Starting a Special Needs Team

Questions to consider before you start a special needs team 

by Natalie Keller Reinert

 

The U.S., Canada and Great Britain together now boast more than 300 special needs cheer teams, giving children and adults with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to shine on the mat. Hailed by parents and researchers alike as a transformative experience for kids who might feel socially cut-off from the rest of the world, cheerleading can bestow confidence, pride and friendship upon its participants.

Starting a special needs team at your gym, however, is not an overnight decision. There are many things that should be considered before you throw open your doors and announce your new team’s tryouts. Do you have the time to promote a special needs team? Do you know where to outreach to find athletes? How will you arrange fees and coaching? Is your insurance adequate?

CBN spoke with the vice chairman emeritus of the USASF special needs committee, Bill Presson, who was involved in the creation of the first special needs team, the Kentucky Elite Showcats and then went onto coach the Bows and Arrows at ACE Allstars of Alabama, to find out what questions gym owners should ask themselves before starting a special needs team.

 

How do I get started?

Special needs teams don’t just spring up overnight. In reality, it can take years for a team to catch on in the community. The amount of work that goes into fielding a full squad can come as a surprise to most gym owners.

“When people announce their special needs program, they’re typically enthusiastic and expect to be overrun, but that’s not the way it happens,” explains Presson. “You may get a turn-out of four or five people in the beginning.”

It takes active promotion and marketing to recruit potential athletes to your new program. Flyers, ads in community newspapers and press releases to your home state’s Special Olympics are effective ways to get the word out about your new team. But your greatest resource might be in your own gym. “If you have a large gym, odds are your athletes in your gym already have siblings with special needs, and typically they’re a part of support groups,” says Presson. Getting your athletes enthusiastic about a special needs team can spread the word more effectively than any other advertising.

Planning to be competitive? Special needs teams are becoming a regular part of the competition scene, and they’re always in demand for exhibition performances. Some state’s Special Olympic organizations also offer cheerleading as one of their events.

Who are special needs athletes?

Taking its cue from the Special Olympics guidelines, the USASF defines special needs as athletes with an intellectual disability, “characterized by an impairment of skills and overall intelligence…or a cognitive delay.” Participants in a special needs team often represent a wide spectrum of developmental disabilities.

“These teams are primarily intended for people that are physically capable,” Presson explains. “A gym should require a physical exam and a note from a doctor advising their limitations. You need to know what the participant can and cannot do. Someone may have a heart issue, or have had surgery that creates an issue around a certain part of the body.”

Occasionally, Presson says, parents or guardians may not wish to disclose medical information. However, this is a necessity for the safety and health of the participant, and should be a requirement of any program. It’s important for parents to be willing to work closely with a team’s coach, as ultimately they are the source of knowledge for how to handle the athlete’s special needs, whether mental (such as a child who shuts down when frustrated) or physical (such as a child who’s unable to sustain pressure or blows to a certain body part due to a past surgery). Parents who are reluctant to comply with medical requirements for the special needs program, while rare, may not be prepared for the commitment required for their child to be a member of the squad.

Presson recommends talking one-on-one with the parent or guardian of each potential athlete to determine their specific health concerns. “Some gyms have comprehensive checklists on behavior or physical needs to give to parents,” he notes. While this list isn’t necessary, it is an effective way of covering all possible risks. A sample parent questionnaire would run the gamut, from the spinal stability of a person with down syndrome to the preferred communication method of non-verbal participants.

 

How much should I charge?

Every program is different, and this includes their financial situations. While some programs can be offered for free, others may have a monthly charge or a regular season-long fee. It’s important to be honest about how much money running a team will actually cost the gym, and organize your fee schedule accordingly.

“Some gyms want to pay for everything,” Presson says. “Others, like ACE, do charge a monthly fee, to help cover the hard dollar costs of using the floor, etc.” ACE’s $25 a month fee helps with the administrative costs of providing space, scheduling and other incidentals to the team, and, Presson notes, it adds a sense of responsibility to get to practice. “People tend to appreciate something more if they’re paying for it. Sometimes when it’s free, people just don’t get to practice, and shrug it off,” he says.

Presson offers this reminder: Although many families with special needs members have higher than average medical costs, gym owners shouldn’t assume every participant needs charity. Financial aid can be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and arranging fundraisers to help out families who can’t afford the gym fees can be a great team-building event for the entire organization.

 

What sort of coaching staff will I need?

Typically, volunteers coach special needs teams. “The coach needs to know cheerleading,” Presson stresses. “And you need someone who knows special education as well, but they don’t necessarily have to be the same person.”

A volunteer, possibly a parent of one of the athletes, who has experience working in a special needs environment, should be on hand to assist the coaches. While they might not know anything about cheerleading, they’re there to assist in case any behavioral problems arise.

There’s no magic number for how many volunteers are necessary to run a practice. It all depends on the age and requirements of the team members. Presson recalls that when he and Mary Fehrenbach were coaching the Kentucky Elite Showcats, “There were times when someone couldn’t make it, and just one of us coached the team.” They managed with just one coach because most of the team members were adults, over the age of 21. “However, if all your athletes are nine or ten years old, you’re going to need more help,” says Presson.

Presson suggests recruiting older athletes from your other teams to assist, as well.

Students can be assigned as spotters to individual participants to make sure everyone’s safe and given proper attention.

 

What are the legal requirements?

When it comes to certifications, Presson feels that coaches should be USASF accredited when working with any team. While there is no USASF special needs certification yet, if teams choose to compete with their state Special Olympics (though only a few states offer cheerleading), coaches will need to attend Special Olympics orientations.

It’s important to check your insurance policy before you start any special needs programs. There are some policies that specifically exclude special needs athletes from gym coverage. Operating a special needs team under one of these policies could put your entire business at risk. But there are alternatives: The USASF insurance policy, amongst other private plans, does cover special needs programs.

Putting together a special needs program requires just as much analysis and planning as any other business venture, but the rewards for the entire program can more than make up for the hard work. “I can tell you from personal experience with teams at two very different gyms: The results are uniformly positive and all-star cheerleading makes a tremendous difference in the athletes’ lives,” Presson says. “It builds teamwork, confidence, commitment, pride, leadership, fitness and fun. It will also make a huge difference for the rest of the gym.”