Your athlete must be in 1st thru 8th grade during the fall season of the current year. Your athlete will be assigned to a squad based on their grade level.

Panthers is a 100% volunteer run program and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.  You can help at any of the following levels:

• Board Member
• Head Coach
• Assistant Coach
• Team Admin
• Spirit Wear Sales Committee
• Event Planning Committee

If you would like to volunteer, please Contact Us.

The Panthers play regular season games against teams affiliated with the Bill George Football League.  Some of the towns include Lombard, Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Bartlett, Elk Grove, and West Chicago; for additional information and directions, please visit our BGYFL page.  In addition to cheering at home/away games during the season, squads may also travel up to 90 minutes for their competitions.

Entering 1st and 2nd Grade: The season typically starts the last week in July/first week in August. Squads will cheer at roughly 8 games with 4-5 games being Home games and the remainder being away.  1st and 2nd grade generally compete the first weekend in November. Panther cheerleaders will also suppose the football teams throughout the Flag Bowl  and BGYFL playoffs in mid-November.

Entering 3rd-8th Grade: The season typically starts in the beginning of June. Squads will cheer at roughly 8 games with 4-5 of those games being Home games and the remainder being away. Competitions are offered late August-early November. 3rd-8th grade competitive cheer will participate in (3) of these. Panther cheerleaders will so support the football teams throughout the Flag Bowl and BGYFL playoffs in mid-November. Teams that advance to the State Cheerleading Competition will compete in early/mid-November. All dates are subject to change pending ICA competition schedules. State qualifying teams will incur an additional expense to cover state registration fees and additional indoor space.

Entering 1st & 2nd Grade: 1st & 2nd Grade will practice Mondays and Wednesdays between 5pm and 7pm for a minimum of (2) and a maximum of (3) hours per week. While outdoors during summer months practices will be longer and more often. As teams move indoors the amount of practice days/time will reduce depending on indoor availability.

Entering 3rd-8th Grade: 3rd-8th Grade will practice Mondays and Wednesdays between 6pm and 8pm for a maximum of (4) hours per week.

Where are practices?

Our practice locations include O’Neil Middle School (outdoors), Memorial Park (outdoors), and Westmont Yard (indoors). Exact dates of moving are determined by the Downers Grove Park District and dependent on indoor availability. Schedules will be communicated via email prior to the season start and are subject to change. Ample notification will be sent out as needed.

Panthers is a non-profit organization.  Registration fees help cover league fees, administrative costs, park field usage costs including lights, insurance cost, indoor space usage on cheer mats or artificial turf fields.

Parents will be able to purchase their Uniforms thru Panthers which they will be able to keep to use for multiple seasons.

Parents will be responsible for providing the following items..

**The 3rd through 8th Grade squads also have the opportunity to qualify and attend the ICA State Competition in December. State qualifying teams will incur an additional expense to cover state registration fees and additional indoor practice space.**

 1st and 2nd Grade squads will compete in one UYFL Cheerleading Competition.  3rd through 8th Grade squads will compete in a minimum of three (3) ICA Regional Competitions.  The 3rd through 8th Grade squads also have the opportunity to qualify and attend the ICA State Competition.  State qualifying teams will incur an additional expense to cover state registration fees and additional indoor practice space.

In order to keep registration costs down, cheerleaders will participate in one  fundraiser totaling $100 which is included in the registration fee.  The raffle tickets will be distributed during registration, and will need to be returned to your athletes coaches the first week of practice.

We love your athletes spirit and desire to cheer! Unfortunately, athletes committed to the Downers Grove Panthers cannot cheer for neighboring towns or Allstar organizations during the Panthers cheer season.