How to Plan an Entire Cheer Season From Scratch

How to Plan a Cheer Season From Scratch (Without Losing Your Marbles)

Grab your coffee… or your emotional-support water jug — because today we’re diving into something every coach, aspiring coach, soon-to-be coach, or “accidentally volunteered to be a coach” coach needs: planning an entire cheer season from scratch.

Yep. It’s a big one. But don’t panic — your glitter-covered guide (that’s me) is here to break it down.

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Planning Backwards: The Cheer Coach Secret Weapon

Believe it or not, coaches don’t just show up, yell counts, and hope for the best. (Tempting some days… but no.)

We actually plan backwards.

That means before we even think about the first warm-up of the season, we’re already dreaming about where we want our team to be at the end of the year — and then we reverse-engineer the whole journey. Sprinkle in some sparkles, add some strategic breaks so everyone doesn’t combust mid-season, and voilà… a season plan is born.

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When to Start Planning (Hint: It’s Earlier Than You Think)

For my program here in Australia, our season begins in February, which is the start of our first school term.

But I start planning in… July of the year before.

I know. Wild.
But hear me out: July is when you’re already deep in the current season, collecting golden nuggets of feedback from parents, athletes, judges, and that one coach who always has “a thought.” You’re seeing what works, what doesn’t, and what needs a total makeover next year.

If you’re a brand-new coach or someone dreaming about coaching, start doing the same:
Take notes now. Real notes. Not “mental notes,” because those go missing faster than bobby pins at a comp.

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Tryouts, Team Placements & Who’s Who in Your New Season

If your season starts in February like mine, you’ll normally run tryouts in December or January.

This is where you figure things out like:

• Who are your athletes?
• What can they already do?
• What levels or age groups are realistic?
• Do you have mostly novice babies?
• Or are you in one of those magical unicorn regions where every kid is already a Level 5 flyer who can pull every body position known to mankind? (I envy you.)

If you’re coaching inside a program rather than owning one, your gym owner may hand you a team and say, “Congrats, here’s your Senior 4s. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favour.”

Honestly? That makes things much easier. You skip the guessing and get straight to planning.

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Goal Setting: The Part Where We Dream Big but Stay Sane

Once you know the team, you need goals. Real goals.

Is it a hit-zero-at-their-first-comp kind of season?
Or a place-top-three kind of season?
Or a “they’re brand new and we’re aiming for confidence, friendships, and routines that don’t look like spaghetti” kind of season?

All goals are valid.
Just know them before you plan anything.

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Grab a Giant Calendar — No, Really

I’m old-school about this.

I go straight to the local print shop and grab one of those huge wall calendars — the kind with squares big enough to fit a small essay. My staff get one too. We slap them up, grab textas, and map every single thing out:

• Tryouts
• Showcase
• Comps
• Team bonding days
• Fundraisers
• Local performances
• Choreo camps
• Breaks so no one has a meltdown

If you’re visual (like me), this becomes your cheer season bible.

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Term-by-Term Breakdown

Term 1: Build the Basics

• Stunt drills
• Foundations
• Tumble development
• Unity + group work
• Early sequences
• Start soft-choreo toward the end of the term

Term 1 is basically “Let’s teach these kids to work together without yeeting each other across the room.”

Term 2: Choreo & Routine Time

• Guest choreographers
• Extra training blocks
• Solidifying pyramid, elite, and tumbling sections
• Piecing the jigsaw puzzle into something that resembles a routine

Term 2 is where it gets REAL. Bring snacks. Lots of snacks!

Term 3: Clean, Improve, Survive

• Clean sections
• Apply judges’ feedback
• Keep everything consistent
• Build stamina
• Patch up mental blocks and confidence dips
• Comp season is firing up

Term 4: The Finish Line

• Final comps
• Local performances
• Community events
• Tryouts and open gyms for the next season
• Celebrate, cry a little, take a nap

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Don’t Forget Junior Coaches (They’re Secret Weapons)

If you’ve got junior coaches helping you, sit with them early on:

• What do they want to learn?
• What do YOU want them to help with?
• What are their strengths?
• Where do they shine?

Young coaches bring fresh ideas, creativity, and zero fear of telling you if something looks weird. Bless them.

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Final Thoughts

Planning a season isn’t complicated… it’s layered. Like a lasagne. A cheer lasagne.

But once you get the hang of planning backwards, pacing the year, and setting goals early, everything becomes smoother, easier, and way more fun.

And when in doubt? Coffee. Always coffee.

See you in the next cheer chapter.

Allison xx

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Allison xx