High School Requirements For Hs Coaches

[ukcheercoach]

Does your county have any requirements for HS cheer coaches? Where we moved from outside coaches were brought in for the cheer teams & occasionally teachers with a cheer back ground were used. When we went to the parent meeting for our new school (different state) the coach asked for questions. I asked what her background was & assumed she would be proud to fill us in. She just asked if anyone else had questions.

 

[MissBee]

Some states require AACCA cert, but many don't. In some districts if an unqualified teacher wants the job, they get it- even if Victor Rosario wanted to do it for free.

 

[ukcheercoach]

That is really scary given the difficulty involved in this day and age. Our squad has cheerleaders teaching tumbling & spoting each other. Worries me a bit.

 

[MissBee]

And what happens is when someone gets hurt, its a big lawsuit and all over the media. Cheer is tarnished, by a clueless and lazy athletic director.

 

[AllstarObsession]

at my school, our coaches are cheerleaders that graduated from the school. this might be nice, but none of them know what theyre really doing. its very frustrating because they have nothing to teach us.

we make our own routines, learn our own stunts and tumbling, and learn cheers without their help.

 

[AllstarObsession]

Some states require AACCA cert, but many don't. In some districts if an unqualified teacher wants the job, they get it- even if Victor Rosario wanted to do it for free.

well thats annoying.

 

[ACEDAD]

I asked what her background was & assumed she would be proud to fill us in. She just asked if anyone else had questions.

I wouldn't let my son or daughter do anything with this person. If the person doesn't have the initiative to have ANY certification at all, then they shouldn't be in charge.

Pretty sad.

 

[MissBee]

Exactly. You don't want your kid being the one to get hurt.

 

[nhgurlnh]

I'd like to provide some insight, from a coach who has coached 2 different high school squads in the past.

Throughout most of my cheerleading career, I was in and out because of a back injury that happened at the age of 11. When I was 15, competing level 5, I was told by my doctor that I could never cheer again. Obviously, this was heartbreaking, and I could no longer cheer with my squad. I turned to coaching as a way to continue being part of the cheer world. I starting coaching with the rec program that introduced me to cheering, and continued to stay active in my all star gym. I can still base/back a little, and can only spot tumbling. So coaching was perfect, because I could teach kids how to stunt, spot for tumbling, make choreograph, ect. Now I still coach for the rec-program, and I coach 3 teams for a small all-star program. Just to clarify, I coached for high school squads when I was 21 and 24, but now I mainly focus on allstars and coach rec on the side.

I never had the oppurtunity to be on a worlds team, cheer in high school, cheer in college, ect, which were all things I planned on doing, and what a lot of parents expect in there kids' coaches. So when I was asked the same question you asked, I answered honestly, what clearly is what the coach neglected to do. But it was uncomfortable, because I worried that the parents would want someone who had had the high school and college cheering experience, even though I still know a lot about both. When I answered honestly, I won these parents over, because they knew my passion for cheerleading was immense. The coach made a mistake by not answering, and don't hesitate to question if she really can properly coach a squad.

Obviously I don't know this woman, but I would take the time to get to know her, because I would bet she would have a reason for not sharing her background. Hopefully your athletic director would not hire someone so inexperienced, but if you are really worried, ask him or her. Their responsibility is to provide the best coaches for your kids, and you have every right to ask him for a summary of her background.
Hope this helped!

 

[MissBee]

FYI: If you go to AACCA.org you can check anyone's certification status by entering their last name and state. If this coach isn't certified, I would (politely) email them the link for the online course and point out the benefits of being certified. Then you can at least say that you've done your due diligence. If they don't get certified, it's on them. However, I would give it a practice or two and if you're not happy-I wouldn't let my child continue to be on a team if I were worried for their safety. I would also let the Athletic Director, Principal, HR Director and Superintendent know why my child was leaving the team. I've found that speaking only with the Athletic Director, things often get swept under the rug.

 

[AScheer]

And what happens is when someone gets hurt, its a big lawsuit and all over the media. Cheer is tarnished, by a clueless and lazy athletic director.

Pretty much. Most AD''s know nothing about cheer and don't care to learn. Its unfortunate and the comment you made of Victor Rosario vs a clueless teacher is sad and TRUE! In my county there are NO requirements to be a coach other than a background check. Out of every school in the county I am the only one who cheered at the school, allstar, open allstar and college levels. There are 2 more that at least cheered in high school, however both are somewhat clueless. I will say we do have one coach that was a teacher and knew nothing about cheer, but she has educated herself on coaching and does pretty well. All the rest = clueless, and even when parents complain nothing is done because the schools - especially the high schools don't care about cheer. On a side note I will also say that just because you've cheered since the day you were born doesn't mean you'll be a great coach either. Try asking the coach in private. Maybe she was overwhelmed by being put on the spot in front of everyone.

 

[ukcheercoach]

As a former coach I offered her any help she might need and only got a cold shoulder. Seemed like a no brainer to me- free qualified help! Could you ever imagine a school hiring a football coach this way?

 

[LoveOnTop]

FYI: If you go to AACCA.org you can check anyone's certification status by entering their last name and state.

Hah, I'm on there. I didn't know you could do that.
I think every HS coach, or coach in general should definitely be AACCA certified. I don't believe in teachers being coaches....at all. And if they are, it better be JUST cheering and no stunting or tumbling. I know how to spot tumbling, but I don't with my High School girls because I don't have those certifications yet. It's all just a safety thing. The schools athletic director never told me not to, I just don't want anyone to get hurt.
Now I was never on a worlds team, or anything big like that. But all the parents still liked and trusted me. I would not send my kid to a school where the coach did not know anything... just couldn't do it.

 

[cheermuse]

This has become a concern for me. My cp will be 9th grader next year and wants to cheer in HS and the cheer coach for the HS she will be attending, is the HS Art teacher. This season a girl got seriously hurt during practice tumbling (shattered her elbow, she is done for the season). I just checked to see if her or the JV coach were AACCA certified and of course they are not. At HS districts last month they ended in last place due to an illegal pyramid hmmm.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

This has become a concern for me. My cp will be 9th grader next year and wants to cheer in HS and the cheer coach for the HS she will be attending, is the HS Art teacher. This season a girl got seriously hurt during practice tumbling (shattered her elbow, she is done for the season). I just checked to see if her or the JV coach were AACCA certified and of course they are not. At HS districts last month they ended in last place due to an illegal pyramid hmmm.

I would run far away. Injuries happen, but an illegal pyramid shows that the coaches either didn't care to check the rules or didn't understand the rules-- both of which are red flags.