Dear Sycamore Families,
As we look ahead to our upcoming season, we want to share some news regarding the evolution of our program. After extensive and careful consideration, the decision has been made by our Board Of Directors to discontinue our cheer program.

Honoring Our Roots

This decision comes from a place of immense respect and a shared desire to see both sports reach their fullest potential. We want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to the former Cheer president and General Board Members. Their tireless dedication, passion, and influence have been foundational to this league over the years. They haven't just coached squads; they’ve built confidence, fostered spirit, and created a culture of excellence with a focus on safety that we hope, with the right people, will continue to carry forward.

Why This Change?

In 2019, SYFC had a total of 128 participants for football and cheer combined. In 2025, we had over 330 registrants. Both programs have greatly grown in numbers and with that comes a need for more volunteers. We have successfully fulfilled that need for the football side of the league. We have struggled for a few years in getting the volunteers for cheer and, last year, we were not able to get enough volunteers to have a sideline cheer season.
We are very grateful for a few parents that have stepped up and are willing to volunteer to fill vital roles. However, it still isn’t enough to take on the full responsibility of properly running a cheer program that offers sideline for grades 1-6 and competition for our higher levels through sixth grade. Something we do not want to see happen again is that we go full speed ahead with expectations that things will fall into place and then we have to pull the plug because we are not able to fill all positions.

Moving Forward

There have already been some parents that have expressed interest in starting a new organization for cheer. As registration numbers for football continue to increase and our program continues to evolve, a separate organization with a focus on cheer is probably what is needed. Our Executive Board has already had meetings with some of these parents and we are hoping for more. Our goal is to help them in any way we can so they can create an organization that focuses on cheerleading and they are able to exist with us, as part of our community. Our vision would be that when you come to our games on Saturday’s, they will be there, on our sidelines doing their routines, improving their skills and forming those bonds with their squad mates that we all love to see happen for our kids!

If you have an interest in chatting with these parents and would like to be put in contact, let us know.

Go Spartans!

Best regards,
The Sycamore Youth Football Board