Welcome to Chatham Cheerleading!
Chatham Youth Cheerleading is open to all Chatham residents in grades 4 through 8 during school year 2025-2026. This is an instructional program where basic to intermediate cheerleading skills are taught and practiced in a supervised setting under the guidance of Parent Manager Volunteers and Teen Coaches. Our program provides spirit for Chatham youth tackle football teams – home and away, rain or shine.
“A good cheerleader is not measured by the height of her jumps but the span of her spirit.”
The goals of the Chatham Youth Cheerleading program are to develop confidence, leadership, good sportsmanship, and to represent Chatham in a positive manner. Our program encourages each cheerleader to have fun, do their best, and work together as a team.
Guiding Principles for All Cheerleaders
- Safety first!
- Positive attitude
- Support your teammates
- Respect for each other, CHS coaches, and parent managers
- Focus, commitment, and effort
- Have fun!!!!!!
Diamond Club - Updated for the 2025 Season
The Diamond Club is a special program designed to recognize dedication to Chatham Youth Cheerleading. It is open to all participants who consistently attend and fully engage in all regularly scheduled games and practices. To qualify, cheerleaders must arrive on time and stay for the entire duration of each event. One excused practice absence per season will be permitted.
Cheerleaders who qualify will earn a place in the Diamond Club. At the end of the season, members will receive a Diamond Club pin to wear on their uniform for the following season, as well as a custom Diamond Club Chatham cheer hoodie.
Parent Manager Volunteers
Coaching will be provided by Chatham High School Varsity Cheerleaders and supervised by certified parent managers. All concerns, questions, and issues should be addressed directly with parent managers. Parents should not communicate directly with CHS cheerleader coaches.
We are in need of more parent manager volunteers for the 2025-2026 season for all grade levels.
The success of the program relies greatly on having enough parent volunteers. Each practice and game must have at least two parent managers. If we do not have enough volunteers, the teams will consolidated to cheer for multiple grades. We strongly encourage parents to volunteer so we have enough coverage for practices and games. At least four certified parent managers are required for each squad. Certification consists of a background check and participation in a Safety and Certification Training Course.
Parent Manager Expectations and Time Commitment (no cheer experience necessary)
- Complete a Safety and Certification Course
- One weekly practice (90 minutes in duration)
- One weekly football game (typically Sunday), plus 1-hour pregame practice
Parent managers will rotate coverage throughout the season so ensure that two parents are present for each practice and game. Having more volunteers will lessen the time commitment.
Please email chathamreccheer@gmail.com with any questions or if you are interested in volunteering as a Parent Manager.
Dress Code
Uniforms - A link for uniform purchases will be sent shortly.
Uniforms are to be purchased from Alfred's Sport Shop in Madison, New Jersey.
The required uniform and pom-poms, along with other uniform items, will be displayed on the uniform link. You may order online. Samples are available at the store for fitting or you may use the provided size charts on the website to determine size. Also, we highly recommend the purchase of the jacket as the cheerleaders wear them throughout the season.
Footwear should be an all white, lightweight, stable athletic sneaker (canvas sneakers are not permitted).
Dress Code
All cheerleaders must come to practice dressed appropriately. Clothing must fit correctly, not too big or small. All cheerleaders must come to practice in sneakers with long hair pulled up and back away from face. NO EXCEPTIONS! Proper supportive cheer sneakers and dress code is an important factor in ensuring the safety of the cheerleaders.
The following items are not permitted:
- Jewelry
- Jeans or jean shorts
- Long artificial nails
- Any non-athletic sneaker footwear (slides, slips on sneakers, flip flops, etc).
Appearance at Games
- No jewelry
- Long hair up with Navy bow (Pink bow for October) - Bows will be provided.
- All pieces of standard uniform, white no show socks, white sneakers (navy leggings if needed)
- Chatham cheer jacket is optional; but if other jackets are worn at games, must be navy in color
Practices & Games
A Season Kick Off Clinic will be held at the end of August. Details with dates will be provided soon.
Practice Schedule Update – 2025 Season: The official practice schedule will be released in mid-August. Due to factors such as high school coach availability, limited appropriate gym space within the district, and overall scheduling logistics, we cannot guarantee specific practice days and times until August.
For the 2025 season, we have collected practice time requests from the current squads and will make every effort to accommodate them. However, final confirmation depends on High School coach assignments and the finalized gym schedule.
Below are the current (but not yet final) practice day/time requests:
- 4th Grade: Wednesday
- 5th Grade: Wednesday
- 6th Grade: Tuesday, 5:30 PM–7:00 PM
- 7th Grade: Tuesday, 7:00 PM–8:30 PM
- 8th Grade: Thursday, 7:00 PM–8:30 PM
We appreciate your patience and will provide updates as soon as scheduling is finalized.
PLEASE NOTE: If a cheerleader does not attend the weekly practices or has poor attendance, they will not be permitted to stunt for safety reasons.
Game Schedule
Cheerleaders are expected to support all football games throughout the season—home and away, rain or shine. Games are typically played on Sundays, with home games hosted at Cougar Field.
Additionally, the Playoffs typically take place in early to mid-November.
Contact Information
Youth Cheerleading Program Coordinators:
Melanie Forehan-Kelly, Tamara Aue, and Heather Murray
chathamreccheer@gmail.com