Orland Park Pioneers Cheer
2022 ICA State Champions- Varsity
2022 ICA State Champions- Junior Varsity
2022 ICA State Champions- Lightweight
On behalf of the Orland Park Pioneers, we welcome you to the 2023 Fall cheer season! Our organization is proud to be a member of the Illinois Cheerleading Association (ICA) and part of the River Valley Football League. The Orland Pioneers Cheer Program is committed to developing sportsmanship, self-esteem, teamwork, and discipline in our athletes. The season is spent learning the fundamentals of cheer, cheering for Pioneers football games, and working together as a team while building friendships. We also offer the option to participate in ICA cheer competitions. At the end of the season, we hope our athletes will have gained an appreciation for the sport of cheer and will want to continue cheerleading throughout high school and college.
Registration Information
Online cheer registration opens on January 1, 2023. Registration will close on June 1 , 2023. Please check the Pioneers webpage for online registration details (www.oppioneers.com). All cheerleaders MUST register online.
We plan to have 4 teams for the 2023 Fall cheer season:
- Super Lightweight Cheerleaders
- Lightweight Cheerleaders
- Junior Varsity Cheerleaders
- Varsity Cheerleaders
**Team breakdowns will be based on final registration numbers.
**All athletes will cheer for the grade level they are in for the 2023-24 school year. Due to the competitive season and ICA rules, we are not able to take any team requests.
Fees
Kindergarten through 8th Grade Fees:
Football Cheerleader Fees: $345 (resident) $420 (non-resident)
*Register BEFORE April 1st for a $50 discount off football season fees.
Competition Season Fees for 1st through 8th Grade: $200 (resident and non-resident)
The football season fee of $345.00 covers the rental of the cheer uniform, summer cheer clinic with professional coaches, cheerleading shoes, homecoming attire, practice t-shirt, game day cheer bow, and breast cancer awareness bow for October.
The competitive cheer season fee of $200.00 covers the cost of the athlete’s admission into 2 ICA competitions (NOT including State Competition fees), choreography by professional choreographers, indoor practice space, competition hair bow ,and competition music.
Uniform Fitting Information
Cheer uniform fittings will be held in June.
It is essential that ALL registered cheerleaders are fit for their uniforms during these fittings. This will ensure that we have all uniform pieces needed to begin the season.
On the uniform fitting day, the cheerleader will be fit for the following items:
-Football season uniform vest
-Football season uniform skirt
-Cheer shoes
-Camp & Homecoming T-shirts
-Competition season uniform (Additional cost of approximately $165)**
-Warm-Up Jacket & Pants (If needed, additional cost of approximately $85)*
*All cheerleaders are required to have warm-up pants and jacket which are not included in the registration cost. If you purchased new warm-ups for the Fall 2022 season, they will be the same for Fall 2023.
**All athletes registering for the competition season will need to purchase a competition uniform. These will be the same uniform from the 2022 competition season. The uniforms are an additional fee and need to be purchased by the athlete. This uniform is only worn for competitions. Athletes will be fit for the competition uniform at the June fittings and the uniform needs to be paid in full at that time. The cost of the competitionuniform if needed to purchase will be approximately $165.
A $250 football season uniform deposit fee will also be required for each registered cheerleader at the time of uniform fittings. Checks should be made payable to Orland Park Pioneers and post-dated December 1, 2023. These checks will not be cashed; they will be held until uniform return. When the uniform has been inspected and turned in on-time, the $250 check will be returned to you. If uniform pieces are missing and/or uniform is turned in damaged, the deposit check will be cashed.
Practices
Cheer practices will begin at the end of July. The projected start date for Fall 2023 is Monday, July 24th. Practices will tentatively be held at Centennial Park until we go indoors. The typical practice schedule is as follows:
Kindergarten– 2nd grade cheerleaders will practice Tuesday-Thursday from 6:00-8:00 pm. 3rd- 8th Grade cheerleaders practice from 6:00 pm -8:00 pm Monday – Thursday until the start of the school year. When school begins in August, the practice schedule will go down to 2 days per week for kindergarten-2nd grade, and 3 days per week for 3rd-8th grade.
When we go indoors (after homecoming which is typically mid-September), competition practice times will be adjusted to 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm or 7:00-9:00 pm (for competition cheerleaders only). Football only cheerleaders will no longer attend practice during the week but will need to attend practice before each game.
Practice attire is athletic shorts/sweats (no jeans or jean shorts) and t-shirts, gym/cheer shoes (no sandals/flip flops, or bare feet), no bare midriff tops/crop tops, and no jewelry or long nails are allowed. Hair must be pulled back into a ponytail or braid.
Games
For the 2023 football season, all cheerleaders will follow the football schedule and cheer for their appropriate team level. Cheerleaders will cheer at all home and away games, as well as any play-off games, and are expected to cheer even during inclement weather. Games can be played on Saturday or Sunday. A schedule will be distributed at the start of the season. All cheerleaders are required to participate for the entire football season and cheer for playoff games (depending upon your team’s schedule).
ICA Competitions
Cheerleaders in grades 1 -8 are highly encouraged to participate in the ICA competition season. Currently, we do not offer a competition option for our kindergarten cheerleaders. During competition season, cheerleaders participate in two local ICA competitions held in the months of October and November. Teams may also earn the opportunity to advance to the State Championship, which will be held the first weekend of December at NIU in DeKalb, IL . There is an additional fee of $165 per athlete for the State Competition if the team advances. You must be available for all competition dates to compete. Competition practices start in mid-September and continue through States and are mandatory . There is also a mandatory choreographycamp held in early August. We understand that emergencies happen, and coaches are willing to work with you individually; however, to have a successful competition season, attendance is absolutely required at practices. and we maintain a strict attendance policy. Competition guidelines will be strictly enforced, and the Orland Park Pioneers follow all ICA rules during our competition season.
Attendance Policy
It is expected for athletes to attend all practices and games through the entire football season. Cheerleaders are required to stay for the entire game. Dismissal after half time is not allowed. Missing practices or games is always a concern. If even one girl is missing, we cannot practice stunts or formations properly since every girl plays an important role in the routine. Vacations or out of town travel should not be planned during the cheer season. As a courtesy to the coaches and fairness to the team, it is expected that parents communicate any situations that may require the athlete to miss practices or games to the head coach well ahead of time. Athletes who miss practices or games related to vacations or other activities can have their spot in a routine adjusted. Medical excuses are the only excused absences considered. Please be aware that if a cheerleader has 3 or more absences from games and/or practices, they can be dismissed from the squad without a refund. We certainly recognize that there are extenuating circumstances that may lead to a cheerleader missing practices but please discuss these with your head coach should they arise.
Mandatory Cheer Clinic
During the first 2 weeks of August, all cheer squads will attend a cheer clinic instructed by professional coaches. This clinic will be split over 2 days. Competition cheerleaders are required to attend both days. Football season cheerleaders will attend one day only. The days and times of the clinic will be assigned at a future date. During the cheer clinic, cheerleaders will learn stunts, tumbling, jumps, and leave with a portion of their competition routine completed. It is a mandatory clinic that benefits all cheerleaders for the Fall season.
Volunteer Hours
Every Pioneer family is required to volunteer a total of 4 hours during the season. A family volunteer fee of $200.00 is required at the time of uniform fittings. Checks can be made payable to Orland Park Pioneers in the amount of $200.00 and postdated to December 1, 2023. If all volunteer hours are completed, then the check in the amount of $200.00 will be returned at the end of the season. There will be no partial refunds. If the volunteer hours are not completed during the season, the volunteer check for $200.00 will be cashed when the season ends. There will be plenty of opportunities offered to complete these hours during the season.
Mandatory Fundraiser
All Orland Park Pioneer participants are required to participate in the organization’s annual fundraiser. The fundraiser takes place at the beginning of the season. For the 2023 season, athletes will be selling Double Good Popcorn. Each athlete is required to sell $250 or more of popcorn. If you choose to not participate in selling fundraiser items, there will be a buy-out option for a set fee determined by the Board. More information will be given out by the head coaches at the beginning of the season.
Stunt Groups
All routines and stunt groups are chosen at the discretion of the coaching staff with the strengths and safety of each cheerleader being a priority. Every member of the squad is an integral part of the team. The coach’s responsibility is to do what is best for the team. No cheer position is more important than another nor is any position guaranteed for the entire season.
Parent Meeting
Before the season begins, the cheer athletic directors will host a mandatory in-person parent meeting. At this meeting, we will review the expectations for the cheerleaders and parents, we will explain important ICA rules, we will discuss volunteer hours, and other important information. The date and time are TBD. Please make yourself available for this meeting when the date is released.
If you are interested in volunteering for our coaching staff for Fall 2023, please reach out to the cheer athletic directors at
. Prior cheer or coaching experience is not required but is extremely helpful. All coaches must complete a background check and will be placed on a first come basis until open positions are filled.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us at
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We are looking forward to a great 2023 cheer season!
Orland Park Pioneers Cheer Athletic Directors
Betsy Sejud
Jill Lenzen
