High School High School Varsity And Jv.

[SmileyRyleigh]

How do you do JV and Varsity? Is it by skill, or grade?

Next year we're doing Varsity Juniors and Seniors ; and JV freshman and sophomores... skills not mattering. We also have to try out for competition team, and have to try out both football and basketball season.

 

[EWalsh1029]

Depends really. I know some schools do it by grade, and others do it by skill. The school I coach at also has a try out for football and basketball season, and we do it by skill. Both our Varsity and JV cheer on their teams and compete as well.

 

[BuegeSmalls]

Both our JV & Varsity compete and cheer at football games and boys & girls basketball games.
JV is only for freshman & sophomores but anyone can be on Varsity. You have to have atleast a back handspring to even be considered for Varsity. We take 3-4 alternates on varsity. They don't compete, only if needed but they do cheer at all games and do other activities the other varsity team members do. Hope this helps

 

[Seeker30]

we do it by skill
but not juniors or seniors in J.V.
& J.V does not compete.

 

[cheerforeverever]

From my coaching and cheer participation experience, this is what I believe about the whole thing.........
There's about 3 ways that teams are organized typically, excluding fall/spring split teams:
-By Skill Only. Compete on those teams
-By Age Only. Compete on those teams
-By Age for JV/Varsity, but separate competition teams

Schools that form teams based on skills alone are those that focus extremely on competition season (UCA/NCA teams that go every year and often place, etc.). The teams function well for this purpose, however I always question whether it is good mentally and emotionally for some of the underclassmen, most specifically freshmen. The older girls either take the younger ones under their wing (many times helpful, but not always a good thing if the older girls are negatively influencing them), or the older girls will have a superiority complex and intimidate the younger ones. In the second case, it is a lot of pressure to live up to and makes the younger girls sometimes feel unconfident or like they are not really a part of the team. That also doesn't take into account all of the sophomores/juniors that were on JV last year/2 years and did not make Varsity.......they sometimes can field some jealousy towards the younger girls that do make Varsity. I do think that it makes freshmen on Varsity grow up much quicker, since they are surrounded by older girls, which I am not a fan of. However, this type of team is a tough balance but ultimately if the level of skills are high overall it can work (i.e. Dunbar on Cheerleader Nation)

Age based teams are currently the most common type of team division, which is based on the belief usually that either A) you have to earn your Varsity spot by putting in time, or B) younger girls are not emotionally/mentally ready to be on a Varsity spot. I can see how people argue both, though I think that it really depends on the individual whether they can handle Varsity or not. Some good things about dividing the team this way are the fact that you actually know the players you're cheering for on the field/court because they're your same age, and also the bond/friends that you make with a team your own grade. It is also nice to have a team that you can grow all 4 years with, pretty much all together from start to end. When it gets to competition time however, it can be difficult since not the same skill levels are on the same team. Also, some of the older, less skilled girls can feel threatened by younger,more skilled girls which creates its own headaches.

Age based teams but a seperate competition squad is my personal preference for team divisions. You get the perks from being with your own age group for sidelines, but you also can divide athletes by ability to give your competition teams the best chance of success. Also, having some of the younger ones working with the older girls in smaller doses can be beneficial for skill development. It pushes the new kids to the best of their abilities, and requires the older ones to be role models without having to spend 24/7 with the little ones. Dividing teams this way also still gives the younger girls something to work for (Varsity sideline), but rewards those that did work hard to get skills young (advanced comp squad). There are some disadvantages though, as you can't practice your competition stunts at games, and also if there is extra time during a varsity or JV practice you can't just work on something further for competition. It means more practices at seperate times, and it takes time to get that groove of working together since its technically a new team.

 

[SmileCat]

Football:
JV- Freshman & Sophomores (before this year freshman could not cheer football)
Varsity- Juniors & Seniors (coach picks favorites so doesn't really matter on skill, lol)

Basketball- Anyone.

No competitive

 

[Haley042197]

We do it by skill! And JV and Varsity compete together! But we're from a really small school, so basketball is like 6 Varsity and 4 JV.

 

[BuegeSmalls]

We do it by skill! And JV and Varsity compete together! But we're from a really small school, so basketball is like 6 Varsity and 4 JV.

So if you guys combine the teams for competitions do you compete as a varsity team or JV team?

 

[rockymountainthigh]

For football and basketball- freshmen can only make the freshman team. Sophomores can only make JV. Juniors and seniors are the only ones able to make varsity- except if there aren't enough sophomores to fill an entire JV team, which won't happen anytime soon. Skills do matter, but not as much as seniority and spirit. If a junior with a standing tuck tried out for varsity against a senior with a backhandspring, the senior would make it over the junior. For competitive, anyone can make it.

 

[ONE44cheer]

When I hold tryouts for my Varsity and JV teams, I strictly go off the scores...Ages and grade levels do not matter. If you have the skills needed to be on varsity, you make Varsity. And when I say skills I just don't mean tumbling. So many teams these days strictly go off tumbling I feel for skill. I want an all-around good cheerleader that can hang in game situations.

 

[Haley042197]

So if you guys combine the teams for competitions do you compete as a varsity team or JV team?

We compete as a varsity team.

 

[SmileCat]

For football and basketball- freshmen can only make the freshman team. Sophomores can only make JV. Juniors and seniors are the only ones able to make varsity- except if there aren't enough sophomores to fill an entire JV team, which won't happen anytime soon. Skills do matter, but not as much as seniority and spirit. If a junior with a standing tuck tried out for varsity against a senior with a backhandspring, the senior would make it over the junior. For competitive, anyone can make it.

To me, seniority is such an unfair thing to base of off. I mean, you can't chose a senior with a backhandspring over a junior with a full and them miss a whole year of cheering for their school. Idk, that's just one thing that bugs me.

 

[SmileCat]

When I hold tryouts for my Varsity and JV teams, I strictly go off the scores...Ages and grade levels do not matter. If you have the skills needed to be on varsity, you make Varsity. And when I say skills I just don't mean tumbling. So many teams these days strictly go off tumbling I feel for skill. I want an all-around good cheerleader that can hang in game situations.

I wish the coaches at my school judged more like you!!!

 

[bestbackspot]

at my school its completely by skilll. Actually our varsity team is made up of mostly underclassmen
freshmen-7
sophomores-8
juniors-3
seniors-3

we do have seniors and juniors on jv too!

 

[ONE44cheer]

I wish the coaches at my school judged more like you!!!

Look at UCA Nationals...If you can't cheer you don't win!
Now don't get me wrong...a 1 and a 1/4 up is an elite skill and I strive for my teams to hit those skills but if you cannot cheer why are you a HS cheerleader...lol!
Competition is a great piece of HS Cheer, but should not be your entire focus. You have games where you need to lead the crowd and support the other athletic programs.