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COACHING RESOURCES
Communicating Through Team Websites
Communication with cheerleaders, parents and the community is essential to a successful cheerleading program. Information must be timely and easily accessible. Fortunately, today’s technology has made communication easier and more effective through team Web sites.
Aaron Cox, co-founder of JAMSpiritSites.com, a cheerleading Web site production company, explains, “Communication is the key benefit of a team Web site, not only with the teams, but also staff. Web sites updateable by coaches make it easy for information to be given to cheerleaders and parents rather than by phone and handouts.”
Whether you coach a school squad, Pop Warners or all-stars, no team should be without a Web site. You may shudder when hearing the word “Internet,” or you may already have Web site. Whatever your situation is, we’ll show you how to create a Web site that fits your needs and how to use it to its fullest potential.
Building a Web Site
Free & Quick
Free Web sites are ideal for school and Pop Warner squads with little financial resources. These Web sites offer many features and can be created in minutes. Additionally, no knowledge of HTML is needed. You just select the colors, fill in the blanks and upload photos. If financial resources become available, most free sites can be upgraded. Get a free website here.
Do It Yourself
If you, or a team parent, is Internet-savvy, an inexpensive Web site can be created. First you’ll need to register a domain name that reflects your team, such as www.cheertownpanthers.com, and get a hosting plan. Premium plans are not necessary for team Web sites. A basic plan from Web sites like www.netsol.com and www.godaddy.com provide sufficient capabilities.
Templates are often offered by hosting services to make Web design easy. If you have HTML knowledge, a Web site can be made from scratch using a Web page editor like Macromedia Dreamweaver, or a free editor such as Arachnophilia. The final step is uploading your Web page through an FTP client. Your hosting provider will assist you with this step.
Web Designers
A professional Web site is appropriate for all-star teams and cheer gyms. Web sites reflect the professionalism of your team and business. For many prospective cheerleaders and their parents, the team’s Web site is the first impression they will have. Make sure it is a positive one. When selecting a Web design company, view its portfolio of work and services offered. Doing so will help you decide if the company can meet your needs.
How to Use Your Web Site Effectively
There are four key elements to using a Web site effectively—accurate and complete information, timeliness, ease of use for visitors and promotion.
Accurate and Complete Information—Many people incorrectly believe the only information needed on a Web site is a logo and contact information. If these two elements are all you intend to include, then don’t bother creating a Web site. An effective Web site is one that informs and answers questions. Ask yourself, “If I were the parent of a cheerleader or prospective cheerleader, what information would I need?”
For the parents of prospective cheerleaders, first establish credibility by providing a brief history of the team and bios of the coaches. Parents need assurance that their children are being trained by experienced professionals. Include e-mail addresses and phone numbers for all coaches.
Web sites are very useful during tryouts. Requirements, guidelines, a schedule and what is expected at tryouts—from wardrobe to scoring—should be posted. Words to the tryout cheer can also be included.
For the parents and cheerleaders of the team, eliminate confusion, excuses and tardiness by providing all handouts online. How many times has a parent said to you that she didn’t know about the extra practice because her daughter didn’t give her the handout sent home? Online handouts—including schedules, announcements, rosters and cheer lists—are easily updated and save you time by reducing the time it takes to make copies.
However, posting announcements and handouts online will only be successful if parents check the Web site regularly. There are two ways to ensure this. The first is to create a “new updates” section on the front page and always make changes on the same day of the week. Parents will know to always check the Web site on that day. The other choice is to send an e-mail to parents through a mailing list informing them when an update has been made.
Some other features to include are a photo album, competition results, a sponsor list and a password-protected area. A password-protected area will enable you to provide private information to only team parents and cheerleaders. For example, a roster with phone numbers and e-mail addresses can be made available.
Timeliness—It is very frustrating for parents and cheerleaders to visit a Web site that has tryout information from two years ago, but no information about the current year. By creating a Web site you must commit to updating as needed. Updates don’t take long. Once the time has been put into creating a Web site, the updates can be done within minutes.
Ease of Use—Your Web site represents the team and therefore should have a professional look. You don’t have to be a professional Web designer to achieve an attractive and functional site. Just follow some basic rules of Web design.
Most likely, the colors of the team’s Web site will be the colors of the team. Don’t get carried away with this. Some colors can be difficult to read on a monitor. It is better to use the team’s colors as accents. For example, don’t use a blue background with red text. It would be better to have a white background, black text, and red or blue headings and links. Remember, the purpose of the Web site is to provide information, not a headache.
Navigation of the Web site should be easy. Create a menu of links on either the left side or top of the Web site. Include the link menu on every page. Information must be easy to find.
Never write in all caps or have blinking text. While it may be fun to create, large and blinking text is hard to read, distracting and annoying. Simply making the text bold or a different color will catch a visitor’s attention.
Promotion—Now that you’ve spent time, and possibly money, to create a functional Web site, promote it. All your hard work will go to waste if no one knows about the Web site. Any flyers, business cards, advertisements or news articles should include your Web site address.
Create a “links” page on your Web site. Surf the Internet to find cheerleading and local Web sites that offer link exchanges. This is an easy way to promote your team and increase the business of your cheer gym.
And, as Aaron Cox says, remember to “Feature the kids on your Web site, because that’s what it’s all about.”
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