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Director's Page
Welcome! You have now made the choice to participate in the most exciting sport evolving into High Schools and colleges. By now, your daughter is already very excited about becoming a cheerleader. So are we!! We want to help you right from the beginning to understand the sport you have now chosen for your family. By becoming a Pop Warner cheerleader, you are now on your way to joining academics and athletics in your childs life. Everything she will get from her Pop Warner experience will last a lifetime. She will become a spirit leader who is community aware, rewarded for her academic achievements, become a trained athlete, make new friends, and learn to be a good teammate.
Cheerleading is a sport that requires family participation. If it is “only cheerleading” to you then it will be “only cheerleading” to your child. Remember, your child is just one piece of the puzzle. If one piece is missing, the whole puzzle is ruined. Imagine working 2-3 times per week with a group of 15 girls and each time you meet one family makes a choice to be absent. That leaves the rest of the team at a loss. For the younger children, consistency not only means security in knowing what comes next, but it also builds confidence that they know what to do. Your child’s absence is the whole teams loss. Our coaches are required to be at each practice to make sure the children are always ready to smile and feel secure and accomplished.
In our TINEY-MITE DIVISION (5-7 year olds) most of the children are being introduced to an organized sport for the first time. During the month of August, practices are Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 6:00-7:30pm at Cucolo Field. Tiney –Mite games are in-house at the Suffern Recreation Field on Saturdays generally 10:00 or 12 noon. Our first game is tentatively 9/11/10.
In the MITEY-MITE DIVISION (7-9 year olds) the girls will begin to become exposed to new stunts and formation changes. They begin to do more conditioning in preparation for the stunts and stamina of tumbling, building and chanting all at the same time. Again, practice and consistency become the key components to your daughter’s success. During the month of August, practices are Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 6:00 – 8:00pm. Games are on Sundays beginning September 12th and they are both home and away.
In our competitive JUNIOR PEE-WEE DIVISION, the commitment becomes more demanding. It becomes a matter of safety. The girls undergo intense conditioning and strength training. They rely heavily on the continuity of each person. Competitions are not optional. If you become part of the team we will need 100% commitment from the parents first. The children will follow their parents lead.
All practices go indoor once school starts. Locations are determined by what is approved for our use thru Ramapo Central School District, the number of teams, & participants on the teams. For Tiney-Mites, it is important that you communicate with your coaches if your child will be absent due to an illness. All practices are planned prior to the coaches arrival. For Mitey-Mites & JPW’s, it is recommended that the children try to attend all practices even if they feel a little under the weather. If changes to routines are made, the visual knowledge they gain by being present is a relief to them upon their return to physical participation.
We have included a calendar for the month of August and a list of the dates that we know of at this time. There will be times where the girls will be asked to participate in community events. We have done food drives and special performances for example. These events may be in addition to our regular schedule. All schedules are subject to changes out of our control.
It is expected that all Junior Pee-Wee’s will compete in all competitions where bids for advancement have been received. ON ALL LEVELS, if you cannot compete in one of the competitions you may still participate on the team and a position suitable to you will be made for your full participation at all games and events. Please notify your coach immediately if you cannot attend any of the competitions so they may adjust the routine accordingly. The Junior Pee-Wee schedule includes Empires States to be held in Utica this year and could end in Florida in December. Special fundraising events are planned for all levels to offset the cost of competition gear, hotels, buses, food and admission costs. If the boys go to Regionals, the girls need to be prepared to attend. A football event will not supercede a cheer competition.
The girls have a training camp uniform. They are required to wear a white tee-shirt, no tanks, spaghetti or sleeveless tees are permitted. Navy blue Soffee type shorts or skorts, no jean or pocket type shorts permitted. Both are for safety reasons only. They must also wear socks and white sneakers. They can be purchased thru Pam Lefkowitz (357-2040) or by order blanks available at the snack stand or your coaches or any store you wish. This is a fall sport so the girls will need a fewer warmer items as the season progresses. Navy gloves, pull-over sweatshirts without pockets, strings or hood, navy leggings or sweatpants, navy head wraps or hats, navy cheer bags are a few ideas. These can also be ordered by order blank or at local stores. Junior Pee-Wee’s have specific uniform requirements that set them apart as competitors. In addition, all girls must purchase through us a cheer competition sneaker. The last fitting for these will be on August 4th at training camp. Please do not wear these sneakers until our County Competition on October 2nd. After that time, the younger girls can wear them anytime.
There is a midriff and boy short that is needed to complete the girls uniforms. They are available at an additional cost of $16 each. This is not included in the price as some people do not need them year-to-year. We are instituting a new program where people donate back to the organization their “gently used” items and we can re-sell them at a discount so if you have any midriffs and/or boyshorts that you’re daughter has outgrown, kindly donate them to us. The vest, skirt, bodyliner and pom-poms are on loan. You are responsible for the proper care of this garment. DO NOT remove the sizing tags. There is a $125 mandatory uniform deposit due at uniform distribution in August – please make checks payable to SMM. Checks will not be cashed until one week after the designated uniform return date.
PLEASE; No jewelry or nail polish is permitted. Make sure to bring a towel and water to every training camp practice – no juice or flavored waters as it attracts bees.
Very important to our organizations survival is the concession stands. Every family, whether it be football or cheer, must volunteer at least once to work at it. We have made it as painless as possible this year. Cheer will cover concession at training camp during the month of August only as we are at the fields at that time. There will be sign-ups the first day of training camp and then we will be assigning the rest. It is your responsibility to cover your allotted time so it would be easier to sign up right away for a time convenient for you. Please do not make us have the coaches do it – then your child will not get to cheer. At our 5 home games it is easy to cover the concession stand as we will be scheduling around your childs game so you do not have to miss it.
MAKE SURE TO HAVE YOUR CHILD ARRIVE FULLY DRESSED 30 MINUTES
BEFORE GAME TIME
T – Together
E - Everyone
A - Accomplishes
M - More
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call either one of us.
Shari Rawiszer, Co-Director of Cheer, 845-323-9607 cell
Pam Lefkowitz, Co-Director of Cheer, 914-629-4004 cell
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