High School Requirements For Captain Tryouts

[MHSCheercoach]

I don't like the idea of "captains". Granted with a squad as small as mine I don't really need one, but I did away with the title when I took over 4 years ago. Instead, I have a girl lead stretches at each practice starting with Seniors, Juniors and so forth. I do talk to my Senior girls and allow them a bit more "say" in dance music, shoes, etc. Granted I still have the final say but I do take their ideas and wants/needs into careful consideration. Each game a different cheerleader is "head" and picks the floor cheers and crowd pleasers we do for that game. Also, I talk to my Seniors right after tryouts and let them know, this is their final year, make the most of it, don't feel scared to speak up or show newer girls the way but remember "I AM THE COACH and I have final say". Last year I had two seniors who thrived on drama and did not live up to prior Seniors in regards to leadership, very very bad year. This year, 1 senior, and while she doesn't throw it around that she's a Senior, she has commanded the respect from the other girls and they listen to her without her being mean, degrading, etc. She even talked to the team and explained that if she points something out it's something to make a note of and take seriously, that she's not putting anyone down or trying to be better than them but she wants the whole team to have fun, enjoy the year, and look good. So far so good.

I say nix the name and spread the responsibility around. It will create more unity amongst the girls and hopefully keep you from dealing with "boss" drama.

 

[gymcatmomx2]

We have one captain and 2 co-captains for our Varsity team of 22. The position of Varsity captain is very prestigious at our high school. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with the title. Here is a .pdf file of what the requirements are for Varsity captain. http://www.dentonisd.org/site/handl...aid=85352&FileName=Varsity Captain Packet.pdf

 

[cheerKT]

When I cheered in high school, the coaches picked completely on their own. When I coached, I pretty much had an idea who I wanted. I took a vote to get the girls opinions, knowing I would have the final say. The two I wanted ended up with the majority of the votes anyway.

 

[Keep_Believing]

We have one captain and 2 co-captains for our Varsity team of 22. The position of Varsity captain is very prestigious at our high school. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with the title. Here is a .pdf file of what the requirements are for Varsity captain. http://www.dentonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=68631&dataid=85352&FileName=Varsity Captain Packet.pdf

Wow, that is a lot of work. I can see girls changing their minds because the amount of work that goes into the trying out process! LOL

 

[jessicastuart]

When I choose captains, I allow any junior or senior girl to fill out a captain candidate questionnaire (series of questions focusing on leadership, scenarios..) and they are instructed to develop a new sideline chant.

I put aside time at a practice to have the captain candidates "tryout" where they perform the chant they developed. They also have to answer a question on the spot directly from their captain application. I allow the team to vote for their top 2 (captain/co-captain) and for the past 4 years I have been the varsity coach, it's resulted in the two that I was leaning towards.

If anyone would like to see a copy of my captain candidate questions, I'd be more than happy to upload a .pdf. Let me know!

 

[XTREMElyfierce]

myself and the other coach wanted to create sort of a point system to pick captains while we go through practices and such this summer. has anyone done anything similar? or have any ideas on a point system we could use to determine who will be captain. We will not release the point system to the athletes, incase someone tries to "be fake" and do everything on the point system just to be captain.

 

[gymcatmomx2]

Wow, that is a lot of work. I can see girls changing their minds because the amount of work that goes into the trying out process! LOL

It is a lot of work but 7 girls, that were eligible, tried out for the position. Only seniors can be a captain or co-captain, and they had to have been on the Varsity squad the previous year. There were only 2 girls that were eligible that chose not to tryout.

 

[Keep_Believing]

Wow, were the girls that were not chosen upset?


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[ilikebigbows]

At my school it was basically "seniority rules" because my coach didn't want to go down the captain route and cause drama. My freshman and sophomore year, it was a nightmare. The seniors were very cliquish and bossy. Junior and senior year was really fun because it was altogether just a nicer group of girls who understood how to work together and give helpful and constructive criticism when needed. I am glad we didn't have official captains because, knowing teenage girls, some sort of drama would have been started. It was a bigger deal to receive the MVP award at the end of the season more than anything.

 

[ErinS]

My high school had captains up until my senior year.

Then the rest of the seniors and I shut that crap down. I don't believe in captains. I was always the opposition to captains anyway..... I liked to think of myself as the Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks of my team...the advocate against bs. I think that since myself and the other seniors dealt with 3 years of bad captains, that we collectively worked together to lead a drama free squad.

Anyone could call the cheers anyway...and our football lines were based on height anyway. Tall girls in the center and shorter people on the ends.

When I coached I had no captains.

 

[12mowerd]

We had seniors be captains each year and if you did something wrong (social media issues, fighting with teammates etc.) Your captaiship was taken away.

Funny story, my older sister and I got into a HUGE fight the day of a game. She ended up punching me in the head a gazillion times and gave me a concussion. Since I had to go to the hospital I missed the game that night. My coach took her captainship away because her actions prevented a teammate from participating. It wasn't funny then but it kind of is now haha.

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[maaandyx]

It's seniority rule at my school. We have however many so seniors on the team and we vote on 2 seniors to be the captains. The everyone else is just part of the squad. We mainly had captains cause our coaches just sit and watch and our captains teach us the cheers and dances, they always call out the cheers, and since I've been in hs cheer, we haven't had much drama at all.
Except for last year there was this big blowout between 1 of our captains and a girl bc the girl just walked out on us right before we left for an away game. So long story short the captain kicked her off, the coach stepped in and said no she's on. We had a whole team discussion bc of it, and the captain ended up quitting bc she didn't agree with the coaches decision. And that was the only drama I've ever had for cheering. The captain who quit was never replaced by another senior. The other caption just did her job alone for the rest of the season and everything went well normally.


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[gymcatmomx2]

Wow, were the girls that were not chosen upset?


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Yes some of the girls were upset, which is understandable, but the captain and 2 co-captains that were chosen had been captains and co-captains in the past so it wasn't that much of a surprise.

 

[cheerforeverever]

Captains are always a source of drama, whether it is the actual captain or the girl that didn't get captain, etc etc.

The year with the least drama I believe was the year that we had 3 senior captains for varsity , with no co-captains. Each "captain" lead a different aspect, so it was not 1 person with all the power and responsibilities. These 3 worked as a team to support each other, with even status. These 3 were not all from the same friend group on the team. (they got along with each other fine however).

They applied for a leadership position, we weeded out girls that did not get their application filled out on time (5pm Friday on the dot, no exceptions), read their written answers and then interviewed them. The written portion is just a responsibility test: Did they turn it in on time? Did they spend time and effort on the answers? Did they follow directions?......The interview face to face is just to see if they can handle being nervous/under pressure and still be able to communicate. We already knew most of their personalities, so those that were hard workers with the right mix of leadership potential were picked.

One was the communications lead :
-responsible for the contact tree (phone/text/facebook announcements)
-responsible for communicating with each team member so they knew when/where to be and with what clothing
-was key in problem solving, motivating & getting through to team members during practice
-lead stretching at practices
-kept coach in the loop about questions/concerns/general feelings on the team that had been voiced
*was outgoing, talkative & could work with everyone on the team. this is your respected social butterfly of the team*

One was the responsibility lead:
-made sure all uniforms, props, signs, etc. were always taken care of (not left at games)
-made sure everyone was in the right uniform
-responsible for keeping everyone on track (firm but fair when needed)
-problem solver and supporter to the other 2 roles
*was the "role model" athlete/student that people respected and looked up to. this is your golden child of the team*

One was the organization lead:
-came up with choreography, routine music, etc.
-was always prepared
-came up with team building game suggestions
-organized ideas for practices, camp, etc.
*was the more quiet out of the 3 but creative and smart. this is your planner/innovator of the team*


1 singular captain always caused issues, so I much prefer broken out roles. You don't even have to call them captains really. Dance teams call them officers or leads, but you can call them whatever fits your program.

 

[TitanCoach]

The assistant coach and myself choose our captains. We typically choose a "good cop/bad cop" from 2 seniors. We like to have one person who is more outgoing, assertive and one who is easier to approach. Captains must be doing well in school, be positive role models both on and off the team, have shown leadership potential in previous years, and must be capable of building relationships with the coaches and team members. Usually our captains are seniors but we have in the past chosen both a grade 12 and a grade 11 so that we cover the personalities we are looking for. Our captains are announced when we post team results...beside their name it says captain on the list so it's a surprise for everyone.

All of our school teams have captains/assistant captains so we are no different.