West High Cheerleading Tryout Information 2017-2018 This packet contains information on Informational Meeting, clinics, tryout dates, times, and locations, tryout procedures, judging and squad selection, squad expectations, time commitment, financial commitment, and school policies. The 2017-2018 Squad Application, Permission to Practice Form, and current Athletic Physical Form are also included and must be turned in to the Athletic Office or Coach Lisa prior to the start of the first day of clinic. If any of these documents is not submitted prior to clinic, the athlete will no be allowed to participate in clinic and will only be allowed to watch. If any of these documents is not submitted prior to tryouts, the athlete will not be permitted to tryout. Who is Eligible to Tryout? All current 8 th -11 th grade students, both male and female, who will be attending West High School during the 2017-2018 school year and who are in good academic standing and do not violate any of West High School s policies for participation in athletic activities. Tryout Dates Informational Meeting for Students and Parents Tuesday, April 25 th 5:30 pm West Side of West High School Cafeteria Tryout Clinics Monday, May 1 st 5-7 pm West High School Back Gym Tuesday, May 2 nd 5-7 pm West High School Back Gym Thursday, May 4 th 5-7 pm West High School Back Gym Tryouts Saturday, May 6 th 9 am West High School Back Gym Parent/Athlete Meeting for those who make the squad Tuesday, May 9 th 5:30 pm West High School Cafeteria Please contact Coach Lisa if you cannot attend one or more of these times. Tryout Procedures Informational Meeting: The informational meeting is mandatory for prospective cheerleaders and their parents/guardians. At this meeting we will go over tryout procedures and squad expectations in more detail and will answer any questions. Tryout Clinics: There will be three tryout clinics leading up to tryouts. Prospective cheerleaders are strongly encouraged to attend all three; however, they are only required to attend one. At these clinics, prospective cheerleaders will learn and practice the tryout material. Athletes will be evaluated during these clinics on work ethic, sportsmanship, willingness to learn, and personality. This information will be factored into the official tryout scores when making final decisions. Tryouts: Athletes will tryout in groups of 3-4. They will perform the tryout material they learned at the clinics for a panel of judges as well as the coaches. They will be scored on jumps, a cheer, motion technique, dance, tumbling, personality, and game day appearance (clean, hair pulled back, no jewelry, proper attire). Tryout order will be randomly assigned. 1 P a g e
Judging and Squad Selection As stated above, observation during clinics will be factored into final decisions, however a large emphasis will be placed on judges scores. We will have 2-4 professional judges with a strong knowledge of cheerleading who will evaluate athletes during tryouts. Coaches will make the final decision on squad placements. No complaints or requests from parents or athletes to be put on a squad or to be put on Varsity rather than JV will be considered. There is no set number of athletes who will be selected for the Varsity or JV squads. There is no guarantee that there will be a JV squad, although it is likely there will be. This information depends on the number and skill level of athletes who try out. These tryouts are only for school spirit cheerleading. Competition squad placements will be announced over the summer. Only athletes who cheer for school sports are eligible to participate on a competition squad. Tryout Attire Girls should wear the following to clinics: Hair pulled back off of face and shoulders into ponytail or bun NO JEWELRY or BOWS Athletic shorts* T-shirt (no words or graphics)* Nails cut short below the finger line; NO FAKE NAILS Girls should wear the following for tryouts: Hair pulled back off of face and shoulders into ponytail or bun NO JEWELRY or BOWS Athletic shorts* T-shirt (no words or graphics)** Nails cut short below the finger line; NO FAKE NAILS Solid black athletic shorts* Plain white t-shirt* Boys should wear the following for clinics: Athletic shorts T-shirt (no words or graphics)* Nails cut short below the finger line NO JEWELRY Boys should wear the following for tryouts: Solid black athletic shorts Plain white t-shirt (no words or graphics)* Nails cut short below the finger line NO JEWELRY 2 P a g e
No apparel indicating prior cheerleading experience is permitted at clinic or tryouts. This includes shirts, shorts, and bows. *If, for religious reasons, you cannot wear shorts and a t-shirt, please inform the coach at the informational meeting, and alterations to your tryout apparel can be made. We are happy to work with athletes of all faiths and will accommodate everyone as best we can. Tryout Material Motion Technique: Athletes will learn and perform a series of motions in order to demonstrate sharpness, cleanness, and placement. Cheer: Dance: Jumps: Athletes will learn and perform a new cheer to demonstrate motion technique and crowd leading ability. Athletes will learn and perform a short dance. Athletes will perform a toe touch and either a front hurdler or a pike. Tumbling: Athletes will perform their best standing and running tumbling passes. They will have 2 attempts for each pass. Time Commitment SUMMER We will have practice 3 days/week starting when school gets out and going until school starts again in August. These practices will be 1.5-2 hours long and are mandatory for anyone who is in town. We understand that many families take vacations during the summer. Athletes are excused from practice for family vacations, but we ask that you inform the coaches as soon as possible of the dates you will be absent. Summer practices are essential for team bonding, conditioning, stunt progressions, keeping tumbling skills sharp, and the beginning of competition practices. You are much less likely to be placed on a competition squad if you are never at practice over the summer to learn material. Camp: Fundraising: We will be hosting a 2-day home camp on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 6 th and 7 th to kick off our season. Attendance is mandatory for all squad members. Please do not schedule vacations or other activities during those dates! We will work on stunting, tumbling, jumps, cheers, and team bonding. We will participate in fundraising activities during the summer. More information to follow. FALL We will have football practice once per week for 2 hours and competition practice twice per week for 2 hours. Members of competition stunt groups may have additional practices. 3 P a g e
Games: JV will attend all home and away (TENT) sophomore football games. Varsity will attend all home and away varsity football games. Members of JV will be given the opportunity to cheer with Varsity in addition to JV as determined by coaches. Competitions: The competition squad(s) will participate in 2-3 competitions, including State, in the fall. These competitions are on weekends and are usually a one-day commitment. Stadium Cleanup: We will participate in stadium cleanup on Sunday mornings after all home University of Iowa football games. This is MANDATORY. We receive money from the athletic department based on our attendance, so it is essential that everyone participate. Fundraising: WINTER We may participate in fundraising activities throughout the year. More information to follow. We will have winter squad practice once or twice per week for 1.5-2 hours. If we decide to participate in winter or spring competitions, we will also have additional competition practices. Members of competition stunt groups may also have additional practices. Games/Meets: All members of the winter squad will cheer for Girls Basketball, Boys Basketball, and Wrestling. We will rotate who cheers for what, when. We will cheer for all varsity basketball games at West High and City High, all varsity wrestling meets not during school hours, State Wrestling, away state qualifier basketball games, and State Basketball. Athletes should generally expect to cheer for 1-2 sporting events per week. Competitions: We may participate in 1-2 winter competitions. Stadium Cleanup: We will participate in stadium cleanup on Sunday mornings after all home University of Iowa football games. This is MANDATORY. We receive money from the athletic department based on our attendance, so it is essential that everyone participate. Financial Commitment We minimize the financial commitment as much as possible through fundraising activities; however there are still a number of things athletes must pay for themselves. Athletes are required to pay for spankies, bows, cheer shoes, camp clothes, cheer bags (optional), poms, warm-ups, and other miscellaneous items. Some items generally remain the same from year to year, so the cost for new cheerleaders tends to be higher than for returning cheerleaders. However, as this is the first year with Coach Lisa, some items may be different than before, resulting increased fees for returning cheerleaders for the 2017-2018 year. We will provide a final cost breakdown and payment schedule at the first parent meeting after the squad is announced. Here is an approximation of the costs: Shoes: $82 Bows: $30 Poms: $40 Camp clothes: $150 Spankies: $25 Warmups: $125 (personalized) Bag: $40 (personalized) 4 P a g e
Expectations Be on time Attend all required events and activities Maintain a positive attitude Be respectful of self and others Adhere to West High School Code of Conduct Maintain academic eligibility Be a good representative of West High School and the West High Cheerleading Program Have fun! Coach Information Head Coach Lisa Barnes Email: lisa.jbarnes20@gmail.com Phone: 319-930-7944 Assistant Coach Sara Anson Email: sara.anson@gmail.com Phone: 319-331-5473 5 P a g e