The Ultimate Guide to High School Cheer Tryouts for Coaches

How to Run Cheer Tryouts as a Coach

How to run Cheer Tryouts as a coach from pre-season planning, parent information meeting, tryout clinics, to tryout evaluation.

Cheer Tryouts are an exciting time in the season. You get to meet all of the new athletes while your returning athletes are looking forward to a new season. I have ran tryouts for six years as a head coach, and I learn something new every year. I’ve put together a list of tips and advice to help you run your tryouts.

Check out my Editable Cheerleading Tryout Score Sheets and Packet.

Cheerleading Pre-Season Planning

As you begin planning cheer tryouts, you should be planning out the entire cheer season. Meet with the administration to discuss the expectations that the school has for the cheer team and cheer coaches. Approve all practices, events, fundraisers, and items to be purchased.

Meet with assistant cheer coaches to align on the vision for the cheer season. Discuss rules and expectations for the team, delegate tasks to assistant cheer coaches, and plan events for the cheer season.

Create a calendar with all practices, games, camps, competitions, and events for coaches and the cheer team. Create a communication plan that will include how coaches will communicate with cheerleaders and families for upcoming events.

Register for cheer camp and create a uniform package with a uniform representative. Set up fundraisers for the cheer team.

Check out my post about Cheerleading Pre-Season Planning before Cheer Tryouts

Create Cheer Information Packet

Now that you have done the pre-season planning, create a Cheer Information Packet. In this packet, outline the time commitment, expectations, financial commitments, and fundraising opportunities. This is the packet you will give to families at the Mandatory Parent Meeting at Cheer Tryouts. The more information, the better!

Include in your Cheer Information Packet:

• Cost of Cheer
• Fundraisers
• Summer Practice Schedule
• Cheer Camps
• School Year Practices
• Choreography dates
• Football Schedule
• Basketball Schedule
• Competition Schedule
• Rules and expectations with consequences
• Attendance policy

Create a Cheerleading Application

Create a Cheerleading Application to gather important information about the athletes trying out for the cheer team. This can include their name, age, grade, contact information, parent name and contact information, etc.

Write out Rules & Expectations in a Contract

This is so important! Outline the rules and expectations of your team. Include an attendance policy. You will go over these rules during your Mandatory Parent Meeting at Cheer Tryouts & your New Team Meeting. Have your cheerleaders and their parent/guardian sign this contract right after you announce the team. There is an editable cheerleading contract in the Editable Cheerleading Tryout Score Sheets and Packet.

Cheerleading Tryouts Setup

Reserve Facilities

How many days of tryouts do you plan for? Plan a Mandatory Parent Meeting, at least two Tryout Clinic Practices, and one Tryout Evaluation. I recommend giving yourself extra time during your Tryout Evaluation. Reserve these facilities with your administration. Here is a sample of a cheer tryout schedule:

• Monday 5:00-5:30 Mandatory Parent Meeting
• Monday 5:30-7:30 Tryout Clinic 1
• Tuesday 5:30-7:30 Tryout Clinic 2
• Wednesday 5:00-8:00 Tryout Evaluations
• Wednesday 8:30 Team Announcement & New Team Meeting

Reach out to Cheer Tryout Judges

Reach out to judges you trust. These can be fellow cheer coaches, coaches of other cheer teams, teachers, etc. I recommend compensating your judges for their time. Ask your booster club if you can pay them for their time or give them a gift card with a Thank You card.

Decide Material to Teach

Decide what you are planning to teach the athletes. You can teach them a cheer, a dance, a band dance, and jumps. If you have graduating seniors from the last cheer season, you can invite them to teach the tryout material. This allows for coaches to monitor tryouts and is a great opportunity for graduating seniors to take on a leadership role.

Make sure your leading seniors are role models for your new team. They should come in matching practice clothes, hair in a clean pony tail, no jewelry. Emphasize this to your seniors. Meet with them to ensure they know the material they are going to teach. It is important for them to have a professional presence to set the tone for your new team. 

Create a Tryout Score Sheet

Create a tryout score sheet with a scoring rubric. I recommend having a section for each element of tryouts. For example, if the athletes will perform jumps, a cheer, a dance, and tumbling during their tryout, then have those 4 separate sections for scoring.

Spread the Word! Advertise Cheer Tryouts

Create an informative, printable flyer that include your contact information, all dates, times, location and requirements for tryouts. Distribute the flyer to the high school and middle schools and ask schools to include tryout information in their announcements.

If you have social media accounts for your cheer team, share social media graphics several times leading up to tryouts.

Cheerleading Tryouts

Host a Mandatory Parent Information Meeting

This is one of the most important events of your season! This meeting sets the tone for your team. Dress professionally and coordinate with your assistant coaches. Have a Sign In Sheet so that athletes and parents sign in with their name and contact information. 

Introduce coaching staff

Introduce yourself and your staff and explain your background as it relates to coaching cheer. Talk about the cheer program, the accomplishments, and the goals.

Hand out Cheer Information Packet & the Cheerleading Application. Give athletes a Cheerleading Tryout Application to gather important information. I give this application to athletes on the end of the first day of clinics and require them to bring it back before Tryout Evaluations. I have a cheerleading application ready to go in the Editable Cheerleading Tryout Score Sheets and Packet.

Check out my post all about the Mandatory Parent Meeting for High School Cheer Tryouts.

Cheer Tryout Clinics

During these days, you or your graduating senior cheerleaders will teach the athletes a cheer, dance, and band dance. Go over technique for jumps. I recommend doing a ‘mock tryout’ and have your graduating seniors demonstrate a tryout. This helps the athletes feel more prepared for what to expect. Give them extra time to practice. We allow them to take a video of the routines so they can go home and practice.

Check out my post all about High School Cheer Tryouts and Evaluation.

Tryout Evaluation

Create a schedule of time for each athlete trying out to help you and your judges stick to that schedule. We have athletes try out one at a time, but do what works best for you. There are a couple of different score sheets options in my Editable Cheerleading Tryout Score Sheets and Packet.

New Team Meeting

Congratulations! Take a picture of your new team. The New Team Meeting when you give your new team important paperwork to prep them for season. Here’s what to give your team:

• Cheerleading Contract (have them sign and return it to you that day)
• Calendar for the entire season
• Fundraising information
• Communication plan – however you plan to communicate with your team. (Google classroom, GroupMe code, etc.)

Have an amazing cheer season, Happy Coaching!