BYFO CHEERLEADING HANDBOOK

2020

WELCOME TO BYFO CHEERLEADING PROGRAM

Cheerleading can be one of the most fun, valuable,

and rewarding experiences. Being a cheerleader

not only teaches children the physical skills of the

sport but also can teach leadership skills,

confidence, public speaking, how to work with

others, and being a positive role model. As we go

through the season you will see many different

ways that we try to build these skills in each child.

We look forward to a successful season and

welcome you to our BYFO Cheer Family.

This handbook has been prepared to give you a general idea of the obligations,

rules and responsibilities involved throughout the season.

Please be sure to read through the entire handbook and inform us of any

questions or concerns you may have.

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide for the youth of the

Bastrop area a safe, healthy, and

enjoyable environment in which to

learn football and cheerleading basic

fundamentals, sportsmanship, self-

pride, discipline and team spirit.

CHEER SQUAD DIVISIONS

Pep Squad Cheer - 2yrs to 4yrs

Mascot- 5yrs to 13 yrs

Flag Cheer – 4 yrs to 5 yrs

Peewee Cheer - 5yrs to 6yrs

Rookie Cheer – 7 yrs to 8 yrs

Juniors Cheer – 9 yrs to 10 yrs

Seniors Cheer – 11 yrs to 13 yrs

Select Cheer- 5yrs to 13years

Our goal is to have a competition squad in each

of these division and then at least 2 sideline

only cheer squads. This will all depend on the

amount of participation in cheer and football

VOLUNTEERING

Since our entire program is run by volunteers

we are always looking for extra hands. If you

are interested in volunteering throughout the

season, coaching, or joining our board please

let us know. We ask that you do volunteer for

at least one concession stand shift per athlete

of your family through the season. Every home

game our organization will have a concession

stand up and running. They only way for that to

work is to have parents and guardians step up

and volunteer for at least one shift.

COACHES

Every coach has to be certified through BYFO

and CTYFL. They will have to pass a background

check and a Training through CTYFL and a

training with BYFO. Please remember that ALL

coaches are volunteers. They are volunteering

their time away from their families and trying

their best to ensure your cheerleader has a

great season. Please be respectful of their time.

There is a lot of time spent not only during

practices and games but also outside of them.

They spend time behind the scenes creating

routines, planning cheers and practices and

much more. Please be respectful of the Practice

times, game info, and events that your coach

decides is best for their squad.

CHEER FOLDER/COMMUNICATION

Every cheerleader will be given a cheer folder. They may

decorate it any way that they please. Inside each folder will

have different things such as, a list of cheers, cheerleading skill

handouts, practice and game schedules, contact info,

conditioning list, competition routines and more. Most of these

items will be added throughout the season. We ask that each

cheerleader has this folder on them at every practice and every

game. This folder may also be used to send home information,

flyers , and upcoming dates for parents to remember. This

helps keep all info in one place, teach the cheerleaders

responsibility, and independence. Each coach will use their

folder how they see best fit their squad each season.

Coaches may also decide to use the GROUPME app to

communicate. When using this app please refrain from idle

chat and use the app to get information from your coach or to

plan snacks, directions to games, ride sharing ect.

You may also see our private BYFO Cheer for information that

applies to all squads and to share photos/videos of BYFO

cheerleaders.

PRACTICE - Practices can be anywhere from 1 day a week to 3 days a week. This

will depend on the preference of the head coach and the age of the

cheerleaders.

- Practice may not exceed 2 hours a day

- Competition Team practices may be a closed practice. This means

that only coaches and cheerleaders will be allowed inside the school

during this practice time. Parents may wait outside the doors, outside

facility, or drop off. If you choose to drop off the coach must be aware

that you are not at the facility and contact number to reach you in

case of an emergency.

- Cheerleaders will not be released into the parking lot or out of the

cheer practice facility without an adult. This means that if you have

dropped off your child for a closed practice you will have to come

inside to pick them up at the end of practice. A coach must release

each cheerleader to their guardian.

- Please arrive no more than 10 mins prior to practice. You may not

drop off your cheerleader at practice without making contact with a

coach of their team.

- It is very important that every cheerleader shows up to every

practice on time and reading to perform. - Every Cheerleader will

need to be picked up no later than 10 mins after practice.

PRACTICE ATTIRE

Clothing -- Please have cheerleader wear leggings or shorts.

All clothing worn at practice may not have zippers, buttons or

rhinestones. Make sure tops are not to bagging or long. No tops

that show the belly. Make sure bottoms do not have bottoms

showing. If shorts are to short when tumbling or performing

jumps please be sure to wear a pair or spandex shorts under.

_________________________________

Footwear ---Every Cheerleader must be wearing a pair of

closed toe shoes. If a cheerleader shows up in sandals, flip

flops, or without shoes they will not be able to participate in

practice. Athletic or cheerleading shoes are preferred. Please

make sure they are the correct size and can not slip off easily.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Hair -- All hair must be pulled up out of the face and off of

the shoulders.

PRACTICE SUPPLIES

Food & Candy--- Make sure to eat before arriving at

practice. Food and Gum is not allowed at practice.

______________________________________________

Drinks--- Make sure to bring plenty of water to every

practice. Please do not bring sports drinks or sodas. We prefer

water only during practice.

___________________________________________________________________________

Extra--- Make sure to bring any supplies needed for

practice. Example- Cheer Bag, Cheer Folder, Megaphone,

Pompoms.

GAMES - It is your responsibility to transport your cheerleader to and from every game.

We will have several home games which may be played at Bastrop Memorial

Stadium, Erhard Stadium, or Bastrop Intermediate School. Away games will be

played at any of the other locations of the other CTYFL Organizations which you

can see on www.CTYFL.org - Anyone without an official CTYFL certified Badge on

them will not be allowed on the field. Please do not walk onto the track,

sidelines, or field at anytime.

- Cheerleaders can only have water on the field or track. No sports drinks or

sugary beverages. - No food is allowed during the game. - Please do not take

your child up into the stands during half time. They need to stay with their

coaches the entire game.

- Please arrive at each game 30 mins prior to game time. - It is important that

the coaches have the cheerleaders full attention during the game. Please do not

talk to or distract your cheerleader or coaches during the game.

- Make sure your cheerleader is prepared at every game. It is good for them to

have a cheer bag with leggings, long sleeves, jackets, rain coat, sunscreen, bug

spray, etc.

- We cheer Rain or shine at every game. If a game is not canceled and there is

not a weather advisory that prevents the game from being played we will still

be out there cheering.

- Cheerleaders may not have umbrellas down on the track during games.

- Please make sure your cheerleader has ate and used the restroom

before arriving at each game.

SIBILING RULE

How the sibling rule works is that cheerleaders may sideline

cheer for their football siblings as long as there is a cheer squad

for them to cheer with. This is not guaranteed. It must be

requested at the time of registration and still evaluated off of

how many competition teams there will be and what age

groups they cheer for. As the season goes on practices will be

more focused on competition routines rather than sideline

cheers. We try to keep each competition team in their age

group on a game squad together so that they can work

together all week long and be able to practice and perform bits

of their routine throughout the season at games. If your

cheerleader decides not to participate in competition they will

be assigned to a sideline cheer squad. This will be a mix of ages.

All the cheerleaders on that squad will not be performing at

competition. This helps them be able to work on fun stuff

throughout the week to perform at each game and keeps from

anyone feeling left out of something. We want every

cheerleader to have a fun season while fitting each families

needs.

CERTIFICATION

Every player will have to be certified by CTYFL in order to

participate in the season. This will require Registration info

- Copy of Birth Certificate

- Current physical - Behavior/Spectator form signed

- Liability Wavier

- Medical Release Form Signed

- Current Photo

Not having this info in before certification day will result in

your cheerleader not being able to participate in the Fall

season with us. In the result of this a refund will not be

allowed.

COMPETITION

Every October CTYFL has a Cheerleading competition that we

participate in. Every Cheerleader enrolled with BYFO has an

opportunity to participate in this competition. We do ask that you sign

a Competition Contract committing to the entire season. This means

not missing practices or games and coming with a good and positive

attitude at all times. Competition does have a few extra expenses but

we will try our best to fundraise enough for those costs. Competition

will be October 29th 2017 at the Toney Burger Center in Austin. BYFO

will transport cheerleaders to the Toney Burger Center the day of

competition but Parents and Guardians will be responsible for

transporting them from the Toney Burger Center after the competition.

This is an all day even and a great experience. If you would like more

info on competition please feel free to contact us at anytime.

Competition Divisions

Exhibition- Perform only. Will not be judged. ALL AGES 4yrs-13yrs

(This will include our select squad)

Peewee – 5yrs & 6yrs

Rookie – 7yrs & 8yrs

Juniors – 9yrs & 10yrs

Seniors – 11yrs & 12yrs

COMPETITION FINANCES

This is an estimate that we go off of when planning our

finances needed for competition.

Entry Fee for CTYFL Competition Registration (per athlete) - $3

Transportation to facility - $200 to $300

Hair supplies (per athlete) - $10 to $15

Spirit supplies - $100

Music (per team) - $100-300

Routine Supplies (per team) - $25

Lunch Supplied for competition day (per athlete) - $6 to $10

Competition goodie bags (per athlete) - $10

Competitions outside of CTYFL will have a different cost. That will be discussed

with select squad cheerleaders.

FINANCES

We try out best to keep the cost down as best as

possible. Due to cheerleading uniforms being close

to a custom order and a long processing time all

fees must be paid upfront before your uniform will

be ordered. Cheerleading uniforms take anywhere

from 4 weeks to 8 weeks to arrive depending on the

time frame and detail to it. If an unfortunate

circumstance arises that you will not be able to

participate in our season but your uniform has

already been ordered there will be no refund given.

Here is what we take inconsideration when figuring

our Fall Season prices.

Uniform Cost

Insurance

Trophies & End of the season supplies

Coaches Certification

Season Supplies

SPONSORSHIPS

If you or someone you know has a business or

would like to sponsor our program please let

me know. We would love to build a partnership

with them. Our sponsorship form can be found

on our website: https://www.bastropyouthfootball.org

FUNDRAISERS

We will have one large fundraiser and several

little fundraisers throughout the season. It is

important that everyone participates as much

as possible. We are a non-profit organization

that runs on fundraising and sponsorships. We

want to be able to provide each athlete with as

much as we possibly can so they can have a fun

and successful season. Everything that gets

raised will go straight back into our program for

the children.

SPORTSMANSHIP

We expect BYFO Athletes, Parents, Coaches, Volunteers, and

family members to be respectful at all times. We have a zero

tolerance policy for being disrespectful to volunteers, other

teams, players and facilities. If there is ever a circumstance that

you feel needs to be addressed please contact the cheer

coordinator, BYFO President, or a Board member at an away

game facility to assist you in resolving any issues. We try our

best to keep drama and gossip out of our league.

GRIEVENCES When there is a problem or if you have any concerns please follow

this chain of command to get them resolved.

. - Head Coach

- Cheer Coordinator

- President

Please do not go to others of discuss your questions or

concerns with anyone other than these 3 people. This will keep

from information being misunderstood or not resolved

correctly.

Thanks again for being a part of BYFO

Cheer. We look forward to an awesome

season.

Olivia Patino

BYFO Cheer Coordinator

patinoobyfo@gmail.com