Cheer FAQs

Practices start the week of July 29th. Exact dates and times are determined by coaches once they are established.

Our younger teams practice 2-3 times a week in the summer, and then go down to 1-2 practices a week starting in September.

Our competitive teams practice 3-4 times a week during the summer, and then practice 3 days a week starting in September. Based on competition and Football schedules, the season usually lasts until at least the end of October, but can continue on as late as early December if the team advances.

Our outdoor practices for the month of August are usually held behind the softball fields at Milford High School. After Labor day, our teams move inside with practices in the Milford High School Wrestling room and Cheer room, as well as at the Milford Youth Center for our older teams.

We have athletes from Kindergarten through 8th grade. Your child does need to be 5-years-old by 7/31/2024 however.

Milford Youth Cheerleading divides teams by grade. We expect to have at least 5 teams again this year, though this is always subject to change based on registration numbers. The last few years we have had the following teams:

6U: Kindergarten & 1st grade (Exhibition team performing at 2 competitions)

8U: 2nd grade (non-nationally tracked team competing at 2-3 competitions)

10U: 3rd & 4th Grade (Nationally tracked team, competing at 3-6 competitions based on placement)

12U: 5th & 6th Grade (Nationally tracked team, competing at 3-6 competitions based on placement)

14U: 7th & 8th Grade (Nationally tracked team, competing at 3-6 competitions based on placement)

The uniform and bows worn for games and competitions are provided by the league. The uniform will be returned back to the league at the end of the season. Bows are for the cheerleader to keep. We do expect families to purchase Warm-ups (jacket and pants), as well as white game-day cheer shoes. Our nationally tracked teams (10U, 12U & 14U) are expected to buy black competition shoes as well.

Games are typically on Sundays; there may be an occasional Saturday or night game during the season as well for some teams. Milford Cheerleaders cheer at both Home and Away games.

Competitions are mandatory. Our routines are based around each specific girl, if for some reason your cheerleader cannot attend, please notify your Head Coach and Cheer Coordinator immediately.

All Teams compete at the following competitions:

CMass Fun Competition- The weekend of September 21st - Location TBD

Locals- Saturday, October 19th, Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA

For our Nationally tracked teams (3rd-8th grade), if the team places in the top 3 at locals, the team would advance to

States- November 2nd, Tsongas Center in Lowell, MA - Top 3 advance to

Regionals- November 16th, Tsongas Center in Lowell, MA - Top 3 advance to

Nationals in Kissimmee, FL - December 4th-7th

Lastly, we usually offer one additional "Fun comp" for our 8U-14U teams to attend. Date and location is still TBD.

Exact competition times are usually not available until the week prior to the competition.

Fundraising: Required to sell 10 raffle tickets ($10 each, included in registration Fees) by August 31st

Volunteering: Volunteer as needed throughout the season (Ex: Game Day Needs, Events, team mom)

Equipment: In-season care & cleaning, prompt return of equipment once the season is completed

Paperwork: Cheerleader packet, payment, birth certificate, report card and 2024 physical required by July 10th.

Attendance is crucial to the success of any team, in cheerleading unlike other sports we do not have substitutes to back fill and missing one athlete can mean that the whole team will be impacted and either unable to practice or unable to perform competitions. We have a very strict attendance policy including all cheerleaders being on time. 15 minutes late is considered tardy, and 3 tardies will equal an absence. Any cheerleader that has three or more absences can be moved to a Game Day Only Cheerleader and will not perform at competitions. Cheerleaders and parents will be required to sign a more detailed attendance policy after registration is completed.

Our Competitive teams are required to attend choreography in August as well. If your cheerleader cannot attend their days, they will not be placed into the routine.

10U: August 17th and 18th

12U: August 10th and 11th

14U: August 10th and 11th

The Hawks program will use a combination of email, the BAND app and Facebook to communicate with parents.

Coaches will communicate with your team to engage parents as needed to solicit for volunteers and share updates through the BAND app.

Please ensure your email address is correct in TeamLinkt.

Join the Milford Ma. Youth Football and Cheer Facebook Group and join your teams Facebook Group, if applicable.