High School JV Alternates Game ideas?

[Coach Blox]

Hi! I’m a new high school cheer coach and have established a Varsity and JV team (first JV team in over a decade). The team had never had cuts at tryouts and while I didn’t want to completely change the culture, I am a believer in curs when needed. However, since it was mid-season (long story - there wasn’t even one cheer team because of no coach so I stepped in) I wanted to ease them in and give everyone a chance. Well, there are four I made as alternates who really should have been cut. They show up to practices and work hard sometimes but their skill set is just not where it should be. If they aren’t cheering at the game, what are some things they can do besides sit there? They’ll be in uniform and I don’t want them feeling to down about not cheering.

 

[Coach C]

I always had alternates for competition only, everyone always cheered at games. Your alternates don't even participate at the games?

 

[Keep_Believing]

I was going to say can they cheer the games in the back row? I understand not making a comp. team, but if they are respectful and trying, I would let them cheer games.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I always had my alternates cheer games. They were alternates for comp purposes.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Question:

What exactly do they do at present?

Practice?

There is literally no incentive for them to cheer if they don’t compete or cheer games.

 

[catlady]

IMO, mid-season is the perfect time to establish and communicate your expectations for next years tryouts throughout the remainder of the season. For now, I think it would be benefit you to let them cheer game days for the remainder of the season.

Our HS actually brought in one of our gym's best all star coaches (at the beginning of the season) to put together a JV comp team. At the end of the season he asked, "Who wanted the JV comp team? It wasn't the cheerleaders." The JV cheerleaders had chosen the culture they wanted and that was to cheer game day, make posters and banners, wear their school uniform and have fun. For your sake and theirs, I hope the cheerleaders actually want a JV comp team.

 

[Coach Blox]

Question:

What exactly do they do at present?

Practice?

There is literally no incentive for them to cheer if they don’t compete or cheer games.

Yep. Practice. But that’s everyone. We haven’t had our first game yet. The culture of the team in the past was not to cut anyone. I found that a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t want to mix things up TOO much, but the alternates should have been cut. Instead, I let them know they didn’t make the team but if they wanted to join as an alternate so that they could get more practice and enhance their skills before tryouts in April, it would give them a leg up at tryouts. It would also give them the opportunity to step in if a JV person quit, was sick, etc. that has motivated them but I’m feeling badly about them not cheering. Their skill set is not great and they haven’t perfected one sideline cheer.
I learned my lesson and won’t have alternates at the next tryout. We are not a competitive team.

 

[Coach Blox]

I was going to say can they cheer the games in the back row? I understand not making a comp. team, but if they are respectful and trying, I would let them cheer games.

That’s not a bad idea. Some try more than others. I mentioned in a previous response that they have not perfected even one side line cheer. Timing is always off or an entirely different motion is done. I was thinking maybe getting megaphones and having them use those?

 

[Coach Blox]

I always had alternates for competition only, everyone always cheered at games. Your alternates don't even participate at the games?

We haven’t had a game yet but they idea was not to have them cheer at games. We aren’t a competitive team.

 

[quitthedrama]

I don't know what state you are in, but there are very few states that have multiple powerhouse school cheer programs. I may be getting the wrong impression, but it seems your expectations may be a bit high as a new coach for a program that needs rebuilding.
Most schools around my area don't cut anyone. If they compete, they may only have a team of 9 on the competition mat even if they have 30 cheerleaders in the program, but they all cheer games. If you have both a Varsity and JV, then I don't see why anyone should even be an alternate unless you have a maximum number you can have at games.

 

[Coach Blox]

I don't know what state you are in, but there are very few states that have multiple powerhouse school cheer programs. I may be getting the wrong impression, but it seems your expectations may be a bit high as a new coach for a program that needs rebuilding.
Most schools around my area don't cut anyone. If they compete, they may only have a team of 9 on the competition mat even if they have 30 cheerleaders in the program, but they all cheer games. If you have both a Varsity and JV, then I don't see why anyone should even be an alternate unless you have a maximum number you can have at games.

We aren’t competing. And I do have expectations, but they are reasonable. Picking up sideline cheers and having clean motions seems completely in-line. The alternates literally fall over their own feet and I’m helping them improve. We have a max of 12 for games and that’s what our team is. Perhaps no good deed goes unpunished and I should have cut them. I learn as I go.

 

[Keep_Believing]

Most HS age students would not be okay constantly falling over their own feet in front of their peers. I have seen students with special needs that were able to successfully join in and participate with their HS sideline cheer programs. Something seems off. In my opinion, they should be allowed to do sideline cheer, but the choice is yours.

 

[Coach Blox]

Most HS age students would not be okay constantly falling over their own feet in front of their peers. I have seen students with special needs that were able to successfully join in and participate with their HS sideline cheer programs. Something seems off. In my opinion, they should be allowed to do sideline cheer, but the choice is yours.

Again, we are at the max with the current team and the alts are NOT ready. Even if they were, we are at the max.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

We aren’t competing. And I do have expectations, but they are reasonable. Picking up sideline cheers and having clean motions seems completely in-line. The alternates literally fall over their own feet and I’m helping them improve. We have a max of 12 for games and that’s what our team is. Perhaps no good deed goes unpunished and I should have cut them. I learn as I go.

When I coached HS Varsity once upon a time, I had the benefit of getting kids with experience but depending on the year, the JV coach had a small pool of kids, or a large pool with little experience. Some years you just knew that several of them had never held a pom in their lives (or if they did, the last time was Tiny Football cheer in Kindergarten) and would have been cut in a competitive year or at any other school.

They were off at games quite often. Heck, one of them one season had some sort of condition in which she was blind in one eye. Their halftimes did not start out perfect. By end of season they weren't going to win you any awards, but they were at least moving in the same direction during cheers. Some of those girls actually made my Varsity by the time they were in 11th/12th.

The thing is: Everyone in any sport has to start somewhere.

Unless we're dealing with some sort of cheer powerhouse at which every single team from MS to Freshman to JV is a national champ, that is (generally speaking) what a JV is for. It's literally (in my eyes anyway), the developmental level of HS sports.

I'm not saying they need to be front and center at every single spirit assembly, or under the lights with Varsity every Friday, etc.but there are important questions to be asked here:

1. How is someone supposed to develop skills if the developmental level is not giving them opportunities to practice? You can't learn anything in cheer if you're not getting reps?

2. They might be bad. But honestly what I notice about kids is if you treat a kid like they are THE WORST, they won't even try. Keeping them in the stands is not going to make them want to learn. The fact that they keep showing up says something about them, so why not set some goals for them? Ex: Next week if we can do the fight song full out at end of practice with no mistakes, you're cheering whole second half of the game on Friday.

3. Maybe they are not ready for home BB games or big spirit assemblies. What's the harm in them cheering (select) JV sports just for the experience? Literally a couple away basketball games, girls games, or even some non-traditional sports that don't get a ton of school spirit type support like wrestling, etc. Some community events like the elementary school bike-a-thon or a pep rally for elementary kiddos. Small crowds. Low embarrassment potential. But still getting reps.

4. Silly little awards go a long way, even with HS athletes. Ex: Sticker charts for how many reps of the fight song you can hit and the one with the most is Cheerleader of the Week.

I've seen Kindergartners eventually be able to get through a sideline without tripping so I have full confidence that HS kids can do it if they have the opportunity to learn.

They may not be the best cheerleaders on the planet at end of all of this, but if you're trying to build a program as a new coach I think it's important to remember your talent is hardly ever just going to walk into the door already being amazing. You just started. You also just had a tryout in the mid-season too. It's going to take time and patience and more than "well they're awful, I tried, I should have cut them last year." Unless you want a teeny tiny JV that is not really going to feed a successful Varsity program, and what's the point of that?

 

[Keep_Believing]

When I coached HS Varsity once upon a time, I had the benefit of getting kids with experience but depending on the year, the JV coach had a small pool of kids, or a large pool with little experience. Some years you just knew that several of them had never held a pom in their lives (or if they did, the last time was Tiny Football cheer in Kindergarten) and would have been cut in a competitive year or at any other school.

They were off at games quite often. Heck, one of them one season had some sort of condition in which she was blind in one eye. Their halftimes did not start out perfect. By end of season they weren't going to win you any awards, but they were at least moving in the same direction during cheers. Some of those girls actually made my Varsity by the time they were in 11th/12th.

The thing is: Everyone in any sport has to start somewhere.

Unless we're dealing with some sort of cheer powerhouse at which every single team from MS to Freshman to JV is a national champ, that is (generally speaking) what a JV is for. It's literally (in my eyes anyway), the developmental level of HS sports.

I'm not saying they need to be front and center at every single spirit assembly, or under the lights with Varsity every Friday, etc.but there are important questions to be asked here:

1. How is someone supposed to develop skills if the developmental level is not giving them opportunities to practice? You can't learn anything in cheer if you're not getting reps?

2. They might be bad. But honestly what I notice about kids is if you treat a kid like they are THE WORST, they won't even try. Keeping them in the stands is not going to make them want to learn. The fact that they keep showing up says something about them, so why not set some goals for them? Ex: Next week if we can do the fight song full out at end of practice with no mistakes, you're cheering whole second half of the game on Friday.

3. Maybe they are not ready for home BB games or big spirit assemblies. What's the harm in them cheering (select) JV sports just for the experience? Literally a couple away basketball games, girls games, or even some non-traditional sports that don't get a ton of school spirit type support like wrestling, etc. Some community events like the elementary school bike-a-thon or a pep rally for elementary kiddos. Small crowds. Low embarrassment potential. But still getting reps.

4. Silly little awards go a long way, even with HS athletes. Ex: Sticker charts for how many reps of the fight song you can hit and the one with the most is Cheerleader of the Week.

I've seen Kindergartners eventually be able to get through a sideline without tripping so I have full confidence that HS kids can do it if they have the opportunity to learn.

They may not be the best cheerleaders on the planet at end of all of this, but if you're trying to build a program as a new coach I think it's important to remember your talent is hardly ever just going to walk into the door already being amazing. You just started. You also just had a tryout in the mid-season too. It's going to take time and patience and more than "well they're awful, I tried, I should have cut them last year." Unless you want a teeny tiny JV that is not really going to feed a successful Varsity program, and what's the point of that?

Love this!!!!!!! You definitely left a lasting positive impact on your athletes!