material" excuse. If you did not take the time given to learn the material, you get the side eye.

It's very telling when we all get back together for summer practices, and I turn on the fight song music, and an entire group of rookies are complete deer in the headlights.

Same for my vets, too. I always tell them to review because there is nothing more embarrassing than having a VETERAN be the reason we spend 20 min on the same fight song you've been doing since last year.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Question: how do you work around not being allowed to have summer practices?

 

[CheerBank]

Question: how do you work around not being allowed to have summer practices?

Our school district does not allow summer practices until the last two weeks in August (the weeks before schools starts) the same way as all the other sports. Other schools have "clinics" and "camps" that are not mandatory (cough, cough) as well as optional tumbling classes at local all-star gyms. Ours truly does nothing until the end of August.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Our school district does not allow summer practices until the last two weeks in August (the weeks before schools starts) the same way as all the other sports. Other schools have "clinics" and "camps" that are not mandatory (cough, cough) as well as optional tumbling classes at local all-star gyms. Ours truly does nothing until the end of August.

I feel like that really hurts the teams chances of improvement, especially when you think about the teams that ARE allowed to practice in the summer. That's potentially hundreds of hours of conditioning, stretching and repetition lost.

 

[CheerBank]

I feel like that really hurts the teams chances of improvement, especially when you think about the teams that ARE allowed to practice in the summer. That's potentially hundreds of hours of conditioning, stretching and repetition lost.

Absolutely agree with this 100%. It is what it is though. Cheer is not high on the list of sports at cp's school (it actually falls under clubs but is somewhat considered a sport). We are definitely not as competitive in cheer as many other nearby school districts, and this is only part of the reason.