Head Cheerleading Coach - Middle School

REPORTS TO: Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach and Senior Athletic Director or designee
HOURS: Dependent upon practice, competition, and event schedule as designed by Athletic Director
ASSIGNMENT: SY 26-27
STIPEND: 4,200
EXEMPT STATUS: Non Exempt
CAMPUS: Middle School

Summary

The Head Middle School Cheerleading Coach leads a safe, organized, development-first program that builds school spirit and prepares scholar-athletes for successful progression into the Foundation Academies varsity cheerleading program. In close partnership with the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach, the coach teaches shared terminology, foundational cheer skills, healthy training habits, performance confidence, character, and team standards while protecting age-appropriate development. Success is measured by safety, individual growth, readiness, participation, culture, communication, compliance, and high-school alignment - not performance difficulty or competitive results alone.

Requirements

In order to be considered for the Head Middle School Cheerleading Coach position at Foundation Academies, candidates must:

• Embrace Foundation Academies' college- and career-readiness mission and core values.
• Lead with patience, joy, inclusion, accountability, sportsmanship, body-positive coaching, and a safety-first developmental mindset.
• Teach cheerleading through approved progressions, qualified spotting, purposeful repetition, clear feedback, and age-appropriate expectations.
• Collaborate closely with the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach and communicate professionally with scholar-athletes, staff, families, event personnel, and the community.

Certification

• Appointment and approval by the local educational agency and a valid New Jersey teaching certificate or instructional substitute credential; the substitute credential currently requires at least 30 semester-hour college credits.
• Current adult CPR/AED and Basic First Aid certification through an approved provider, including an in-person skills component when required.
• NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching completed before first employment as a coach, unless an applicable exemption applies.
• Annual NFHS Concussion in Sports and Heat Illness Prevention training.
• One-time NFHS Implicit Bias and NJSIAA BeNice training, plus all school-required safety, medication-response, mandated-reporting, and emergency training.
• Complete school-approved cheer-specific safety and risk-management training, including performer readiness and proper tumbling, stunt, and pyramid progressions, before independently supervising those skills.
• Completion of criminal-history and employment-authorization requirements and the ability to maintain credentials throughout the assignment.

Responsibilities

Pipeline Building & Varsity Alignment

• Meet with the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach before the season to confirm shared philosophy, terminology, safety standards, skill priorities, behavioral expectations, and the middle-to-high-school transition plan.
• Teach approved varsity program foundations in age-appropriate ways, including motions, jumps, voice, dance, conditioning, performance habits, teamwork, and introductory stunt or tumbling progressions.
• Provide regular progress updates, participate in a midseason alignment review, and complete a postseason transition summary for athletes moving toward the high school program.
• Coordinate assistants and volunteers around the development plan, encourage multisport participation, and share transparent program-access information through approved school channels.

Practice Design, Skills & Performance

• Plan development-first practices that build motions, jumps, voice, rhythm, dance, flexibility, strength, balance, spatial awareness, basic tumbling readiness, safe stunt foundations, and performance confidence.
• Teach only skills appropriate to athlete readiness, staff qualifications, available spotters, approved surfaces and mats, and current governing safety rules.
• Use progressive drills, skill stations, equitable repetitions, video, and multiple performance roles so athletes develop without being labeled too early.
• Prepare organized, school-appropriate material for assigned games, pep rallies, showcases, ceremonies, and other approved appearances.

Team Selection & Athlete Development

• Conduct safe, equitable tryouts using transparent criteria aligned with the varsity program and considering readiness, coachability, effort, growth potential, teamwork, and commitment.
• Provide meaningful developmental opportunities across the roster. Team selection and featured performance roles are not guaranteed and reflect readiness, safety, attendance, and team needs.
• Set one clear development focus for each scholar-athlete, provide simple midseason feedback, and document a practical next step at season closeout.
• Develop age-appropriate leadership, sportsmanship, self-advocacy, resilience, communication, and care for teammates.

Academic, Behavioral & Family Expectations

• Reinforce eligibility, attendance, punctuality, preparation, respectful behavior, appropriate social-media conduct, and healthy team habits.
• Review school-issued eligibility information at scheduled intervals and complete any assigned athlete check-in or support referral within three school days; no independent tutoring or team GPA target is required.
• Hold a preseason scholar-athlete and family meeting covering expectations, schedule, safety, eligibility, tryouts, performance roles, transportation, uniforms, and conflict resolution.
• Use approved communication channels, maintain professional boundaries, communicate urgent changes promptly, and address concerns consistently with school and athletics leadership.

Compliance, Safety & Skill Progression

• Ensure no scholar-athlete participates until the Athletics Department confirms registration, eligibility, medical clearance, and all required documentation.
• Review the emergency action plan, AED access, emergency communication process, venue layout, and evacuation procedures before practices, games, and off-site events.
• Inspect floors, mats, sidelines, spacing, footwear, uniforms, props, music equipment, and practice areas before use; remove unsafe equipment and report concerns immediately.
• Require approved progressions, trained spotters, appropriate matting and surfaces, and documented readiness before tumbling, stunts, pyramids, baskets, or other elevated skills.
• Provide active supervision from the assigned reporting time until all scholar-athletes are released through approved procedures; never leave students unsupervised.
• Follow injury-response, concussion, sudden cardiac arrest, heat illness, transportation, and return-to-play procedures; medical decisions remain with qualified medical personnel.
• Immediately notify athletics leadership of serious injuries, threats, misconduct, hazing, discrimination, boundary violations, and other reportable incidents.

Game Day, Equipment & Records Management

• Coordinate approved event assignments, call times, warmups, sideline locations, music, scripts, breaks, halftime material, travel, supervision, and safe dismissal procedures.
• Maintain accurate attendance, roster, emergency-contact, skill-progression, evaluation, award, uniform, equipment, music, and season-closeout records by deadline.
• Manage uniforms, bows, pom-poms, signs, mats, speakers, props, keys, and technology; report loss or damage promptly and target at least 95% return of issued items.
• Enter exhibitions or competitions only when separately approved by athletics leadership and after safety, staffing, roster, budget, and governing requirements are verified.

Qualifications

• Previous cheerleading coaching, sideline cheer, competitive cheer, dance, gymnastics, teaching, or advanced youth-development experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of cheer safety rules, age-appropriate skill progressions, spotting, tumbling and stunt readiness, conditioning, choreography, and risk management.
• Ability to lead a middle school team while faithfully implementing a shared grade 6-12 cheerleading philosophy and accepting feedback from the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach and athletics leadership.
• Strong organization, communication, music and routine planning, digital-platform, record-keeping, and relationship-building skills in diverse school communities.

Goals & Performance Metrics

Evaluation uses coach-controlled evidence and reasonable program context. Development, readiness, safety, culture, and varsity alignment carry greater weight than performance difficulty or competitive results.

Development & Alignment Measures

• Varsity alignment: Complete a preseason shared plan, midseason check-in, and postseason transition meeting with the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach.
• Training quality: Maintain a written objective for every practice and use approved progressions, spotters, surfaces, conditioning, and recovery practices appropriate to the planned skills.
• Individual growth: Establish one development focus for every athlete by the end of week three, provide one midseason feedback touchpoint, and record one next step at closeout.
• Participation and readiness: Track every team activity, target at least 85% season completion excluding circumstances outside the coach's control, and provide meaningful developmental opportunities across the roster.
• Academic support: Review every issued eligibility report and complete each assigned flagged-athlete check-in or referral within three school days; no GPA or tutoring quota applies.
• Safety and supervision: Review the emergency action plan and AED access before the first practice, verify clearance, maintain documented skill progressions, inspect activity areas before every use, and report serious incidents immediately.
• Game-day experience: Deliver prepared, school-appropriate material for assigned events and complete one documented event-experience review each season with the varsity coach or athletics leadership.
• Operations and records: Submit attendance, skill, uniform, equipment, performance, evaluation, and closeout records by deadline and correct confirmed discrepancies within one business day.
• Cheer pathway progress: Set one Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach-approved development goal and review it at midseason and closeout using evidence such as motion precision, jump technique, voice, synchronization, performance confidence, conditioning, safe spotting, or foundational skill readiness.

Evaluation & Renewal

Performance will be reviewed by the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach and Senior Athletic Director or designee using direct observation, program records, stakeholder feedback, compliance evidence, development progress, and the metrics above. Stipend renewal is based on program need, performance, conduct, alignment, safety, compliance, and continued approval.

Work Environment & Physical Expectations

The assignment requires indoor and outdoor athletic-event work, extended standing and supervision, cheer demonstrations, travel, loud environments, changing temperatures, and reasonable handling of mats, uniforms, props, and sound equipment. Reasonable accommodations will be considered in accordance with applicable law.

Perform Other Responsibilities

Perform other related duties assigned by the Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach, athletics leadership, or school leadership. This description identifies the role's principal functions and is not exhaustive; duties may be adjusted for program needs, current law, school policy, and governing-body or event requirements.