Expert: Chris - 9/30/2010

Question
hi, I would like to start a cheerleading team at my daughters elementary school. I do not have much experience. I was a cheerleader in highschool, but that was 10 years ago... It would be for fun, not competitive. can i do it? how would i do it?

Answer
I'm not sure how you would go about starting a team as far as the insurance and things like that would go. You'll have to contact the school for that. Once you get the okay from her school I think you'll be good to go. Is there a practice space available either in the school gym or elsewhere? If it's just for fun you could practice as much or as little as you want and you wouldn't need tryouts either. To get participation put an ad in the paper and fliers around town (if it's a small town) and see if you can type something up that the school will send home with all the kids. I know my school used to do that.

You should probably go to some coaching safety clinics just for good measure to make sure everyone will be safe. Also, in most states you'll need someone at every practice certified to practice CPR. You usually need to take a 2-4 hour course to get certification. Like I said, you'll need this information from the school.

Once the team gets started I would pick a date (a few months after you start) to have a "Parent's Night" (you can call it whatever you want) to have the team show the parents and whoever else wants to come a routine or what they've learned. If you're practicing for no reason it's going to be hard to get people to come to practice consistently. I'm assuming there's no football or basketball team you would be cheering for. Even if there is you could still do this type of exhibition night. It's really fun for the girls.

Instead of getting uniforms (because parents won't want to spend the money) you can order matching practice outfits. Usually a skort and t-shirt look cute, but it can be whatever you want. Then the kids could wear those to the exhibition and it's much less of a financial problem than buying a uniform.

On top of all this, don't EVER let kids practice or cheer with jewelry on. I've seen a lot of injuries from earrings, necklaces, etc. They seem harmless, but it only takes one arm hitting someone to end up with a serious injury. And taping earrings doesn't eliminate the problem. Also, they're probably a little young for this, but check for bellybutton rings. Those are really dangerous.

I really encourage you to do everything you can to get this team off the ground. Cheerleading helped me a lot socially, mentally, and emotionally and I think it's a good thing for kids.