FOSSIL RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADING TRYOUTS APRIL 17 TH -21 ST 2017

FOSSIL RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADING TRYOUTS APRIL 17 TH -21 ST 2017 TRYOUT CHECKLIST (BRING ON YOUR FIRST DAY OF TRYOUTS) Tryout Application Fossil Ridge Athletics Clearance Card Signed Statement of Permission and Agreement $10 Cash (for tryout shirt) QUESTIONS: COACH NIKKI 970-237-0295 OR NRODRIGUEZ@PSDSCHOOLS.ORG

FOSSIL RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADING TRYOUT INFORMATION & EXPECTATIONS 2017-2018 Thank you for your interest in trying out for cheerleading. In this packet, you will find the following: Tryout information, list of important dates, a program information sheet, the 2017-2018 Cheerleading Handbook, and the Statement of Permission and Agreement that both the athlete and parents must sign. If you have any questions about the Athletic packet that is due to the FRHS front office (this includes Physical & Insurance) or Eligibility, please contact the Athletic Secretary (Lani) at laniw@psdschools.org or call 9704886268. Cheerleading at Fossil Ridge is a 10-month commitment. Please read and understand all the enclosed information before tryouts. CHEERLEADING TRYOUT DATES: Parent meeting for all candidates who make the team will be at 6:30pm in the FRHS Roundhouse on Wednesday April 12 th. Tryout packets will be due the first day of tryouts Cheerleading tryouts will be held April 17 th -21 st 4:30pm-7:00pm but the final day will end around 8:00pm due to results meetings. We will be meeting with each candidate one on one after the tryout to let them know the tryout result. During tryout week, the athletes will learn material appropriate for a game, a competition, and also be coached on stunting, tumbling drills, jumps and more. Candidates will be selected solely by the coaches and will find out the last day of tryouts if they make the team through a coach and athlete meeting. Mandatory parent meeting for all athletes who make the team will be April 24 th at 6pm a $250 camp deposit will be due Mandatory uniform fitting for all new and old team members will be held at 4pm on April 25th SUMMER SCHEDULE (STARTING MAY 1): Varsity cheerleaders practice from 3:30pm-5:30pm Mondays and 4-6pm Tues-Thursday during the summer Junior Varsity practice Mondays and Wednesdays 3:30-5:30pm and Tues/Thursday 4-6pm Varsity & JV Camp is June 20-23 Varsity and JV Stunt Camp is June 16 & 17 Choreography for both teams is August 2-5 ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible in the fall/spring of 2017-2018 for cheerleading, a student must have: Achieved a 2.5 grade point average for the previous semester Must not be failing more than one class at the time of tryouts The following must be turned in to the athletic secretary prior to tryouts: Athletic packet (downloadable on the Fossil Ridge Athletics website and requires a current physical) The following must be turned in the FIRST DAY of tryouts: Tryout Application Packet Athletic Clearance Card (given to you by athletic secretary once you turn your athletic packet in) Signed Statement of Permission and Agreement (in this packet) $10 Cash (for tryout shirt) SELECTION OF THE CHEERLEADERS WILL BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING: A cheer and dance that will be taught to you during the clinic The ability to learn quickly, adapt, and transition to different positions in a stunt during the week Tumbling skills standing and running Jumps (A toe touch, a hurdler, and a two jump combination. Descriptions and pictures of these jumps can be found on the Varsity website (www.varsity.com) Athleticism and physical fitness Scholastic achievement and eligibility Attitude, initiative, teamwork, leadership, work ethic, enthusiasm, and coachability

Cheerleading is a cut sport. Results are final and each candidate will be informed the night of tryouts if they do or do not make the team and which team they make. The athletes will be informed exactly why they do or do not make a team and what they can work on to improve for the next tryout. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO TRYOUTS? During clinic days please wear comfortable, length appropriate shorts and a t-shirt or tank top and sports bra. Dress as if you would dress for cheerleading practice. No basketball shorts or pajamas. No denim shorts, jewelry, or artificial nails. Your hair should also be off your shoulders. On official try-out day, you will need to wear black shorts and the T-shirt given to you. Your hair should be off your shoulders, and no jewelry should be worn or artificial nails. IMPORTANT - FOR THOSE WHO MAKE THE SQUAD: Fitting for all cheerleaders and parent meeting, deposit is due Monday April 24th at 6pm in the FRHS roundhouse Practice begins the first week of May. A schedule will be given to you at the parent meeting and will be online via Google Calendar. ESTIMATED COSTS Dues for a Brand New Cheerleader Include Payments for the following: Shoes (game day and competition), Bows, Undergarments, Bags, Uniforms (2), Camp, practice wear (worn at each practice all year long), competitions, poms, Warm Ups, & Choreography total about $1,200. This does not include Nationals. NorCo Athletic Facility dues are around $95/month. We practice there 2 times per week in the summer. Costs will go down in the fall for Varsity as practice moves to once per week. You will keep the uniforms and warm ups so next year s cost will be much less. A deposit of $250 must be made on Monday April 24th if you make the team so we can order your child s uniforms & secure camp. Uniforms take about 8 weeks. Your child should have their uniforms in time for camp and other community events throughout the summer. Please be prepared to have this amount of money in the event that you make the team. No uniforms will be ordered until the payments are made. Varsity attends UCA Nationals in Orlando each year. UCA Nationals are at Disney World in Orlando, FL the first or second weekend in February. This is mandatory for all Varsity team members although some will travel as alternates. We will do a lot of fundraising this year to offset the cost of nationals. Please speak with a coach if you have a financial hardship and we will work with you to make paying for the season possible for your family!!!

2017-2018 Cheerleading Expectations and Guidelines Purpose The objective of the Fossil Ridge High School cheerleading squad is to effectively support the athletic teams and promote the school itself. Cheerleaders will serve as positive role models and leaders for FRHS and should promote sportsmanship within our school and among other schools. The highest priority should be to display and encourage spirit and pride for FRHS. Fossil Ridge Cheerleading is one of the most competitive cheerleading programs in the state of Colorado. Our secondary objective is to represent Fossil Ridge at the State and National level and to promote the sport of cheerleading. Because of this, cheerleaders have many roles as athletes and supporters and the commitment of this program should not be taken lightly. Squad Members, general expectations and practices Members will be chosen at a formal tryout session. There is a Junior Varsity and Varsity team, of which Junior Varsity members are Varsity alternates. Competition teams will be decided at the sole discretion of the coach and may change throughout the year. If a member of a squad is removed from a position, a replacement will be determined by the coaches. Cheerleading and sideline dance check-offs will be required before Football and Basketball season. Any cheerleader who does not pass check-offs with a 90% or better will be benched until they check off. They will be given two additional chances after the first check off. If the cheerleader cannot pass the check off after three sessions, they will be removed from the team. Cheerleaders who need to make up a check-off will be expected to stay late at practice the Monday after the game they were benched to check off their cheers and dances. Squads will have practices each week. A tentative schedule for the next month will be distributed by the 20 th of the month. All practices are mandatory, and other schedules should revolve around cheerleading practices. Doctor s appointments and dentist/orthodontist appointments may not be scheduled during practice time. Prompt arrival to practice and games is expected. Shoes on, hair up, jewelry out and stretching at the time practice begins will be expected each practice. Team conditioning and possibly further discipline will be considered for tardiness at the discretion of the coach. Cell phones will not be allowed for any reason during practice. If seen on your cell phone during practice, you will be asked to leave. If you need to contact a parent, always speak to a coach before using your cell phone during practice. Weekly tumbling is required for all FRHS Cheerleading members at NorCo elite during a specified practice time just for Fossil Ridge athletes. Cheerleading is a two season sport. Athletes may not participate in another Fall or Winter sport; however, cheerleading is not in season during the spring so athletes may participate in any spring sport at FRHS. All Star Cheerleading must never conflict with high school cheerleading. Injuries: If sitting out for an injury, a Doctor s note must be obtained with the nature of the injury, what the cheerleader may participate in at a limited level, and a date that the cheerleader will return to full participation. If this is not obtained, then the cheerleader will be removed from the competition team and could be considered absent if not participating. Games During football/volleyball season & basketball season, games are usually held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Teams may be split up into two or three teams for Volleyball & some basketball games, and the entire team will cheer football. If you have to miss a volleyball / split basketball game, you may make up one game during each season by cheering at another game with another team. The rest cannot be made up without an attendance penalty. Attendance Requirements Cheerleading is a huge time commitment May-February. There are two Varsity letters given because of the lengthy commitment. Before trying out for the team, I recommend looking at the schedule and making sure that this is a sacrifice that your family is willing to make. Attendance to FRHS cheer practice and events needs to be the priority for all team members. Here is the typical schedule in the fall for a Varsity and a JV team member once school starts.

Example schedule: Varsity Schedule Fall Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 3:30-5:30 Practice 3:30-5:30pm 3:30-5:30 FRHS 3:30-5:30pm Football vs. Rocky @ 7:00pm (arrive at 6:00pm) 9:00am NO CONTACT JV Schedule Fall Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Practice 3:30-5:30 Practice 3:30-5:30 Team A Cheer Volleyball 4:00pm-6:30pm JV Cheers Football 4pm-6pm FRHS 3:30-5:30pm NO CONTACT ABSENCES CAN BE THE DOWNFALL OF A GREAT CHEERLEADING SQUAD! If one or more squad members are absent from a practice or game, the other members are forced to make last minute changes. This can be both stressful and dangerous to squad members. You will be expected to be at all games and practices. Jobs, club activities, extracurricular activities, doctor s appointments, etc. must not interfere with cheerleading. If you commit to cheerleading, you are committing to attend every game. Unexcused absences are those caused by anything other than illness or family emergencies. In addition, just because a cheerleader asks to be excused doesn t mean that the excuse will be granted. If you are ill or have a family emergency, the coach needs to be notified by a parent or guardian in order for this absence to be excused. Please notify the coach before the absence or as soon after as possible; only under extreme circumstances will prior notice not be expected. Please call Nikki Rodriguez (970) 237-0295 to notify the coach of any excused absences. If the coach is unavailable, please leave a message. If a cheerleader must be late to practice for making up a test, they need to give the coach 24 hours notice and bring a note from the teacher for whom they are making up the test. Practice begins at 3:30 so students making up a test are expected to be no more than 15 minutes late to practice. As stated in the Guidelines for FRHS Athletes, students must be present half the school day (2 full class periods) to be eligible for practices and games scheduled for that day. If a student is assigned to ISS, the student may not participate in any scheduled event for the time the athlete is assigned to ISS. In addition, the athlete will be benched for ISS counseled and/or dismissed from the squad for OSS. TENTATIVE JV/VARSITY PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR THE 2017/2018 SEASON: Daily from 3:30pm- 5:30pm, and Saturday mornings September + October until competitions begin. Sometimes we will practice on game days if it is needed for the team s success when getting close to competition season. Competition Schedule: Starting October 14 th or 21st, all of November, and the first two weekends in December the FRHS Cheer Teams will be competing. Please block out those Saturdays. Cheerleaders must attend EVERY competition NO EXCEPTION. If one cheerleader misses, the entire team must pull from a competition. Both JV and Varsity compete during the season. Not every Saturday during that time will we be competing, but we do not know the dates until fall. Grades A minimum of 2.5 GPA must be maintained throughout the cheering season. Because cheerleaders are students first and athletes second, weekly progress reports will be turned in so the coach can monitor academic progress. From the time the F is written on the progress report, you have two weeks to pull the F up before a more severe consequence is given. If you have two F s, you are not eligible to cheer. Coach Nikki receives progress reports on Thursday afternoons. Cheerleaders who have two F s will have until 3 p.m. the next day (Friday) to have raised a grade to passing and must have it cleared by Ken Denning, the Athletic Director, who will give the coach permission to allow the athlete to cheer. A written note from the teacher to Ken with the % the child has the class is required before he will allow them to become eligible.

Uniforms A cheerleader may not represent another sport (soccer, track, baseball, etc.) while in uniform. Only stud earrings for jewelry and FRHS Cheerleading apparel may be worn with the uniform during the day (at school). Always wear your cheerleading shoes with your uniform. JV Cheerleaders choosing to stay for a Varsity game must change out of the cheerleading uniform and into regular clothing. Cheerleading uniforms are to be worn for cheerleading events only and designated by the coach. Fund Raising Every cheerleader will be expected to support all fundraising events which support the team. We will be doing a lot of fundraising this year and each team fundraiser should be treated as a practice. These are mandatory! Failure to participate and meet your quota of fundraising can result in dismissal from the squad. Turning in fundraising money after the due date will result in being benched. Transportation Cheerleaders are responsible for their own rides to and from away games in town. For out of town away games, transportation will be provided. For state and any other activity where cheerleaders must ride the bus; you must ride to and from an event in the bus. Parents may not drive you home from any event for which you took the bus. Expected Behavior All Fossil Ridge High School guidelines must be followed at all times. Consequences will be issued for misbehavior or poor conduct Promote a positive image for the school community your peers, parents, teachers, and community members Respectful self-image on all Social Media outlets. Must friend FRHS Cheerleading on Facebook, and allow @FRHSCHEERS to follow you on Twitter. Access to any social media account may be requested by the Coach at any time and must be given by the cheerleader. WHAT IS WRITTEN ON THE WEB IS WRITTEN IN INK! If you wouldn t want your coach, teachers, and parents to read it, don t post it. Discipline for social media will be considered on a case by case basis. While representing FRHS, cheerleaders must not: Drink alcoholic beverages Use controlled substances Use tobacco products Show unsportsmanlike conduct Use profanity Show displays of affection Be academically dishonest Treat others with disrespect Bully peers Post distasteful pictures Cheerleaders must wear the designated uniform to school on the day of a game. This includes cheerleading shoes and bow. Warm ups and team sweatshirts are the only apparel allowed to be worn with the uniform to school. Failure to abide by this rule will result in benching from that night s game. Attend all practices and games, on time. There will be team discipline for individual tardiness. Your attitude and ability to work with different personalities must be exceptional. You must always come to a coach with a concern before a parent addresses the concern with the coach. Lying or fabricating the truth will not be tolerated and can result in immediate termination from the squad. Part of a coach s job is to know where you are at all times during practices, games, and special events. Consequences will be issued for failure to follow the coach s direction or to stay in assigned areas during events. While safety is our number one goal, please understand that you should expect bumps, bruises, and other occasional minor injuries. This is all part of cheerleading. Cheerleaders cannot wear or loan FRHS cheerleading uniforms/outfits when attending non-cheerleading activities. All official cheerleading decisions and activities will be made by the coaching staff. All coaches and captains are to be given respect and cooperation by cheerleaders and parents at all times. Lack of respect from parents or cheerleaders will not be tolerated and can be grounds for dismissal.

*Being in correct uniform means wearing the appropriate uniform sports bra, bloomers, hair ribbon, socks, shoes, having hair pulled up. Complete uniform also means wearing no jewelry, glitter, or fingernail polish. Your nails must be trimmed short, and no acrylic nails or tips will be worn (CHSAA RULE). Coaches reserve the right to make changes/additions to the rules as needed. In addition, if you have any questions or concerns, please respect the following chain of command: Squad Coach (Jordan first in the case of a JV question or concern), Coach Nikki, Athletic Director Brandon Carlucci, School Principal Will Allen. ALL TRYOUT QUESTIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO COACH NIKKI. Nikki responds quickly to email at: nrodriguez@psdschools.org Statement of Permission and Agreement (this is due on the 1 st day of tryouts) If you make the cheerleading squad, realize that you are making a commitment to Fossil Ridge High School, your coaches, your teammates, and yourself for the complete season (full year). The decision to tryout should not be taken lightly. You will be expected to put cheerleading as one of your top priorities. Furthermore, as a representative of Fossil Ridge, you must maintain proper behavior at all times. You must follow the cheerleading guidelines set forth in the Fossil Ridge High School Cheerleading Expectations. Students who break the rules will be disciplined. By making this commitment to the Fossil Ridge High School Cheerleading program, you will receive many valuable and rewarding educational experiences that you will remember long after you graduate from high school. These activities will not only channel your enthusiasm and spirit in a constructive and beneficial manner, but will give you a sense of pride and accomplishment in being a part of a group that has earned the reputation as one of the finest in the state of Colorado. Student Agreement I,, have read and understand the 2017-2018 CHEERLEADING EXPECTATIONS. I agree to abide by the policies described if I am chosen as a member of the squad. I am agreeing to the information in the packet and understand that failure to adhere to these rules policies could result in dismissal from the squad. Student Signature Date Parent/Guardian Agreement I,, the parent or legal guardian of, have read and understand the 2017-2018 CHEERLEADING EXPECTATIONS and the 2017-2018 TRYOUT INFORMATION. I agree to abide by the policies described if my child is chosen as a member of the squad. I also agree to the financial obligations as they are described in the information provided. I understand that failure by me or my child to adhere to these policies could result in dismissal from the squad. Parent Signature Date

TRYOUT APPLICATION Candidate Name: Candidate Cell #: Candidate Home #: Candidate Address: Candidate Current Grade: Candidate Email Address: Candidate Cumulative GPA: Parent/Guardian Name: Parent/Guardian Cell #: Parent/Guardian Email Address: So that we can get to know you better and understand your knowledge of our cheerleading program, please answer the following questions. Do you have any cheer or dance experience? If so, please explain: If you are familiar with cheerleading stunts, what position do you prefer? What do you have the most experience with? Have you ever done any sports outside of cheerleading? If so, what? What do cheerleaders at Fossil Ridge do? Do you plan to participate in any other sports, clubs or activities and if so, what? Who is your biggest role model and why? What are the three most important characteristics of a cheerleader? What are the three most important characteristics of a teammate? Tell us about a time where you set a goal for yourself. What was the goal, and what steps did you take to achieve it? Why do you want to Cheer for Fossil Ridge?