CHEER CAMP

Three Rivers Christian School

goes to camp!

Last week I got to travel with Catherine and our school's cheerleading squad to the beautiful University of Puget Sound (UPS) in Tacoma, Washington. The girls were there for Cheer Camp which started by 8:00 each morning and wrapped up around 8:00 at night. In those 12 hours each day, the cheerleaders learned so much! As I watch the video I took, it's so cool to see the confidence grow in the girls' faces and body language. On the second day of camp, the girls were supposed to do what's called an "elevator." A couple of the girls serve as bases, one girl is a spotter (safety person), and one girl is the top girl. We have this little thing named Lauren who doesn't like heights but whose body size makes her ideal for a top girl. She is such a trooper!! Early video captures terror in her eyes while video on the final day shows a super-confident flyer! Lauren learned her role, the other girls learned theirs, they practiced together a lot, communicated and learned to trust one another in some pretty cool stunts. Our student body is going to be amazed when they see these girls hit the court!

Another cool thing about Cheer Camp is that our group had devotions each night. At the end of each day we debriefed regarding the day's activities, I lead the girls through what I called The Ten Commandments of Teamwork, and we prayed together. It was so neat. Of the 16 cheer squads at camp, we were the only Christian school and it was important to the girls to let their light shine through every activity. And the way they prayed for one another, wow! I hope we get to do more of that when we go back to school.