Over the summer, the Lewis Cass Highschool Cheerleaders attended a camp. This camp is well known and takes place everywhere across the United States and sometimes even in different countries. It is known as “Universal Cheerleaders Association Cheer Camp”. This camp takes place at a college campus, or a high school. Lots of cheerleaders attend the camp. UCA Cheer Camp gives high school cheerleaders a chance to show everyone their talent and most importantly, their spirit! So many fun and exciting activities happen during this event.

     Over the course of four days, all of the girls learned many new techniques and skills to help us prepare for the upcoming cheer season. Each day, we cheerleaders learned a chant, cheer, stunt, and a pyramid. On the third day, there was a spirit night. The theme was, “Golden Era”, which represents UCA’s 50 years of cheer camps. Every team followed the theme in very fun ways. For example, many cheerleaders dressed up in gold clothing wore gold tutus, and put glitter in their hair, as well as on their faces. The UCA staff members also dressed up too! It was definitely a day to remember! 

     Day three was nerve-wracking. It was the day when cheerleaders were offered the opportunity to try out for All-American. All-American is an honor given to cheerleaders who attend the camp and try out. They are judged on a cheer, dance, and a jump. Many of our cheerleaders tried out and made it! Cheer coach Brittany Bertrand said, “The outcomes of the All-American were good but also shocking. I was surprised that some of the cheerleaders who tried out did not make All-American. At the same time, I was very proud of the girls who did make All American.” She also said, “Overall I loved the experience that we had as a team at camp. I loved that we were able to work together for days and build our team up by teaching newbies and also learning new skills. Our All-American winners for JV were Alyiah Reynoso and Brookelynn Biddle. Our Varsity All-American winners were Lauren Tocco, Liberty Preston, Cassidy Roller, Kadin Robertson, Alexis Alford, and Mia Hall. All-American Cheerleaders have the opportunity to attend some parades in different areas of the world. JV All-American cheerleaders can attend the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Orlando Thanksgiving Tour. Varsity All-American cheerleaders can attend the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, and the London New Year’s Day Parade. Another award known as, “Pin It Forward” was awarded to JV Cheerleader, Alyiah Reynoso. According to the cheer site Varsity.com the Pin It Forward Award goes to a cheerleader that stood out to a UCA staff member for their leadership, and great spirit during camp. JV cheerleader, Brookelynn Biddle, said, “Winning the All-American award was a very special moment. I was very surprised when I got the award because I didn’t think my tryout was very good. When they called my name a huge smile went across my face and all my negative emotions turned into positive emotions and that was something I was proud of myself for. I never gave up when I thought I should have.”  UCA camp is tough and exhausting due to the long hours and all the material we learn, but all the cheerleaders worked very hard and ended camp smiling!” 

     On day four, it was performance day! Lots of visitors came to watch every cheer team perform. “On performance day, I was definitely nervous, but I knew we had the materials we needed to succeed. The JV performance went very well, and the varsity did super well! The competition was tough, but it all went well and everyone did absolutely amazing!” JV cheerleader, Maddy Willis, stated. Performing in front of a crowd can be scary, but it is what cheerleaders are known for! Varsity cheerleader, Lauren Tocco, stated, “I was mostly happy with the outcome, but I was slightly unhappy with our ending stunt. It did fall, but I was able to learn from that mistake and move on, which is a skill that I was happy to have gained from cheer camp.” Learning from mistakes is always a great thing when it comes to cheerleading.

     Overall, UCA Cheer Camp was a great experience. Getting the opportunity to learn so many new tips and tricks for cheerleading was amazing. Lauren Tocco said, “My favorite part of cheer camp was being able to bond and connect with my teammates. Cheer camp is towards the beginning of the year, so at that point, we haven’t done much with the team. Cheer camp is an opportunity to get closer as a team, which I love!” Many cheerleaders loved this camp and plan to attend again next summer. It is an amazing opportunity to have fun and show others your talents and school spirit!