Cheer Captain Ideas

Team-Building Activities

• Cheerleaders must be completely in tune with one another. Just one person out of synch or unhappy brings down the morale of the entire team. As team captain, it is your responsibility to ensure that your cheerleaders understand one another and work well together. Team-building activities bring individuals together and teach them how to work as a team. There are a variety of team-building activities that are geared specifically toward sports teams. For example, in an activity called "sculpting," the squad is provided with various sculpting supplies such as newspaper, papier-mache glue and glitter. With these supplies, your squad must build a sculpture that represents school spirit. Another team-building activity called the "trust fall" involves all members of the team sitting in a circle with arms and legs held straight out. One team member stands in the middle of the circle. The standing member squeezes all her muscles tight and falls to the side. Sitting squad members must catch her and pass her from person to person. Each team member must take a turn in the center of the circle. "Two truths and a lie" is a team-building game that helps your squad get to know one another. On a piece of paper, each girl writes down her name, two true facts and one lie about herself. The papers are passed to you and you must then read each paper aloud except for the girl's name. The squad must then guess who the person is and which statement written down is a lie. In "encouragement," write each squad member's name on individual pieces of paper. Pass the papers around the squad. Have each member write encouraging statements on each piece of paper. Continue passing the papers around until everyone has written encouragement to each team member.

Get Feedback from Your Team

• Discuss any decisions that affect your team directly. Often team captains assume they must make all of the decisions from fundraising ideas to new routines. However, one person making the decisions for an entire team causes disharmony. Allow your teammates to help you with the process of making bigger decisions that will make everyone happy. Sit around and discuss new fundraising ideas. Not only does this bring you together as a team but also throws fresh, new ideas around for everyone to think about.

Reward Hard Work

• Show your teammates that hard work pays off. Rewards let your teammates know that you notice how hard they are working. After big games, throw a pizza party or take your teammates out somewhere relaxing, such as the movies. Small gestures remind your squad that you are a team and the hard work of all members pays off. Rewards also show that you appreciate the hard work of each member.

Set Goals

• Start your journey as Cheer Captain by setting goals. Go into the job with an idea of what type of goals you want to achieve while you are Captain. Write the goals down and think of the steps that must be taken to achieve each one. For example, your team has come close every year to winning the regional cheering competition. You decide to make winning the competition your main goal for the year. Next, you write down the reasons why your squad has not won the regional competition and how you can fix those issues. Setting goals for your team unifies everyone as they work for a common outcome. Additionally, if one squad member is not exceptional at a certain part of a routine, make it that squad member's goal to perfect their execution.

Keep a Positive Attitude

• A negative attitude rubs off on your teammates. Keeping your attitude positive ensures that negativity does not ruin your bond and affect your cheering. Do not act biased toward teammates. Keep an open and understanding mind when problems arise. You are the one all teammates look to for guidance and you must act accordingly. Make an example of yourself by maintaining a positive outlook in all situations.