On behalf of the Manhattan Patriots Recreational Cheer Organization, we welcome you to our 2025 season! Our organization is proud to be a member of the ICA. The Manhattan Patriots Cheer Program is committed to developing good sportsmanship, self-esteem, team spirit, teamwork, and discipline. The season will be spent learning the fundamentals of cheer, cheering for weekly football games, working together as a team, and an option to participate in multiple ICA competitions! At the end of the season, we hope that participants have gained an appreciation for the sport of cheer and have developed a sense of community spirit and engagement.
The Patriots Cheerleading organization welcomes cheerleaders from PreK4 through 8th grade. There are no try-outs, evaluations nor minimum skill requirements for any of the Patriots cheerleading squads.
REGISTRATION
Registration for the 2025 season will open on January 20th and will close on March 31st, unless teams reach maximum capacity sooner. Returning participants from the 2024 season will have priority registration opening on January 20th. New participants may begin registering on January 27th. The cost to participate is as follows. Each participant will also owe a fundraiser payment, but the cost of that can be recouped via sale of raffle tickets during the season. Payment plans are available.
The cost reflected below is inclusive of the uniform rental, a warm weather game top, a cheer bow, a team practice t-shirt and an end of season award. Competitive team fees are also inclusive of competition registration fees, indoor practice space, professional stunt sessions, professional choreography, music and regular season competition gifts.
Sideline Only Team:
Mini: $120
PW, SLW & LW: $185
Sideline + Competition Team:
PW, SLW & LW: $630
JV & V: $705
TEAM BREAKDOWNS
Our goal is to be able to offer one competition team at every level. All participants must cheer for the grade level they will be in for the 2025-2026 school year. Due to the competitive season and ICA rules, we will not be able to take team requests. We expect to share news surrounding full coaching staff details, as well as team moms for each group in April. Coaches will be chosen by the board based upon their coaching experience, background checks, ability to work with children and overall positivity they can bring to the team and program. Additionally, we are delighted to welcome current high-school aged students who are former Patriot Cheerleaders the opportunity to participate as Junior Coaches this season. Interested parties should email the Cheerleading Board at manhattancheerpatriots@gmail.com.
We anticipate the following teams for the Fall 2025 competitive season. Each team must have a minimum of 10 and may have a maximum of 36 participants. Competitive teams will practice from June 2nd – mid November. Competitive teams will not have practice the week of 6/30-7/4 to allow for holiday travel.
- Pee Wee (PW): K
- Super Lightweight (SLW):1st-2nd Grade
- Lightweight (LW): 3rd-4th Grade
- Junior Varsity (JV): 5th-6th Grade
- Varsity (JV): 7th-8th Grade
Sideline ONLY teams will also be available as follows, provided we have parent volunteers willing to coach them. These teams will practice from July 7- late October. Sideline only teams will practice separately from the competitive teams and will perform their own halftime routine at games.
- Mini (M): PreK, must be 4 years old and potty trained by the start of practice, birth certificates required for enrollment (will cheer on the sidelines for Dyno Level Home Games Only)
- Pee Wee (PW): K (will cheer on the sidelines with PW comp team for all Dyno Level Games)
- Super Lightweight (SLW): 1st-2nd Grade (will cheer on the sidelines with SLW comp team)
- Lightweight (LW): 3rd – 4th Grade (will cheer on the sidelines with LW comp team)
***Please note that the Manhattan Patriots Cheerleading organization reserves the right to change grade combinations for ANY team prior to the start of the season. Confirmation of team assignments and coach selections will occur after the March 31st registration close date.***
COMMUNICATION
All communications from the coaching staff and the Patriots Cheerleading Board will be issued via email and/or TeamSnap so use of accurate addresses during the registration period is essential. We recommend that e-mails are checked one hour prior to each game/practice as changes due to weather or unforeseen circumstances can and do arise. Any parent concerns can be addressed first with the squad’s head coach and further escalated to the Cheerleading Board if needed.
UNIFORM FITTING & PICKUP
Cheer fittings and uniform pickup is tentatively scheduled for April 12th at Manhattan Intermediate School. It is essential that all registered cheerleaders are fit for their uniforms during this session. They will ensure that we have all uniform pieces needed to begin for the season on time. During uniform fittings it is a good idea to have participants wear a leotard or swimsuit to make the process run quickly.
As a reminder, a $350 season uniform deposit fee will be required at that time for each registered child. Checks should be made payable to the Manhattan Patriots and post-dated to December 1, 2025. Additionally, please bring a second check in the amount of $250 for your volunteer deposit written out with the same payee and date details. This second payment is per family, not per participant.
***Neither check will be cashed so long as your uniform is returned in a satisfactory manner, and you complete your required volunteer slots. ***
If you have any questions or concerns throughout the season, please feel free to contact the Cheerleading Board directly via email.
manhattancheerpatriots@gmail.com
