Being a Cheerleader – Preparing for Camp

Preparing for Camp

For most, summer means sunshine, pool time, and pulling out your endless collection of sandals. But, for cheerleaders, summer camp means one thing: cheer camp! Want to know how to make sure that your squad is fully prepared to have the ultimate camp adventure this summer?  Here are some things that you and your team can do BEFORE you even board the bus to camp:

1. Set Goals

Cheer camp is the perfect way to kick off a new season with a new team. Some teams practice and prepare a few days before camp, while others use camp as the first day of practice. Either way, it is important to establish goals as a team (and as an individual!). Make sure group goals are measurable and agreed-upon by the team. Getting the entire team on board with the same set of goal helps to clarify what steps need to be taken by each member and what roles need to be filled. Let your team know about your individual goals too, so they can cheer you on along the way!

2. Embrace the Experience

Most summer cheer camps incorporate a theme to help teach cheerleading squads how to use a spirit theme to unite the student body for games and pep rallies. Fully embracing each theme will help you have more fun at camp and prepare your team to pump up the fans on game night!

3. Fill Out Your St. Jude Letters

At camp, the camp staff not only helps teams across the countries succeed, but also gives teams the tools to help others. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, one of Varsity Spirit’s biggest philanthropies, continues the tradition of working with cheerleaders across the country to promote its mission of ending childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases. This year, you can get a head start on promoting awareness of St. Jude’s mission by filling out letters before camp! Each year, the staff typically distributes five letters per cheerleader to each squad at camp, and the cheerleaders fill out the letters at camp. This year, you can come to camp prepared with your letters ready to go! Let’s #TeamUp4StJude together!

4. Perfect Your Game Day Props

One of the most important roles of a cheerleader is leading the crowd to yell along with cheers and chants. What better way to do that than to use poms and signs to get them to yell their favorite colors, letters and mascot? If your squad has these items, make sure to bring them to camp. The staff wants to prepare your squad with the most creative way to get your fans to yell along with you.

5. Make the Most of Your Time

At cheer camp, there is so much to do in such little time. To make the most of your time at camp, make sure to complete the following before camp:

• Assign set stunt groups
• Map out what you would like to get out of private coaching with camp staff
• Assign captains/seniors with designated responsibilities

6. Come Ready to Learn

Along with learning new skills and techniques for stunts, pyramids and game day traditions, prepare your squad to have some of its best memories of the season. With common camp traditions like rallies, team bonding activities, senior class ceremonies, various contests, and more, cheer camp is where a group of individuals become a team!