Cheer Camp Tips for Coaches
Cheer camp is one of the most important events of your cheerleading season! Here are some of my top cheer camp tips for coaches heading to cheer camp with your cheer team.
Our cheer team attends an overnight UCA Cheer Camp every summer. We keep coming back because it is our cheerleaders’ favorite memory of the season. Cheer Camp is the best place for your cheer team to bond, make memories, and build skills.
Cheer Camp Tips for Coaches
1. Plan Team Bonding
Cheer Camp is a great time for your cheer team to bond because of the positive energy already surrounding you all at camp. Capitalize on that positive momentum and plan bonding activities for your cheer team.
Cheer Camp is busy so I recommend planning the games ahead of time and choosing games with minimal materials. Check out my post here for Cheer Camp Bonding Ideas.
You can have your seniors plan cheer team bonding, just make sure so that all cheer team bonding is appropriate, positive, and encouraging!
2. Prepare Lineups & Stunt Groups Ahead of Time
Plan out a cheer lineup and dance lineup ahead of time. Place your cheer team in these lineups at practice before you head to cheer camp. Write down the lineup or take a picture so you remember the lineups.
Plan your cheer team’s stunt groups ahead of time. On that first day you will jump right into stunt class. Planning the stunt groups ahead of time will save you time and allow your cheer team to start building new skills right away.
Base your lineups off of the placements of your stunt groups so when it’s time for your cheer team to put the routine altogether, they can seamlessly transition from their stunt groups to their lineups.
3. Prep Your Team Before Camp
During your cheer practices leading up to cheer camp, sit with your team and talk them through what to expect at camp! Some of your athletes haven’t traveled away from their families for days at a time. Some of your cheerleaders have never been to a college campus (if that where your camp is hosted).
A week before, review the packing list. Don’t forget to tell them to bring bedding, towels, and shower shoes if they will be in a dorm!
Prep them for the long days. Hydrate, sunscreen, good attitudes!
4. Assign Tasks to Cheerleaders
Your cheerleaders will learn dances, cheers, and sidelines at camp. To help your cheer squad remember the material, choose 3-5 cheerleaders to be in charge of memorizing one routine.
For example, have one of your cheer captains learn and remember the main cheer camp dance. Assign another cheer captain to learn and remember the main camp cheer. Then go down the list of cheerleaders who you can rely on and assign them material to remember.
Take videos of the material as often as you can to refer back to while reviewing.
When it comes time to practice the material with your team at cheer camp, having one person who is an expert at that dance will be helpful!
5. Extra Practice at Camp
Cheer Camp is busy and your cheer team is learning a lot of material. Spend an extra 30 minutes each day reviewing the material. You can squeeze in the extra time after breakfast, before or after lunch, and at the end of the day before heading back to the dorms.
Sometimes teams are dismissed in intervals for meals. For example, Group A will be released at 5:00 while Group B will be released at 5:20. If your team is in Group B, use those extra 20 minutes to quickly review dances or cheers they learned.
But be sure you are allowing enough time for your cheerleaders to rest, recover, and have fun.
6. Have Fun!
Cheer Camp is ultimately to have fun! Get to know your cheer team, enjoy your time with them. These memories will genuinely last a lifetime for them, and for you!
Check out my post: Should you take your cheer team go to cheer camp?
What are your top tips for camp? Comment down below!
