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Cheer Information

Cheer season: Cheer season at SMS runs from (Q1-Q3) August- end of Feb/beginning of March (tentative based on comp dates). 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

  • Tuesday July 23rd 6-8pm
  • Thursday July 26th 6-8pm
  • Friday July 27th 7am

2. Tryouts will be closed to spectators.

3. Register my Athlete (including an updated physical) must be complete to participate in tryouts.

  • July 23rd and July 25th athletes will be learning tryout material.  Friday July 26th athletes will perform for the judges in the final tryout where they will be scored.
  • They will pick up a letter with their tryout results at the end of the Friday school day.
  • Friday July 26th 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

  • July 29th @7am at SMS

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 7am
  • Tuesdays 7am
  • Thursdays (sometime after school, time TBD)

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 boys 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 10th all day. This is absolutely mandatory for all athletes that make the team. There may additional choreography dates as needed after this one.

Required Competitions:

  • Desert Kick-off October 26th
  • Junior State (most likely the last Saturday of January)
  • Pink State February 14-15

Payments:

  • $650 total
  • Payments cover: athletic fees, comps, choreo/music, weekly tumbling/stunting instruction by Dauntless Athletics at SMS, shirt, bow, liner, banquet, backpack. *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 ran 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.