Southridge High School and the Community Both in and out of Uniform
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SSOOUUTTHHRRIIDDGGEE CCHHEEEERR TRYOUT APPLICATION SSC—You and Me! Southridge Cheer 2017 Family. Fun. Pride. Spirit. Stunt. Tumble. Compete. For more information, contact Liz Stiles, coach, via email: [email protected] 1 Southridge Cheer Team Information Team Philosophy Support Southridge athletic teams, events, etc. o Boost school spirit, promote good sportsmanship, develop good, positive crowd involvement and help student participants and spectators enjoy and maximize the spirit of the athletic events. Represent Southridge and the student body in an exemplary manner. o Be amongst the most visible and recognizable representatives of the school. The squad is in the position to greatly influence the school’s image as well as that of school pride and involvement; therefore, high standards of conduct and appearance are essential. Promote positive socialization and team cohesiveness. o Practice and promote a cooperative spirit among members of the team to create positive memories of high school life as well as enhancing the cooperative spirit in our school community and community at large. You are REQUIRED to bond and work with ALL team members. You WILL refrain from negativity within and about the team. Performance of cheers and routines is an essential role. o Members will work to achieve effective execution of cheers and routines as they play a key part in rallying the crowd and showcasing the squad’s abilities. To this end, all spirit squad members are considered athletes and are expected to condition and train in a manner befitting a strong, motivated and proud athletic team. Cheer Team Structure The Head Coach and Assistant Coach work together to make all decisions. Coaches work under our Athletic Director. Captains have authority, under coaches, to help facilitate coaches’ decisions and plans. Team members will follow the Captains’ directions with cooperation and respect. Team numbers will be 12-24 freshmen to seniors in good academic and citizenship standing. Male cheerleaders may be included. Candidates must be willing to work on spirit-building, school pride and involvement activities as much as game and event performances. A parent booster group is encouraged to get organized and will work with the coach to help make financial decisions and help schedule participation and activities. Have your voice heard by getting involved and being a part of decisions being made that affect the team financially. Season Activities Cheer performs at assemblies, football games, basketball games, school activities, and community events. The cheer team will be hosting a variety of spirit activities and will be decorating locker rooms, making posters, helping advertise and promote spirit. Competition Team The Southridge Competitive Cheer team will be chosen in late summer/early fall. All team members are eligible to try out but must be in good standing with team expectations and financial obligations. The competitive team is additional costs and additional time. More info to come. 2 Cheer Requirements and Coaches’ Expectations I. Attendance Attendance is vital to a team’s sense of trust and success. Much time goes into practice and game preparation and when team members are missing, certain elements of practice and preparation cannot be done. In addition, team members missing will not be included in team decision making and communication. Attendance is one of the most important commitments to cheer. *Excessive absences or tardiness to practice may result in removal from the squad.* It is the cheerleader’s and family’s responsibility to be aware of schedules, practices, and activities ahead of time. Therefore, any known conflicts can be discussed with the coach in a timely manner and unexcused absences can be avoided. Excused Absences: Parents must contact the coach to excuse absences. REQUIRED academic purpose: This needs to be communicated to Coach Stiles immediately and pre-excused by the coach. Illness: If a team member is ill, she should be home. Therefore, she cannot “sit out” at practice or a game. *Note: The school’s policy regarding attendance on a game day is that the student must attend at least 4 periods in order to participate in practice or the evening’s athletic event. If afternoon classes are missed, they cannot participate. o If you are not at school for illness, you will not cheer. Appointments: Pre-excuse doctor appointments. Multiple missed practices due to “appointments” will not be excused. *Note: They must have been pre-excused with the school if any classes were missed in order to participate in practice and/or cheer that day. Family Emergencies: Please notify the coach as soon as possible if a family emergency arises and a practice or game must be missed. A parent must contact the coach to excuse. Unexcused Absences: Any unexcused absences will result in benching the cheerleader from cheering and/or performing in routines. After 3 unexcused absences, the cheerleader will be removed from routines, performances, and will be removed at the end of the season. Any reason other than above. Failure to provide parent communication excusing the absence results in an unexcused absence. If a team member does not give the coach prior notice it will be construed as an unexcused absence. Work is not acceptable for missing any cheerleading function. If a cheerleader has a job, they must to be extra proactive in looking at the calendars and schedules ahead of time, managing the conflicts and communicating with the coaches. Cheer must come first if you are on team. All-Star squad cheerleaders must be sure to attend all Southridge practices, scheduled games, and performances. Any conflicts must be discussed with the coach prior to the start of the season and during scheduling. Bondings, team activities, events, are all included in the attendance expectations. Coming late and leaving early: Important team business and planning is done at practice. To ensure everyone has the information they need and are included, being on time and in attendance during the entire practice is vital to our success as a team. Tardiness and leaving early is unacceptable and will be dealt with at the coaches’ discretion. 3 II. Practices We understand that cheerleaders are busy and need time during the week for other aspects to their lives. Practices scheduled are there to ensure the team progresses through safe execution of stunts, technical elements, game material, and routine practice for assemblies and timeouts. In order to keep our practices at a minimum, it is important team members are at all practices when scheduled so we don’t have to add time because people were gone or had to leave early, etc. Practice times will be discussed with the team and then scheduled by the coach and captains. Southridge cheer will meet for practice 3-4 days a week before major events and 2-3 days a week during the season. Calendars will be set at the beginning of each month to give cheerleaders plenty of notice of the schedule. It is your responsibility to ensure you have copies and stay posted. Proper practice attire should be worn EVERY practice. Hair must be worn up off of shoulders if stunting and must be held away from face during practice. Jewelry must be off, spacers in piercings. No gum or candy may be in the mouth during practice. Proper shoes must be worn. It is imperative that cheerleaders give the coach and captains their undivided attention during all parts of practice. Team members should not be talking, socializing, etc., during direction. Cheerleaders should put 100% effort into practice for personal and team improvement. *Practices are also times that coaches will be evaluating team members for stunt and skill level, leadership, knowledge and execution of material, and enthusiasm. III. Games, Assemblies, and Special Events Cheerleaders are held to high expectations by their peers and by the school due to the high profile element of representing the school at public events like games, events, and assemblies. Therefore, cheerleaders need to be on their best behavior and look professional at all times in uniform. Arrival: Before game begins cheerleaders are “performing.” Cheerleaders must be 5 min. early to the scheduled time for event, or they will be considered tardy. Tardies will result in conditioning and consequences. Cheerleaders must be in full uniform (exception of shoes) when entering game venues, when coming into the gym for the assembly or any other scheduled event. This includes hair and makeup. Go to the bathroom immediately. Have ASB with you upon entrance. Once pre-game starts, cheerleaders must remain with the team until the end of the game, event, or performance (unless pre-arranged due to an irregular conflict). During Game: Cheerleaders are being watched at all times, “performing,” so we take appearance and behavior seriously. No leaving the team unless approved by coach or captains; this includes half-time. We stick to the game plan (which is determined at that week’s practices); no new material is introduced during a game by team members, including leadership. No social taking during the game. You are watching the event to determine “situations,” which help determine the correct chants or cheers to start. Your “spot” will change due to your sideline behavior and performance. Cheerleaders should always remain positive, enthusiastic, a good role model of sportsmanship, even when the environment may not be ideal. No yelling at referees, members on the field, spectators, etc. This includes assemblies and other events. 4 Leaving games, performances, events: Cheerleaders are still being watched. If a cheerleader is still in uniform in public (i.e. going to Dairy Queen, etc.), she or he must be on her or his best behavior. She or he must take care to watch language, attitude, actions, and conversations. If coaches are notified otherwise, a cheerleader may be removed from the team.