Spirit Rules Clinic - Unit 1
Spirit Coaches,
Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year! I hope that you have had a restful and enjoyable summer and trust that you are ready to kick off yet another exciting season.
I am looking forward to continuing to work with all of you to benefit the students of New Mexico! Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time with questions or concerns, or just to have a chat!
Kristin Derr
Assistant Director
kderr@nmact.org
Direct: 505-923-3265
Cell: 505-379-5895
Fax: 505-923-3114
This introduction will cover some “housekeeping” items and important information.
Spirit Summit - MANDATORY
First and foremost, the NMAA Spirit Summit has been moved to September. The summit is mandatory and a $100 fine will be assessed to each program that does not have a coach in attendance. This online clinic will cover some of the information that will be presented at the summit, but we feel very strongly that if you are planning on coaching spirit in any capacity this year, you would benefit greatly from attending. The summit will take place on September 14th at the Marriott Pyramid in Albuquerque. A room block has been created under the name “NMAA Spirit Summit” at the NMAA rate. Please call the Pyramid at 505-821-3333 to make your reservations. If you have any issues reserving a room, please call the sales department at 505-798-6443.
MVP Account and Online Submission
Secondly, if you haven’t already, please take a moment to create an MVP account on this website. Please be sure to maintain your MVP account and your team roster throughout the season. If a coach is not on the MVP system, he/she will NOT be permitted into the Competition as a coach. In order to be on the MVP system, a coach must create his/her MVP account and it must be verified by your school’s administration. We will be referring to rosters online for all purposes throughout the season. This includes participants, coaches, eligibility, certificates, T-Shirts, etc.
The deadline for submitting your team roster AND photo online is the last Friday in October (October 31, 2008). Changes can be made after this submission, but a roster and photo must be posted by this deadline. We understand that most team photos are not taken until later in the season, but we also understand how busy you get as State approaches. This deadline is in place to guarantee that we have a photo (even if it is a scanned Polaroid!) to submit to the State program. This photo can also be updated as the season progresses.
State Competition Date and Venue
As you are probably aware, the UNM Pit is still undergoing major renovation and will not be available for our Competition.
The 2009-2010 Spirit Competition will be held at the Santa Ana Star Center on April 16-17, 2010.
Communication
Occasionally we all get very excited about an issue and we want to get to the bottom of it immediately. However, I would like to ask that everyone follow a logical chain of communication to avoid rumors and mis-information. Within the school, please filter all communication through your head coach. Your head coach can then present questions and concerns to the NMAA. If your concern is regarding your head coach, please go directly to your administration. If your question is a technical question, it will be forwarded to the Spirit Management Team, but all further communication will be copied to the NMAA office. Please allow me to distribute your questions to the Spirit Management Team so that we can assure that all members of the leadership stay abreast of the issues presented. Please encourage your assistant coaches, parents, and participants to follow these same procedures.
Sportsmanship
The NMAA is continuously supporting the Pursuing Victory With Honor initiative. I am a firm believer that as the spirit leaders of your schools, you and your students should be the ambassadors of PVWH and Sportsmanship. This is an area that I feel we all need to work on. Please remember that winning is something to strive for, but it is not the only reason that Spirit teams exist. Identify the reasons that Cheer and Dance began in the first place, and instill that purpose in your students. It starts with us!
Thank you!
| PROCEED TO UNIT II |