High School Tryout Season

[Hscoach10]

Coaches: how many of you have specific requirements, like you must have a ROBHS to make the team? Has it always been that way at your school? If the requirement was implemented after you got there did it change things?

We try to keep it that you must have tuck to be considered for varsity as a minimum requirement. A round-off tuck would be the lowest skill that would qualify. BUT we sometimes need to make exceptions because we need the stunts to work. Last year we took two really strong bases without tucks and we needed them so wouldn't have changed anything, but throughout the season we had to pull up a few more girls and had to focus on stunting for them as well so we ended up with too many without tucks. This year we are going to try to stick to the rule that you need a tuck. We have girls on our JV team with stronger tumbling than some on varsity but that weren't what we needed for stunting that year.

 

[AScheer]

Coaches: how many of you have specific requirements, like you must have a ROBHS to make the team? Has it always been that way at your school? If the requirement was implemented after you got there did it change things?

Our requirements state that to be considered for varsity you must have standing and running BHS series or more. JV has no requirements but tumbling is highly encouraged. Reality though is that everyone on varsity has a tuck or more and almost everyone on JV has handsprings plus. I haven't changed the wording to allow myself room to take athletes not meeting the requirement for stunting purposes. Sometimes the only girl in the room that can be that last Elite varsity flyer, doesn't have a tuck. Or that girl trying out for JV that can toss hands by herself doesn't have a back handspring. If I made the statement that a tuck or bhs was minimum required, and then took an athlete without it, drama starts.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Our JV tumbling requirement is a BHS (standing and running.)

When I started here, JV was totally non-tumbling.

As a result, middle school was like "Have you held a pom before and can you breathe?"

We've gotten to the point where our middle schoolers (used to be non-tumbling) are mostly tumbling now by the time they come to HS. Last time I was at one of our feeders, 90% had a RO BHS and 20% had the standing BHS that they'll need to even be considered for HS JV. I even saw a few with a tuck who could have a decent shot at coming in on Varsity.

 

[coacha]

Due to some issues outside of my (or my AD's) control, it looks like I will have to have tryouts AFTER school gets out this year. I'm worried about the impact of vacations. I'm pretty sure that we are going to have a few juniors who are going to be looking at another year on JV and aren't going to be happy about it. I feel like any irregularities in the tryout process are just going to give their parents something to cling to - whether it's because they were the ones on vacation or because someone who made Varsity over them was.

And now I have to figure out how this is going to work...2 consecutive weeks of tryouts to try and catch everyone? Video tryout for those not present? Two different, one day tryouts and just let everyone learn the material via video on their own?

 

[CheerBank]

Due to some issues outside of my (or my AD's) control, it looks like I will have to have tryouts AFTER school gets out this year. I'm worried about the impact of vacations. I'm pretty sure that we are going to have a few juniors who are going to be looking at another year on JV and aren't going to be happy about it. I feel like any irregularities in the tryout process are just going to give their parents something to cling to - whether it's because they were the ones on vacation or because someone who made Varsity over them was.

And now I have to figure out how this is going to work...2 consecutive weeks of tryouts to try and catch everyone? Video tryout for those not present? Two different, one day tryouts and just let everyone learn the material via video on their own?

We have ours in late August. Fall sports are not allowed to begin before the last two weeks in August and that is when all fall teams have their tryouts. Ours run 2-3 days and then they start practicing right away.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

Due to some issues outside of my (or my AD's) control, it looks like I will have to have tryouts AFTER school gets out this year. I'm worried about the impact of vacations. I'm pretty sure that we are going to have a few juniors who are going to be looking at another year on JV and aren't going to be happy about it. I feel like any irregularities in the tryout process are just going to give their parents something to cling to - whether it's because they were the ones on vacation or because someone who made Varsity over them was.

And now I have to figure out how this is going to work...2 consecutive weeks of tryouts to try and catch everyone? Video tryout for those not present? Two different, one day tryouts and just let everyone learn the material via video on their own?

Was this b/c of the 8th grade rule??

 

[coacha]

Was this b/c of the 8th grade rule??

No, its contract/school board related.

 

[coacha]

We have ours in late August. Fall sports are not allowed to begin before the last two weeks in August and that is when all fall teams have their tryouts. Ours run 2-3 days and then they start practicing right away.

I dont really want to wait until mandatory practices start in mid-August because of camp, summer workouts and fundraising opportunities.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

No, its contract/school board related.

UGH even worse.... :-(

 

[CheerBank]

I dont really want to wait until mandatory practices start in mid-August because of camp, summer workouts and fundraising opportunities.

I get it. We are just not even allowed to begin anything before then. Camps, clinics etc are all voluntary attendance although can be strongly suggested.

 

[cheerisloving]

I get it. We are just not even allowed to begin anything before then. Camps, clinics etc are all voluntary attendance although can be strongly suggested.

Same here. We get green weeks in may and in july, which are basically the only time you can stunt and tumble with a Coach. The Last year we used the July green week for camp, totally voluntary and we do place people on 'teams'. Normally the vets with experience are on varsity, new girls are on JV. The time in between is normally led by seniors who run their own conditioning practice, and put together a carpool for tumbling.

 

[Elle B]

Thank you @LaurenYHScoach , @oncecoolcoachnowmom , @Hscoach10 , and @AScheer for your replies. Based on your experiences it seems like a really beneficial thing to do.

 

[Chs1]

Why not just say "you're right, I don't like your kid and I don't want her on the team because she's uncoachable?"

Outside judges are a scapegoat for people who don't have the guts to stand up and say "I made this decision for this reason." If it's because the kid didn't deserve to be on the team, so be it. If it's because the coach ran a shady tryout, that's on the coach.

Unfortunately sports in my school district is pretty much controlled by the parents. The last coach that said anything they fired and then hired a teacher who had zero experience with cheer as the coach. (Apparently were the only sport that doesn't require previous experience) My school isn't the only one in my district with problems like this either. It's the reason coaches here don't last much longer than 2 years.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Unfortunately sports in my school district is pretty much controlled by the parents. The last coach that said anything they fired and then hired a teacher who had zero experience with cheer as the coach. (Apparently were the only sport that doesn't require previous experience) My school isn't the only one in my district with problems like this either. It's the reason coaches here don't last much longer than 2 years.

I wonder, is there any way in which schools like that can change? Or is it only possible under a different principal and/or AD (i.e. one with a more positive attitude toward cheerleading)?

 

[Chs1]

I wonder, is there any way in which schools like that can change? Or is it only possible under a different principal and/or AD (i.e. one with a more positive attitude toward cheerleading)?

It's not so much our principal and AD as much as the county board. 1. Basically if you're not a teacher then it's very hard to get in as a coach. They've actually fired a coach from another sport mid season simply because they hired a teacher who had been a previous coach in that sport. 2. Again, parents pretty much run the administration. If the parents don't like it then the parents win. Even if that means complaining about a coach so much to get them fired though that coach was way more qualified then the next person they hire.

Someone needs to change the way they hire coaches. Just because they're not a teacher doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't make a good coach.