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Cheer Information

Cheer Season

Cheer season at SMS runs from (Q1-Q3) July- end of Feb/beginning of March (tentative based on dates of football games). The cheer season consists of basketball season, parts of football season, and Competition season 

Make sure to read the attached information from the coaches prior to tryouts to ensure you and your student are willing and able to commit to the needs of the program.

Program Information 

Tryouts

Tryouts will be held

  • Monday, July 27 6:30am - 8:30am
  • Tuesday, July 28 6:30am - 8:30am
  • Wednesday, July 29 6:30am - 8:30am

Tryouts will be closed to spectators.

Aktivate (including an updated physical) must be complete to participate in tryouts.

Tryout Parent Meeting

Friday July 24th at 8:15am in the SMS Library. If you are unable to attend please email the coaches and they will send you any information that is covered at this meeting. 

tristin.cramer15@gmail.com

ellamaeheywood@gmail.com

  • July 27th and July 28th athletes will be learning tryout material.  July 29th athletes will perform for the judges in the final tryout where they will be scored.
  • Athletes will pick up a letter with their tryout results at the end of the school day on Wednesday, Jul 29.
  • Wednesday, July 29 athletes will be required to wear all black shirt/tank and black shorts with hair in pony for the final tryout on Friday (hair bow of any color is optional).

Tryouts will consist of

  • Demonstrating your ability to execute jumps (toe touch, hurdler, pike)
  • Performing a sideline cheer you will be taught
  • Performing a band dance that you will be taught
  • Demonstrating any tumbling athletes have without a spot (back handspring or higher). Tumbling is not required but it is strongly encouraged as you will receive extra points on your score card for running and or standing tumbling.
  • We will not be stunting at tryouts but you will be asked about your stunting experience. Stunting experience is not required.
  • Judges will be looking for cheer skills ability, proper technique, pointed toes, sharp motions, confidence/smiles, spirit, voice projection, general cheer knowledge and a willingness to learn.

If You Make the Team

Mandatory Parent Meeting

  • Monday, August 3rd at 6:30am

Attendance

**practices, competitions, events and choreography are MANDATORY. Because of the nature of the sport we cannot be successful as a team without strict attendance. Please take this into consideration when deciding if school cheer is right for you. The dates and times listed below are an outline and NOT set in stone. It is to give us a good idea of what the commitment looks like but is not perfect and may have changes. A failure to commit to a high level of attendance may result in school detentions or dismissal from the team.

Practices:

  • Mondays 6:30am - 8:30am
  • Tuesdays 6:30am - 8:30am
  • Thursdays 6:30am - 8:30am

We will have practices over Fall Break and Winter Break (times and dates of those practices TBD)

You will also be required to learn material at home from videos.

Games

At the Junior High level, we only cheer at home games for boys basketball and  football. Basketball season is August until Fall Break. And football season is January to Spring break. After Spring break cheer season is considered over and athletes are free to participate in other sports.

Home games vary from week to week. Typically, we will cheer at 1 to 2 home games per week and those usually fall on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Rarely if ever on Wednesdays or Fridays. 

Mandatory Choreography

  • Saturday, August 29th
  • Saturday, September 12th

Required Competitions

  • Desert Kick-off Competition: Saturday November 7
  • UCA Desert Southwest Regional Competition: Saturday November 14
  • UCA Cactus Cup Competition: Saturday January 9
  • Junior State Championship: Saturday January 23

Payments

  • $650 total
  • Payments cover: athletic fees, comps, choreo/music, weekly tumbling/stunting instruction by Dauntless Athletics at SMS, team gear, bows, uniform liner and banquet. *These items are subject to change depending on price. You will provide your own cheer shoes and spandex; uniform is owned by the school and will be checked out to you.

Grades

Grade checks will be run weekly throughout the season. Any athletes receiving an ‘F’ in any class will be ineligible to cheer at that week’s game.

Any athlete that is ineligible receiving a ‘F’ in any class/es for more than 5 weeks in a row will be dismissed from the team.