This year is my senior year and the Lewis Cass cheer team and I had the opportunity to take a trip to Disney World. This trip took a lot of work and dedication throughout the summer collecting donations.
To catch up, the Cass cheer team and I attended UCA (United Cheer Association) cheer camp and won a trip to Disney World based on the talent of a few girls on our team! Mirikle Prince, Cassidy Roller, Kadin Robertson, Liberty Preston, Mya Case, Mia Hall, Lauren Tocco, and Emma Nelson all tried out in front of the UCA staff. These girls won the title of “All-American Cheerleader” which allowed the team to go to Disney World and march in the Main Street Parade.
For this trip, we flew down on a Friday morning. We all made it to the airport around two in the morning. Our flight to Orlando, Florida left at about five-thirty a.m. As soon as we arrived, we had to hurry to Disney to get all checked in. For our first day, we spent the day in Animal Kingdom exploring the park. We all dispersed into our own groups and enjoyed the first part of our day together. Later Friday, we had a four-hour practice for the dance in the main street parade. The UCA cheer staff sent a video of the dance to us, and we spent a month and a half learning the dance. However, the staff members changed a few parts of the dance once we arrived. With the changes, we spent some time making sure all of the girls knew what they should be doing. After we went through the whole parade on Saturday, we had the rest of the day plus Sunday to explore around the parks.
This trip was amazing and by far my best cheer memory out of the four years I have been on this team. The cheerleading team has never gone on trips like this before, and I am thankful I was able to be a part of this experience. During the trip we got very little sleep, which was exhausting, but all of the fun made up for it.
This year, our coaches are Jennifer Deeter (varsity coach) and Brittany Bertand (junior varsity coach). These two coaches have stepped up to new and important roles for our cheer team this year. Coach Deeter has been the junior varsity coach for years prior and has stepped up to be the varsity coach for the first time this year. Coach Bertrand has been a junior high coach in the past and has stepped up to the junior varsity role. Without these two women, we would not have such a strong team, and we would never have had the opportunity to make this trip happen.
Coach Deeter said, “I thought the turnout for our first trip like this was great! Each cheerleader did what they needed to prepare for this event and that made it more memorable.” Jennifer also said, “Nothing beats team bonding at the most magical place on Earth. Park hopping with Coach Bertrand and staying until the parks closed was a favorite memory. The rides and giggles from the cheerleaders were also a favorite.” As I mentioned before, this is Deeter’s first time as the head coach, this is a lot to take on when you have your own family and home life to attend to. Jennifer said, “There were nights I was up until midnight or 1 a.m. because that’s when I could have the quiet time to focus on all of the details that went into planning this trip. It also helped having a great assistant coach and parents to do other things to help.”
Coach Bertrand said, “It was such an amazing experience, and I am so glad I got to get closer to all of the cheerleaders and their families! I am blessed that as a first-year high school coach I could experience something like Disney with the team!” Brittany’s favorite part of the trip was, “being at the parks at night because we got to go on so many different roller coasters without the huge lines!” Brittany also pointed out, “I thought Disney was a wonderful experience to share with the team. I felt as if it gave the cheerleaders an unforgettable experience.”
The cheerleading team here at Lewis Cass works hard every practice to continue growing. We have put in so much effort and are excited to show off some new skills during the upcoming basketball season. We had an awesome time at Disney and we cannot wait to see what basketball season brings to us! We are thankful for the magical weekend at Disney World!
