High School Guidelines For Male Cheerleaders?

[Emma_QCE]

Hi all,
This might be a strange thread, but I am a coach of a High School team in Australia, and I have only 1 male student and 24 girls, all aged between 13-17.

This is my second year working with my boy, and he is mostly a lovely student and valuable addition to the teams (he competes in both cheer and pom teams). Recently though, he has done a few things that are out of character and is starting to sabotage his friendships with some of the girls. I'm not sure if he is acting out because he is trying to assert some masculinity at a time when he is developing his identity and is finding it difficult because he is surrounded by so many girls, or if it is just immaturity on his part in not knowing how to cope.

I would like to support and guide him in making appropriate choices so that he doesn't continue down this pathway and cause some real damage to the team and himself, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to what might be the best way. I've spoken to him about being like an 'older brother' who looks out for the girls and that he should have their back as part of the team, and let him know that if he's ever unsure of how he might handle a situation that arises that he can come to me to talk about it, but I was hoping that there might be some good guidelines or tips that people have seen or used in helping male cheerleaders navigate the predominantly female world of cheerleading.

I have read "A Man's Guide to being a Cheerleader - Part 1" A Man’s Guide to being a Cheerleader – Part 1 |

but was hoping that there might be more out there that I haven't found!!

Any help that anyone can offer is much appreciated!!

Thanks!!

 

[reaxion07]

Have a guy from the local college have the talk with him! I've given the talk to plenty of HS guys. They even took all the guys aside at UCA college camp to do it.

 

[Emma_QCE]

Have a guy from the local college have the talk with him! I've given the talk to plenty of HS guys. They even took all the guys aside at UCA college camp to do it.

Thanks - what sort of things did you say?

Unfortunately we don't have a local university/college that has a cheer team that I can approach

Any suggestions you can share would be great!!

 

[reaxion07]

I talk a lot about how the girls safety is their number one priority, whether it be in a falling stunt or walking around at camp/after a game. We hold their life in our hands. I advise against dating girls on the team, and if they do to make sure it ends respectfully and don't go messing around with her best friend who is also on the team(seen it happen on a college team). Don't sweat the small stuff - girls are a different creature then guys, so just try and go with the flow. You'll learn a lot more about the mythical creature that is a female then the typical guy. There's always going to be drama, just try to stay out of it and keep your head down and keep working. I also tell of the wonderful mecca that is co-ed college camp, if they can make it through high school

When I would actually talk to them, it would be testosteroned up, haha. Also let them ask any questions they may have. Have you tried showing him videos of the big US co-ed programs? University of Hawaii have good ones, as well as Morehead State and OSU.

 

[xomckenzieee]

My junior year of high school, we had 4 guys on our team. The path that you believe he is headed on etc, may not actually be a bad one, it just seems as such because it's easier to pin point one guy in a sea of girls. There may be some more behind the scenes stuff that you don't know about that could be causing this behavior (including stuff the girls are doing to him). What you really need to is to either figure out what exactly is going on or let kids be kids and work it out. I can honestly admit I greatly disliked one of the guys on our team and out of cheerleading there was much bad blood. We talked to our coach and let out the dirty laundry before it escalated. Find the facts of the matter first!

 

[Emma_QCE]

My junior year of high school, we had 4 guys on our team. The path that you believe he is headed on etc, may not actually be a bad one, it just seems as such because it's easier to pin point one guy in a sea of girls. There may be some more behind the scenes stuff that you don't know about that could be causing this behavior (including stuff the girls are doing to him). What you really need to is to either figure out what exactly is going on or let kids be kids and work it out. I can honestly admit I greatly disliked one of the guys on our team and out of cheerleading there was much bad blood. We talked to our coach and let out the dirty laundry before it escalated. Find the facts of the matter first!

Thanks!
I do know the facts of the matter, but given my position, it would not be appropriate to spell out the details in a public forum

My interest is more in being supportive of him and the situation highlighted to me that as a coach, it hadn't occured to me that there would be a need for it, but it's something that I should be aware of so that I can help all my students grow as cheerleaders, team mates, and individuals, not just the girls.

 

[Emma_QCE]

I talk a lot about how the girls safety is their number one priority, whether it be in a falling stunt or walking around at camp/after a game. We hold their life in our hands. I advise against dating girls on the team, and if they do to make sure it ends respectfully and don't go messing around with her best friend who is also on the team(seen it happen on a college team). Don't sweat the small stuff - girls are a different creature then guys, so just try and go with the flow. You'll learn a lot more about the mythical creature that is a female then the typical guy. There's always going to be drama, just try to stay out of it and keep your head down and keep working. I also tell of the wonderful mecca that is co-ed college camp, if they can make it through high school

When I would actually talk to them, it would be testosteroned up, haha. Also let them ask any questions they may have. Have you tried showing him videos of the big US co-ed programs? University of Hawaii have good ones, as well as Morehead State and OSU.

Thank you so much! You're posts have been really helpful and it's good to get a guy's perspective.