High School Low Numbers

[CoachKar]

The school district has fairly low numbers of students involved in cheerleading. When I went to school there it did not seem like we had a problem with it but that was several coaches ago. What are some ways to try and get people involved in cheerleading again? We used to have a competition squad and in order to compete you had to be on one of the cheer teams for fall or winter. I felt like the competition team was a huge draw for myself and fellow team members but there isn't one currently in place, does having a comp squad help your school with getting team members?

 

[Twinklestars]

We switched schools recently. Our old school doesn't have a competition team. They are lucky to still have cheer. The administration is not supportive and just sees it as a lot of drama. Twelve member team.

New school is trying to get the selected team to compete. The principal's dd is on the team. The administration is supportive. Was supposed to be a 16 member team, ended up with 17!

ETA: I don't know how to get more interest. It seems like it is either there or not.


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[vannahlexis]

I would hold an "open gym" of some sort- to try and spark an interest without any commitment. If you know of a student that goes to the school and wants the cheer team, I would have them talk to other girls and convince them, invite people via facebook event, have it announced during school announcements and maybe even ask the AD/principle if you can have a little assembly with girls who might be interested.

I would say the competition aspect is what drew me to tryout for cheerleading my freshman year, and it's definitely what kept me on the team as well. I know a few girls on my team would not cheer during football season, just competitive.

Good luck assembling a team

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Get involved with your FEEDER MIDDLE SCHOOLS!

That is the best way to increase interest.

Seriously. Do a cheer camp with them. Perform at their assemblies/halftime shows.

Have your girls go in and do a skills camp with your MS cheerleaders.

I can't tell you how many girls see that and become interested.

 

[AScheer]

The school district has fairly low numbers of students involved in cheerleading. When I went to school there it did not seem like we had a problem with it but that was several coaches ago. What are some ways to try and get people involved in cheerleading again? We used to have a competition squad and in order to compete you had to be on one of the cheer teams for fall or winter. I felt like the competition team was a huge draw for myself and fellow team members but there isn't one currently in place, does having a comp squad help your school with getting team members?

Yes and no in my experience. I do think competition draws kids in, however I found out a few years ago there is a point where it becomes an intimidation factor. About 3 years ago we had a fairly big number drop at tryouts. We went from having 75 - 80 tryout every year to around 50 - 60. Still not bad, but a lot of kids would tell me they weren't good enough to be on our team, or would never make it. We had never had that issue until the year we had a ridiculously talented team. They don't get that the current girls weren't that good when they started either! Adding a JV team helped with the intimidation, but I still have girls tell me their not good enough quite often. Last year we decided if their an underclassman that shows any potential at all, we put them on JV. Took 4 girls last year that we probably wouldn't have taken otherwise. 3 of them are varsity material this coming tryout.

Another thing that helps is if you raise the kids. Think like gyms do - the minis and youth are the most important. We started running local youth kids camps, got involved with the rec league, and go to all the local feeder schools. Get them excited about cheer in 2nd grade and grow them to your program. Have special football games where you invite them to perform. If thats not a possibility, just inviting them to come watch and maybe hang out with your girls pre-game will work too. We have girls on our team that went to camps with us since they were in kindergarten. This year we have 29 incoming new girls that have been coming to camps for years. It's not a quick fix but you will notice the effects down the road.

 

[CoachKar]

The middle school has a cheer program from 7-8 and the old coach put a bad taste in their mouth so this year I totally revamped everything. Last year she had them only clapping to cheers no motions, no jumps, etc. This year they learned many cheers WITH motions, the learned basic stunting and learned a routine to perform at their pep rally. Hopefully getting them excited about it again like you said will seriously help for when they get to HS.

 

[CoachKar]

The open clinic/mini camp sounds like a great idea. The MS girls always want to be like the HS girls

 

[Official OWECheer]

The middle school has a cheer program from 7-8 and the old coach put a bad taste in their mouth so this year I totally revamped everything. Last year she had them only clapping to cheers no motions, no jumps, etc. This year they learned many cheers WITH motions, the learned basic stunting and learned a routine to perform at their pep rally. Hopefully getting them excited about it again like you said will seriously help for when they get to HS.

That sounds like torture..... even worse than ugly uniforms haha, thank goodness they have you!

Edit: If you can, also try to teach them cheers w/ choreography that you would see in a UCA competition cheer, with poms, signs, megs, etc. The props are not only great for crowd leading, but also for the "extras" who aren't in a stunt group.