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Light-Up LED Pom Poms
Metallic streamers with LEDs built into the pom, a rechargeable pack, and one remote that changes the whole team’s color at once.
$145 USD per pair
Youth cheer programs on military installations lose and gain cheerleaders every PCS season, so the gear that works is gear the program owns: no sizes, rechargeable, easy to teach. Light-up poms fit that set, switched by one remote, at $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs.
Planning gear for a youth cheer program that turns over every summer
Youth cheer runs on many installations. Army garrisons offer it through Child & Youth Services (CYS) youth sports: Fort Knox runs a youth cheerleading season with a late-July preseason camp, and Fort Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground list cheerleading among their youth team sports (sources: Fort Knox MWR youth cheerleading, Fort Meade MWR youth sports, Aberdeen Proving Ground MWR youth sports). Navy youth sports offer it too; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam lists cheerleading in its youth sports and fitness program (source: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam youth sports).
What sets these programs apart is the roster. Coaches, cheerleaders and the parents who volunteer change every year. The gear plan has to survive that. This guide is for the youth sports director, the volunteer coach and the parent group building one, and light-up pom poms for every kind of team shows how other squads use them.
How does PCS season change a youth cheer roster?
Military moves cluster in summer. A 2011 Defense Department story described the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day as PCS season, with more than a third of the military’s roughly 600,000 yearly shipments moving over the summer, when school is out (source: DVIDS, American Forces Press Service, March 29, 2011). For a youth cheer program, that means the squad that finishes in spring is not the squad that starts in August. Some cheerleaders leave; new ones arrive in July with no idea what the squad does.
Programs plan for it already. Fort Knox’s youth cheer page notes that age groups that do not fill up will be combined (source: Fort Knox MWR youth cheerleading). Gear should flex the same way: one set, any size of squad, any mix of ages.
Gear for a squad that turns over
| Gear | Who should own it | Why it matters on an installation |
|---|---|---|
| Uniform top and skirt | The family, or a program loan pool | Sized; travels with the child on a move or goes back to the pool |
| Bows | The family | Cheap, personal, easy to replace at the next installation |
| Practice wear and shoes | The family | Sized and personal |
| Regular poms | The program | No sizes; the next cheerleader uses them |
| Light-up poms | The program | No sizes, rechargeable, one remote for the whole squad |
| Remote, cables and a gear bin | The program | Labeled so a new volunteer coach finds everything |
The rule: anything with a size goes with the family; anything without one stays with the program and gets handed to next year’s coach with a written count.
Why light-up poms suit a program-owned set
- No sizes. The same pair works for a 6-year-old and a 14-year-old, so a combined age group is no problem.
- Rechargeable. Each pom charges by USB-C on its battery pack, with a red light while it charges, and runs 3 to 4 hours. There are no batteries to buy each season.
- Easy to teach. A new coach learns three buttons: W for white, MODE for colors, AUTO for the rainbow. Every pom in range switches together.
- Light to hold. 7 oz per pom.
- Any colors. Program colors this season, a new coach’s choice next season, red, white and blue for a salute night, all by remote.
Our setup videos are the handover document: the outgoing coach sends the link, the new coach watches before the first practice.
Which nights does a base youth squad perform?
Youth football and flag football in the fall. Winter youth basketball, which often runs with cheer; Fort Meade’s 2027 winter youth sports season, for ages 6 to 14, runs January 4 to March 5 and lists cheerleading beside basketball (source: Fort Meade MWR youth sports). Our winter basketball cheer chants work for youth gyms too. Beyond the season: a tree lighting, a holiday parade, a salute or military appreciation game, and an Army-Navy watch party. Our Army-Navy Game spirit ideas and military appreciation night ideas cover the last two.
Who signs off on a base program purchase?
That depends on the installation and on who is buying: the youth sports office, a parent group or a spouses’ organization. Each has its own rules about purchasing and donations, so ask first. Tell us what your office or group needs from a vendor and we will tell you plainly what we can provide. For the count: a squad of 15 with two spares is 17 pairs, or $2,040 at our team rate, which happens to be the median request among the 54 teams that applied to us this fall.
Build the set once, hand it down every summer
Youth football squads off the installation use the same plan; see light-up poms for youth football league squads. Our team pricing page covers team orders.
Apply with your installation’s program, the age groups and squad sizes, your colors and your first big date. We make the poms ourselves and will tell you plainly what fits your date. Team pricing is $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs.
Frequently asked questions
What is your team pricing for a base youth program?
$120 a pair on 10 or more pairs. 17 pairs is $2,040.
Can the set stay with the program when coaches move?
Yes. Poms have no sizes, so keep them with the program, label the pairs and hand the count and the setup videos to the next coach.
Can we get them in our program colors?
Yes. The coach sets the color by remote, and a pair can be split into two colors, such as red and blue for a salute night.
How do they work?
The diodes are built into the pom. Adults charge it by USB-C, a charge lasts 3 to 4 hours, and one remote switches every pom in range.
Can we get them in time for our tree lighting or watch party?
Send us the date when you apply. We make the poms ourselves and will tell you plainly what fits.
Do new cheerleaders need training to use them?
No. They hold the poms; the coach runs the remote.
See also: LED pom poms for every team, light-up poms for service academy spirit teams and lighted Christmas parade entries.
Sources: Fort Knox MWR youth cheerleading, Fort Meade MWR youth sports, Aberdeen Proving Ground MWR youth sports, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam youth sports, DVIDS, American Forces Press Service, March 29, 2011.
Army MWR, Child & Youth Services, Navy MWR and the installations named here are mentioned only to describe their public youth sports programs. None is a Neon Cowboys customer, and neither the Department of Defense nor any military service is affiliated with or endorses Neon Cowboys.
Questions: info@neoncowboys.com.
