High School Cheerleading Tryouts Pre-Season Planning

Create a plan for the cheerleading season before cheerleading tryouts to set you and your new cheer team up for success.

Cheerleading Tryouts is arguably the most important event of the cheerleading season. Not only is the new team chosen, but cheerleading tryouts set the tone for the entire cheerleading season. Plan the cheer season before tryouts so that you know what information you need to share with new cheerleaders and families at tryouts.

Cheerleading Pre-Season Planning Checklist

1. Meet with Administration
2. Meet with Cheer Coaching Staff
3. Create a Calendar with the Cheerleading Schedule
4. Understand Payment Processing with your School’s Bookkeeper/Booster Club
5. Meet with your Cheerleading Uniform Representative
6. Register for Cheer Camp
7. Set Up Fundraisers
8. Create a Communication Plan
9. Prepare Cheerleading Tryouts Paperwork
10. Cheerleading Tryouts Setup
11. Spread the Word!

Check out my guide to high school cheerleading tryouts: The Ultimate Guide to Cheer Tryouts for Coaches.

Meet with Administration

Meet with your administration/supervisor to discuss your plan for the season. Your administrator will likely have guidelines that the cheer coach and the cheer team must follow.

• Required paperwork/training for coaches
• Required paperwork for athletes trying out for the cheerleading team
• How to reserve facilities for practices and events
• Transportation for cheerleaders to games and events
• Uniform policy: does the school purchase cheer uniforms or do cheerleaders purchase their own uniform?
• Rules and expectations for cheerleaders
• Grade eligibility

Meet with Cheer Coaching Staff

Have a meeting with your cheer coach assistants to map out a plan for the year. You can create a list of expectations for the cheerleading coaching staff so that you are all on the same page.

• What went well last cheer season? What should be changed?
• What are the goals for the cheerleading team this season?
• What are the major events?
• What are the tasks of the head coach and what are the tasks of the assistant coach?
• How will coaches communicate?
• Who should athletes primarily communicate with? What is the communication policy?
• Outline cheer team expectations into a cheerleading handbook/contract.

Create a Calendar with the Cheerleading Schedule

Fill in a calendar for the entire season with practices, games, events, competitions, etc. It’s easier to cancel practices later than it is to add on practices. Make sure to reserve all facilities with your administration. You will give this calendar to your team at the New Cheer Team Meeting. 

Events to add to your cheer calendar:

• New Team Meeting
• Fundrasiers
• Uniform Fitting
• Payment Due Dates
• Practices
• Cheer Camp
• Choreography
• Football Games
• Basketball Games
• Rallies
• Parades
• Competitions

If you are looking for editable monthly calendars, check out ones I have created: Editable Monthly Calendars.

Understand the Payment Process with your School’s Bookkeeper/Booster Club

Talk with your athletic director or administration to understand the process for ordering cheer uniforms, paying for cheer camp, and purchasing items for the cheer program. Your school might have a process that includes creating a budget, holding a club meeting, approving purchases and fundraisers, and filling out purchase orders.

Pro Tip: Place orders far in advance to ensure items will arrive by the time that you need them. Because most districts have an approval process for placing orders, it will take extra time for items to be ordered.

Meet with your Cheerleading Uniform Representative

Reach out to the company you purchase uniforms from to create your uniform package within your budget. Decide what items that you will require the cheerleaders to have. Here is an example of a list of items to include in the uniform package:

• Cheerleading uniform
• Spandex
• Cheer shoes
• Warm up jacket
• Warm up pants
• Backpack
• Poms
• Bow
• Practice shirts
• Practice shorts

Register for Cheer Camp

As soon as cheer camp dates are posted, sign your cheer squad up for cheer camp. My cheer squad LOVES going to cheer camp, it is our cheerleaders’ favorite memory year after year. 

Set Up Fundraisers

Now that you have built a cheer uniform package and registered for cheer camp, you should have the total amount due for each cheerleader. Choose fundraisers to help offset the cost of cheer. Reach out to vendors to set these up and be sure to get the fundraisers approved by your administration. You will share the fundraising opportunities at the New Cheer Team Meeting.

Create a Communication Plan

Plan how you will communicate with your cheer team and with their families. Some ideas include: Google Classroom, Band, GroupMe, Class Dojo, Remind, email, etc. I do not recommend communicating by text and personal phone number. Condensing communication to one of the programs listed above will help you maintain the boundaries of your personal life separate from coaching.

Prepare Cheerleading Tryout Paperwork

Paperwork to prepare before cheerleading tryouts:

1. Cheerleading Tryouts Flyer
2. Cheerleading Tryouts Sign In
3. Cheerleading Tryouts Information Packet for the Mandatory Parent Meeting
4. Cheerleading Tryouts Application Packet for all athletes trying out
5. Cheerleading Tryouts Score Sheets
6. Cheerleading Season Calendar

Cheerleading Tryouts Setup

Reserve Facilities for Cheerleading Tryouts

Plan a Mandatory Cheer Tryouts Parent Meeting, Cheerleading Tryout Clinics, Cheerleading Tryout Evaluation, and New Cheer Team Meeting. The number of days for your Tryout Clinics will depend upon how much material is being taught to athletes.

Here is a sample of a cheerleading tryouts schedule:

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

Contact Judges for Cheerleading Tryouts

Reach out to judges you trust. These can be fellow 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 at Cheerleading Tryouts

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, you can invite them teach the tryout material. This allows you as the cheer coaches to monitor cheer 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. 

Spread the Word! Advertise Cheer Tryouts

Create a Cheerleading Tryout Flyer

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.

Create a graphic to share on social media

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

To recap Pre-Season Planning for High School Cheerleading Tryouts

1. Meet with Administration
2. Meet with Cheer Coaching Staff
3. Create a Cheerleading Schedule
4. Understand Payment Processing with your School’s Bookkeeper/Booster Club
5. Meet with your Cheerleading Uniform Representative
6. Register for Cheer Camp
7. Set Up Fundraisers
8. Create a Communication Plan
9. Prepare Cheerleading Tryouts Paperwork
10. Cheerleading Tryouts Setup
11. Spread the Word!

You got this, Coach! If you’re looking for a resource to use for cheer tryouts, check out my editable packet: