Maybe you’re a cheer coach.

Maybe you’re an activities director.

Maybe you’re a teacher who volunteered.

Or maybe someone handed you the keys to a storage closet, pointed at a giant mascot costume, and said:

“You’re in charge of the mascot this year.”

Now what?

High school mascot programs are often placed under athletics, cheer, student government, or activities departments. But unlike other programs, the person overseeing the mascot may have never actually been a mascot performer.

That’s okay.

You don’t need years of mascot experience to build a great program. But your students do need structure, expectations, training, and someone willing to help them succeed.

Here are some of the most important things to consider when you’re responsible for your school’s mascot.

1. Figure Out What You Actually Have

Before changing anything, take inventory.

Start with the physical mascot costume.

Do you know:

• How old the costume is?
• Who manufactured it?
• What pieces belong to it?
• Whether anything needs repairs?
• How it should be cleaned?
• Where it should be stored?
• How much visibility the performer has?
• Whether there are cooling fans or other equipment?

Then look at the program itself.

Who currently performs?

How are new performers selected?

Who schedules appearances?

Does the mascot attend practices?

Are there written rules?

Does the mascot have an established personality?

If the answer to several of those questions is “I have no idea,” you’ve just identified where to start.

2. Treat Mascot as a Program, Not Just a Costume

One of the easiest mistakes schools make is thinking:

We own a mascot costume, therefore we have a mascot program.

Those aren’t the same thing.

A strong program has expectations, training, scheduling, safety procedures, character standards, and continuity from year to year.

Think about how your school approaches cheer, dance, band, theater, or athletics.

Students don’t simply show up and figure everything out themselves.

Mascot should receive some of that same structure.

3. Establish Who Your Mascot Is

Your mascot should be a character, not simply whichever student happens to be inside the costume that night.

Work with your performers to establish the mascot’s personality.

Is the character:

Funny?

Competitive?

Mischievous?

Friendly?

Confident?

Wild?

Then determine how that personality translates into performance.

How does your mascot celebrate a touchdown?

How does it greet a five-year-old?

How does it react when the opposing team scores?

What does it do during downtime?

What should it never do?

Having those answers creates consistency—especially when multiple students portray the character.

4. Give Your Student Actual Mascot Training

This may be the biggest thing you can do as an advisor.

Don’t hand a student the mascot head and say:

“Go have fun.”

Mascot performance is a learned skill.

Students should understand topics such as:

• Character development
• Nonverbal communication
• Exaggerated movement
• Crowd interaction
• Photo etiquette
• Costume visibility
• Heat and hydration
• Mascot safety
• Suit care
• Working with a handler
• Game-day situations
• Improvisation
• Dancing and skits

And here’s the important part:

You don’t have to know how to teach all of that yourself.

There are resources specifically designed to help.

5. Establish Safety Rules Before the First Event

Mascot costumes create some unusual safety challenges.

Your student may have reduced peripheral vision. They may not hear normally. The costume can become extremely hot. Stairs, crowds, children, athletes, equipment, and even curbs can become hazards.

Establish expectations for hydration and breaks.

Determine where performers can safely remove their mascot head.

Consider assigning a mascot handler during appearances.

Make sure performers know that safety takes priority over staying in character.

A great performance isn’t worth someone getting hurt.

6. Create an Appearance Calendar

Once people realize your mascot is available, requests can start coming from everywhere.

Football wants the mascot Friday.

Student council wants it at an assembly.

An elementary school wants an appearance.

The principal wants it at back-to-school night.

Someone needs it for a community parade.

Create one centralized mascot calendar.

Track the event, location, arrival time, performance time, assigned performer, handler, contact person, costume transportation, and any special instructions.

Get My Mascot even provides a Mascot Calendar Template to help programs organize these appearances.

7. Decide How Students Join the Mascot Team

Don’t wait until your current performer graduates to start thinking about replacements.

Create a repeatable tryout process.

You might evaluate:

Energy • Creativity • Body language • Improvisation • Reliability • Coachability • Physical awareness • Character consistency

You can even give candidates the same scenario:

“You’re at a basketball game. Your team just hit a three-pointer to take the lead. Show us how the mascot reacts.”

You’re not looking for the loudest student.

You’re looking for someone who can communicate an entire emotion without speaking.

8. Give Your Mascot Opportunities Beyond Athletics

Once you’ve established a reliable program, think bigger than games.

Your mascot can participate in:

• Freshman orientation
• Back-to-school night
• Assemblies
• Elementary school visits
• Reading programs
• Spirit weeks
• Community events
• Parades
• Fundraisers
• Student recognition
• Social media content
• Graduation activities

Your mascot can become one of the most recognizable ambassadors your school has.

Use it.

9. Prepare for Graduation Before It Happens

Every student eventually leaves.

Your mascot shouldn’t have to start over when they do.

Have outgoing performers teach incoming performers.

Document successful routines and traditions.

Maintain costume-care instructions.

Record important contacts.

Write down the character’s personality.

Keep your appearance calendar.

Create an annual handoff.

The student graduates.

The mascot doesn’t.

You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone

This is exactly the type of situation we designed Get My Mascot to help with.

If you’re a teacher, coach, activities director, or administrator who has been placed in charge of a mascot program without having mascot experience yourself, there are two ways to get additional support.

Mascot Performer Training

Our online training program allows students to work through mascot training at their own pace.

The program covers fundamentals of mascot performance and includes practical tools and templates for building a stronger program.

It’s especially useful for schools that don’t have an experienced mascot coach on staff.

Mascot Coaches & Consultants

Sometimes you need an actual person.

Get My Mascot also connects schools with experienced mascot coaches and consultants who can help with character development, performer coaching, safety, program building, suit sourcing, and other mascot-specific needs.

You can bring in experience without needing to hire a full-time mascot coach.

One Final Piece of Advice

If you’re newly responsible for your school’s mascot, don’t worry about creating an incredible program overnight.

Start with the fundamentals:

Keep your students safe.

Give them training.

Define the character.

Create some structure.

Document what works.

Then improve the program every year.

Eventually, instead of someone handing the next teacher a mascot costume and saying, “Good luck,” you’ll be handing them an established program that’s ready to continue growing.