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It seems that in years past both coaches and parents were given somewhat of a break at the end of the competition cheerleading season. Everyone had time to relax, recoup and review the season before starting a new one. But with the ever growing sport of all star cheerleading what was once a marked season has now become a year round activity. As soon as a team finishes their last national competition their coach is already preparing for tryouts to build the new teams. As most coaches and gym owners know, at the end of every season you gain or lose students depending on how you faired during your season and how economics may have hit your particular town. So the question at hand is how do the smaller local gyms, that may not have the student pool of a gym the size of Cheer Athletics, promote their tryouts so that they can not only fill their teams but maybe also increase their team numbers for the new season?
The first thing that needs to be done is promoting your tryouts within your gym. Hand out flyers and post notices well in advance of the date. Make sure everyone not only gets one for them, but also gets a few extra to hand out to friends. Does your gym have a website? If you haven’t thought about this it is a great way to keep your clients up to date on your activities and events. Definitely use the website to promote tryouts. So many people are online these days that with web search engines and facebook pages you can really drive people toward your business with a few easy steps and then your client base can literally take it and run with it. If you have local establishments that will allow you to put up signs you should absolutely do so. A lot of hometown businesses recognize that if they help you, you in turn will send business their way. Many small restaurants and coffee shops will let you put up flyers on their bulletin boards or in their windows. Next think about local churches. Most churches have a youth group. Check with the parents and students in your gym and see if they would be willing to hand out flyers at their church. The same goes for schools. I know from experience that you have to get permission from the school district to put business flyers in take home folders for schools, but you can do that. If you time it right you can have your business flyers put in their take home folders with a note at the bottom that says something about contacting the gym for cheer tryout information. Lastly, if there are any local parades this summer or festivals, make sure your cheerleaders participate wearing your gym t-shirt and handing out flyers. The goal is to reach as many students as possible so that you have more to choose from and can pick the team you want.
One thing that helps parents and your program is to have more than one tryout date. With so many activities and vacations, not everybody can make the one you schedule. This shows parents you are flexible. It also gives you a chance to see more girls, or if you have already picked teams you can increase the size of your teams or add alternates. I have found that it never hurts to have extra team members and that students tend to work harder if they think someone else might get their spot if they don’t. It’s tough, but it’s true.
When I asked Melissa Calvert Meriwether, owner of Spirit Xtreme, how she handles her tryouts she said, “To promote our tryouts we use our website, email newsletter, hand out flyers to all our classes, and team members, and encourage our current athletes to bring friends. We do set up private evaluations if athletes are not available for the scheduled tryout evaluation date. We also place athletes on teams throughout the season as long as there are openings”.
So, as the new season begins, get the word out! You’ve worked hard all year taking all these kids to competition and it’s perfectly fine to brag about it. Get those cheerleaders in your gym and start fresh so that the 2010/2011 season can be a great one for you and your program. Good luck and best wishes for a brand new season.
Amy Acosta Logan
www.cheerwithamy.com
www.cheerwithamy.blogspot.com
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