Villages Cheer: Rules and Code of Conduct
ATTENDANCE
PRACTICE
Each athlete must attend practice regularly and on time. Excessive absences may be grounds for removal from the squad.
GAMES
• Squad members will arrive at games one hour and 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the game. Cheerleaders are expected to cheer for all scheduled games. Any planned absence from a game must be approved at least one (1) week in advance. Please notify the director as soon as possible in the event of an illness or family emergency. Athletes may have two (2) absences from games during the season without penalty. Three (3) or more absences from games will result in the athlete being disqualified from competition.
GAME & PRACTICE CONDUCT
RULES
• The athlete will be dressed (hair/shoes included) and ready to warm-up upon arrival.
• All squad members will be expected to participate in warm-ups and practice!
• All squad members should stay with their coaches at all times.
• No food, drink, or gum is allowed- team snack will be provided on game days.
• Squad members should use the restroom before arriving for practice or games. Parent should be available for bathroom breaks when neccesary.
• Bring water- limited team water will be available
APPEARANCE
• NO JEWELRY is to be worn during any practices, games, or performances
• Hair must be worn off the shoulders and away from the face at all times. Only soft hairbands may be used - No hard barrettes.
• Cheer shoes must be worn at all times during practices and performances.
• Full Game Day uniforms with designated hairstyle should be worn to games
BEHAVIOR PLAN
The behavior plan is specific to each team and coaches discretion, and focuses on positive reinforcement. Rude or mean/ judgmental behavior between teammates will not be tolerated and will result in consequences during regular game day activities.
PARENT EXPECTATIONS
VOLUNTEERING
Volunteers are an integral part of all youth sports and no program would be able to run efficiently without the valuable time given! Parents with more than 1 child in the program will be assigned volunteer time accordingly.
Concessions during tackle season are run by the cheer team. You will be assigned a couple time slots through the season. The slot assigned may not fall on your child's game time but it is our responsibility to work together as a team. Cheer will get the profit to help get us to our competition. Our Concessions Director will have this information available when the schedule is released.
FUNDRAISING
VFA will hold a fundraiser during our season. These fundraisers are for both football and cheer and cover items outside of equipment and uniforms, such as league, field, and referee fees. Cheer will participate in this association-wide fundraiser. This is not related to cheer-only fundraisers, which are coordinated to help families to raise funds for competition. The competition fundraisers are optional; HOWEVER, each family will be required to meet a predetermined budget for competition to be eligible to attend competition regardless of whether they have chosen to fundraise. Final budgets for competition will be published later in the season as the information becomes available.
TEAM SNACKS
Team snack will be provided by one alternating family each week. Fruit is preferred as this is a hydrating snack, but any healthy snack is acceptable. Rotation schedule will be assigned by the team mom when the game schedule is published by the conference. NO peanut products should be provided.
CONDUCT
All adults attending games or practice, or involved with the cheer program in any capacity must be an example to our athletes with a positive attitude. Only encouragement should be given to both coaches and athletes while on the field. All concerns should be addressed out of earshot of children and should be taken directly to the Cheer Director or Cheer Parent- not coaches. Please refrain from interrupting practices to address coaches.
COMMITMENT
Cheer is a unique team sport- with most teams if an athlete drops out there is a person sitting on the bench to take their place. With cheerleading, dropouts affect every aspect of team from simple things like lineup to large pieces of a carefully mastered routine, and often times many things need to be relearned by young athletes who do not have the capacity to change what they have already learned. It cannot be stressed enough that Villages is a competitive cheer program and that dropouts have a very real and very negative effect on the entire team. By signing up for Villages cheer you have acknowledged and accepted the commitment of competition.
These guidelines have been established with the goals of safety, clear communication between coaches, athletes and parents, and fairness to all squad members. By accepting this contract, the athlete and parents indicate knowledge of the contents of this contract, including the potential risks involved, knowledge of the Villages Football Association’s Rules and Regulations and the willingness to abide by them.
