This Month's Organizational Tip

Create a Workspace for Handling Mail First point of enforcing order: Manage what you fear. Start by setting the stage. Designate something as an in-box. It can be a basket, a storage box, a drawer — anything big enough to hold a week’s worth of mail and no more. Find a place for it that’s convenient and not so out of the way that it’s out of sight and mind. Post a large trash can or recycling bin near the in-box to hold all the junk mail that you’ll be purging. Helpful hint: Pitch junk mail the second you reach your in-box each day. Your ruthlessness will be rewarded with a significantly smaller pile of mail to contend with when you sit down to sift through it. Decide on a regular time to sort through your in-box. Distribute its contents to the organizational systems you’re about to create…. You might allot a few minutes each day or an hour once a week to handle your mail, whatever works for you. What’s important is that you make it a habit.

All-Star vs. Elite vs. Competition Cheerleader

As recent as 7 or so years ago you could see cheerleaders classified as Elite and All-Star, which included our Novice and PeeWee Divisions. Yes, there are differences between the Elite teams and the AllStar teams. Today, with the popularity and explosion of the sporting activity of cheering, a new label or term has been added "Competition Cheerleader" or "Competition Teams". The 2 categories most often used in Ohio Cheerleading today are... Elite vs AllStar vs Competition

Strategic business development for

New start up cheer facilities Diversity in services-expansion for dance or gymnastics facilities Growth and health of your existing cheer business The Megaphone newsletter will give you tips, hints, advice, trends and articles for Managing your AllStar business Building your AllStar business The Ohio Association of Cheerleading coaches recognizes that coaches cannot merely react to issues as they emerge. To continue as a leader, improving the profession, you must anticipate future change.

Get Ready to Compete

Competition preparedness PreCompetition jitters. Almost every competitive athlete experiences them. It could be a restless night before or as extreme as throwing up right up until the time you hit the floor. If really bad, anxiety can destroy performance. Some anxiety is healthy – it’s how you manage their jitters that is the critical factor. Before the event:  Prepare both mentally and physically. Preparing for the unexpected Pump it up! Pre-Competition Rituals     Competition Preparedness & PreCompetition jitters

Competition Divisions

As you've scheduled your teams to compete, you've noticed more of a consistency in the rules and regulations. Each Event Coordinator/Competition Host may set their own requirements for safety, divisions and routine elements.  This is ok and regional factors may come in to play.  As you progress into State Championships and Open Classics hosted by the National Event Coordinators, you will see much more consistency thanks to the NACCC and the USASF. Two of the All-Star Cheerleading National Organizations have teamed up reaching an agreement that will help to unify the all-star cheerleading community.   The NACC will become a part of the USASF as the Official Coaches Rules Committee. NACCC   National All-star Cheerleading Coaches Congress         NACCC This national leading platform was created for a unified voice of the coaches, by the coaches, for the coaches.  The NACC is working to become a national, central authority for the sport of all-star cheerleading.   They work within the membership to streamline rules, to provide a safety certification process, and to serve as a liaison between the all-star coaching community and cheerleading companies.  Because of the rapid growth of our sport, we need unity and consistency rather than constant change and fragmentation. USASF   The United States All-Star Federation             USASF They are helping to set standardization.  Standards in Safety, Standards in Coaches Education, and promoting safe environments for all cheerleading and dance across the country. The U.S. All Star Federation is officially organized as a not for profit corporation governed by a Board of Directors. The Board consists of industry leaders from major competition companies and nationally recognized all star program owners. The organization is also comprised of a number of committees, such as Rules; Selection; Membership; and Safety, Education and Ethics, that advise the Board on pertinent issues.

Keeping your program stable and healthy
	Growing the Economic Health of Your Program Economic Health of Your Program

New Start Manual

A NEW START MANUAL This comprehensive manual contains important business growth strategies to establish or improve the components of a successful cheer program. Marketing Strategies, Organization Strategies, Service Strategies, Product Strategies, People Strategies and Financial Strategies. The manual is filled with Forms,Templates and Ideas ready for you to use. This manual is for anyone serious about creating a profitable business around their passion for coaching. To succeed you not only need to be a good coach but you also need to understand how to run a good business. This guide helps you to achieve both! Cheerleading has experienced phenomenal growth in membership and influence. The past ten years has been particularly significant. Changes in the field have been dramatic. Draw on your resources if you want to continue to grow. The OACC has the gift of a great deal of diversity amongst membership. The Association draws its strength from this diversity. Whether starting a new team or starting a new season, this manual will help you identify your goals and pursue them.

Start Your own Gym

NEW GYM Take your dream and make it reality. But where do you start? You are developing your own great business idea. You may be starting from scratch or maybe looking at a merger with another facility. Franchise opportunities are available and acquisitions or buying an existing cheer, gymnastics, dance, or fitness facility is an option. Each carries their own start up set of logistics, the OACC is here to help you make your best decisions in all aspects of business startup. Grab the Opportunity Start your own Gym

Your Gym, Your Teams & You
	Existing Gym  Mid-Season Mid Season

New Business failure
	Not all cheer businesses stay so cheerful. Poor management practices, too little structure, inadequate financing and/or, ineffective marketing techniques are the leading causes of business failures. New Business Failure

What does Growth Mean to You

The Number of Participants, Prestige-Clout, Fame or does Growth mean Money? COMPANY GROWTH As on organization grows in complexity, so does its organizational chart. Remember when you first started? You didn’t need an organizational chart. Now that you are growing that organizational chart is important. Truly put it in writing. What was once a few trees becomes a forest that can block your effectiveness (can’t see the forest for the trees). Don’t let the forest block your view from your clients (cheerleaders and parents) or from your coaches, staff, leaders and personnel. You need to solve and resolve issues on all fronts by knowing what’s going on and communicating freely. Unfortunately, when owners need to look at finances and capital, focus on reducing costs can bring out the axe and start chopping down your trees. Instead, try to streamline your people to become more efficient. Prepare them for the growth, communicate to them what to expect during your growth process. Increase your efficiency, productivity and your communications – verbal, written and listening. Connect to their needs and desires. Bring your dreams to the team level. Translate your visions into results. Great team leaders spend time clarifying goals, cultivating their own leadership skills and identifying new ways to achieve great results. Don’t get confused or bogged down by micromanaging, an effective leader will check in to make sure the organization's goals and strategies remain clear. At the same time, they help build capability of individual team members versus taking on the work of the team themselves. It’s o.k. to let go. By delegating your duties, your leadership people will feel responsible for their work and your success. Simply opening productive and constructive communication to a greater degree will help leaders increase their effectiveness and their teams function most effectively. Leaders often feel unnecessary pressure to tell everyone on the team what to do. Focus on influencing versus doing. Quality control: of your set policies, procedures and outcomes. You didn’t win that 1st place trophy? Evaluate. Think of your quality control as the same or similar duty in a scholastic setting. You would expect to turn in your evaluations to the Athletic Director or Principal, why is it different. Set yourself intervals for evaluation (end of each month, end of calendar year, end of cheer season). Always, always evaluate yourselves before and after a competition or show. Everyone in your organization should have an evaluation form geared at their position. Cheerleaders should evaluate the program, your staff should evaluate your program, you should evaluate yourself, and yes even the parents can submit evaluations. You may hear complaints – that’s ok – use them to your advantage. Don’t take them personally. Use the concerns of others to make your program better.

Choreography Your choreography could make or break you. Choreography

Who choreographs?
	Who does the choreography?

Choreography - Do we need to copyright our work?
	DO YOU NEED TO COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK?

Routine Components
	Log In

Music
	Log In

More Information
	Education Parent training Coaches training Cheerleader training

What is USASF?

What's the USASF? USASF is the U.S. All Star Federation. It's about safety standards. It's about coaches' education. It's about providing a safe environment to allow for the continued growth of all star cheerleading and dance across the country. It's about parents knowing their children are being taught using safe methods that are in accordance with the standard of care. It's about standardization of rules from one competition to the next. It's about time. The U.S. All Star Federation is officially organized as a not for profit corporation governed by a Board of Directors. The Board consists of industry leaders from major competition companies and nationally recognized all star program owners. The organization is also comprised of a number of committees, such as Rules; Selection; Membership; and Safety, Education and Ethics, that advise the Board on pertinent issues.

USASF Conference & Trade Show
	WORLDS ALL STAR COACHES' CONFERENCE    & INDUSTRY TRADE SHOW         April 23-24, 2007  Orlando   To register for "Coaches Credentialing" at the 2007 Coaches Conference                                   Contact:    Gena Evans 407-547-5119