Practices:

League Schedule Available Here

Practices will begin Tuesday, August 10th. All practices will be held at Olympian Meadows in GB at the minor league baseball field. Our focus will be on fundamentals, sideline cheers/chants, and learn a half time routine before the start of the season.

Attendance at all practices is expected. Cheerleading is a team sport and not an individualized activity. This means that when a cheerleader misses practice it impacts the entire team and practice plan. During practice we may learn new cheers and stunts and when children are absent it stops the progress of the full team. We understand that illnesses and other conflicts will come up, so please communicate with Coach Veronica if you will be absent or late so we can alter the practice/game plan accordingly.

Middle School Team Attendance Requirement: 

In order to continue advancing our skills, it is important to ensure all Seniors are at practices and games. Please review the Attendance Commitment Form. The season's schedule with required dates including Cheer Competitions can be found here. 

Practice Attire:

Cheerleaders should wear athletic clothes; shorts/leggings and a tank top/t-shirt to practice and cheer sneakers. They can bring a long sleeve or sweater for colder evenings. Hair should be pulled back into a ponytail or braids. Shorter hair styles should be half up so it is out of their face. They should have a water bottle and small snack for every practice or game. Optionally, they may bring bug spray and sunblock as needed.

Cheerleading Shopping List

Games:

Football Games are traditionally on Sundays beginning after Labor Day (First game of 2026 is August 30th). The season's schedule with required dates including Cheer Competitions can be found here. We will have a mix of home games and away games. The home games traditionally are held at Monument Mountain High School. We do travel to away games - which could include North Adams, Adams, Dalton, Pittsfield, Lee, or Lanesborough. Cheerleaders are expected to be at games 1 hour before the game start to allow for warm ups, half time practice, and welcome tunnel.

Uniforms:

The league will be providing cheer uniforms - skirt and shell, bodysuit, hair bows, and pom poms. All uniforms and pom poms will need to be returned to the league at the end of the season. The girls will be able to keep the hair bows.

Parents are asked to purchase the following items - (1) black bloomer shorts (for under cheer skirt. Not practice wear) and white CHEER sneakers as soon as possible. Cheer sneakers are necessary for safety as we will be advancing stunting this year.

If this is a hardship, please let us know. Please visit our Cheerleading Shopping List for recommended items. Please be sure that you are ordering “cheer sneakers” as they have the necessary finger/hand grips on the bottom of the shoes. Do not purchase from Dick's Sporting Goods as the cheer shoes are not accurate.

Exhibition (Elementary and Middle School Teams):

We will return to the Western Mass Cheer Exhibition in Springfield on October 17th, 2026! Anticipated $60 cost covers cheerleaders t-shirt, team performance photo package, and food money. Spectators will have an entrance cost. 

Two Competitions (Middle School Team):

We will return to New England's Dance & Cheer Competition in Boston, MA in November 7th, 2026! Anticipated $260 cost covers cheerleaders t-shirt, team performance photo package, food money, and one night hotel stay. Spectators will have an entrance cost.

Competition #2 is October 24,2026 at Holyoke Community College. Spectators are $8.

Parent Participation:

Our league is completely ran by volunteers and funded with sponsors and donations, therefore; there are times we call on our parents for help. One example is helping run the home concession stands. Cheerleaders will also have a minimum of 10 raffle tickets to sell and they may need your assistance. The league may also ask for water, chips, baked goods, crock pots, etc. donations for the concession stand.

Please let your coaches know if you have any questions or concerns!

Cheerleading@SouthernBerkshireYouthFootball.com