What It Takes to Be a Cheer Coach

Being a cheer coach is a dream job for many of us! It is a great way to stay involved in cheerleading, plus you get to make a difference in young people’s lives. If being a cheer coach is something you’ve considered, this is what it takes: Patience. People don’t always‚ or even usually‚ get things down perfectly the first time you explain it to them. It might take repetition or a different way of teaching for your athletes to understand something. This can be frustrating‚ both because you will have to repeat yourself many times and because coming up with a new way of explaining something is difficult. This is why patience is an essential quality for a cheer coach. Communication. Not only do you have to communicate instructions to your athletes as discussed above, but you’ll also have to communicate with parents and school staff and administrators. A cheerleading coach needs to be a good communicator‚ or at least willing to learn and eager to improve. Passion. You don’t necessarily have to have a huge passion for cheerleading. While most coaches probably do love cheerleading, some might have stepped up to fill a position so that the cheerleaders at their school could cheer or volunteered as a way to get involved in their child’s activities. Wherever your passion comes from, having some aspect of the role that excites or interests you is vital to your happiness and success as a coach. Organization. Some level of organization is necessary for any job, but often a cheerleading coach is juggling multiple jobs at once. Not only does this mean you’ll have to be organized enough to handle schedules, practices, and uniform orders, but you will likely also have to be organized enough to expertly balance your various positions. Willingness to learn. Cheerleading is full of a lot of wonderful traditions, but there are still always new techniques, training methods, drills, and ways of teaching to be learned. A good cheer coach is always learning and never thinks she or he already knows it all. The key to success is to never stop learning and advancing your knowledge! What other qualities and skills do cheer coaches need?