Special Olympics MD- Montgomery - SOMO JOY! Cheer Team
2010/11 Spring Season Plan
Hello all! We had a SOMO parent meeting on Tuesday and discussed going forward with a Special Olympics Cheer Team Program that will stand separately from DESTINY, but in no way conflict with DESTINY so that the girls do not have to make a choice - they get the best of both!
I am asking that each family who receives this notice respond to me with your intent to participate in the SOMO Team JOY. We have a lot of planning to do and need to know who is onboard! Thank you.
· Team Name: JOY! Parents at the meeting voted unanimously for the Team name to be JOY! We plan to bring much JOY into the lives of our girls and all who watch us cheer! Minti has a friend who has designed a great logo to incorporate JOY into the SO Logo - see attached designs.
· Minimum 10 Week training season required for official "team" preparation for competition: anticipated schedule" ( practices to be scheduled on *Wednesday evenings so that we do not conflict with Dream Allstar Destiny practices). If there are a large number of families who cannot do Wednesdays and would prefer Thursday, I must hear from you in the next two weeks in order to secure that alternate day for practices. EMAIL Pam at jeyclan@verizon.net.
o Spring Sport newsletter out Feb. 15th / Online sign up open Feb. 15
o First Orientation Practice Feb. 23rd - 7:30 ( following Jr. BBall practice preparation for Exhibition Game Feb. 26th)
o Season begins Wednesday ,March 9
o Season practices to be held: 6:30-8:00 / Wednesday March 16-23-30 , April 6-13-20-27 ( NOTE* Easter is April 24th. MCPS Spring Break is likely to be April 16 through Tuesday April 26th), May 4-11-18-25, June 1-8 final prep practice for Summer Games.
o anticipating that we will not hold practices on April 20th, this will give us the 10 training sessions necessary to be eligible for competition.
o All Athlete medicals and Volunteer forms will have to be in and processed by
· Summer Games Competition scheduled at Towson State University for Friday, June 10, with Summer Games weekend June 10-11-12, 2011. * NOTE that this is a school day! Athletes and Coaches are required to check in for registration at about 12:00 and competition is likely to go until 4:30at which time the Cheerleaders and families are encourage to attend the Summer Games Block Party at 5:00 ( BBQ and Games!) and the HUGE Opening Ceremonies at 7:00. All athletes and volunteers should check their calendars and check with their teachers ( I can provide a "note" about your participation) to arrange to have this day off from school!
· It should be made clear that this is not a replacement for the Dream Allstar Destiny team. Athletes are encouraged to participate in the Destiny program or other Allstar program as a wonderful way to fitness and friendship, and to get great Cheer training.
This is the Special Olympics competition team. Our team organization and team goals will be formulated to:
1) Train for and compete in MD State Summer Games Cheer Competition
2) Train for and be available for "cheer performances" at selected Special Olympics sports events ( TOPSoccer Fall Festival, Junior Basketball Unified Sport Exhibition, SOMO Spring Games) or other Special Needs Organization-related requests. The events will be determined by the Team Leadership Staff and added to the Team Schedule. Participation i the performances by all team members is encouraged, but not mandatory.
NOTE* We will also be asking Dream Allstar Destiny to perform at these selected events in order to include the "cross-over" of cheer athletes who may be involved in either Destiny or SOMO Cheer, but not both.
· Uniforms
o Budget limitations are tight in SOMO and we would like to provide two "uniform sets" for the Cheerleaders to draw from. One set will be a SOMO t-shirt and navy shorts with navy/white pom pons.
o The more "official" Cheer Uniform will be more expensive ( minimum of 50.00 per athlete) and we will ask our Cheer Team to develop a fund-raiser that will help to defray some of the expenses associated with the team. TBD by the Team Leadership
o Team Logo - the Team logo will incorporate the Team name and the official SO LOGO
· Team Leadership - The Team Leadership structure of the Cheer Team will be very similar to other SOMO sports teams. We will have a parent Team Manager, and one or two head Parent Coaches
( Co-Parent Coaches or Team Leaders). These head coaches can be a parent or adult volunteer and do not necessarily have to have experience or cheerleading ability. The leadership of the team will be required to attend a volunteer orientation, complete volunteer forms, and attend a Coaching Certification Session. This session, which is required for all SOMO Coaches will be set up in our area in either Nov or Dec. and offered again in the Spring at the state level. I would prefer having all of our new leadership group together at a local session which we will set up with Anna- the State Cheer Director.
SOMO Cheer Team Leadership Structure:
Co-Team Leaders
Team Manager
Coaching Staff: ( Volunteer Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Unified Partners and Buddies)
· Coaching Staff - Volunteer Coaches and Assistant Coaches and Unified Partners:
o There are 4 volunteer categories for this sport program:
o Coach ( age 18 and older)
o Assistant Coach ( age 16 and older)
o Unified Partner ( age 12 and older)
o Buddy ( usually better fit for volunteers ages 12-16) / general volunteer/chaperone
We will actively seek volunteer coaches for our coaching staff who have experience in Cheerleading as our technical sport coaches and will require that all volunteers in either the Coach or Assistant Coach Capacity attend the Coach Certification Session ( date TBA- late Nov. or Dec.) so that they are completely aware of the needs of our team as it pertains to preparation for competition. The rules and guidelines for SO Cheer Competition are very different from "Allstar" Performance Cheer. There are divisions/categories for all levels of ability and our team leadership will determine how we will break out team down into squads for prep for competition and for performance.
o All volunteers who will work with our athletes or serve as chaperones ( parents, etc.) must complete a volunteer form and have a background check processed. I will have those applications and they will be available online at www.somdmontgomery.org
o All athletes participating in this SOMO Cheer team must have a current medical on file. these medicals are good for 3 years once processed. Medicals are also available online or by contacting me ( Area Director, Pam Yerg) at jeyclan@verizon.net
· SOMO contact Information:
o Pam Yerg, Area Director, SOMO : jeyclan@verizon.net / 301-424-3083 office
/ FAX: 1-888-662-6265
o SOMO: www.somdmontgomery.org / 1-888-924-6965 HOTLINE
o SOMD : www.somd.org
o Special Olympics International: www.specialolympics.org
o SOMD Cheer Leadership:
Anna Dziewanowski 443- 386-4181 / piggerboot1@verizon.net