This summer, the Rocky Cheer Team attended UCA Cheer Camp at Western Illinois University. At a cheer camp, cheerleaders learn new stunts, cheers, dances, and perform them on the final day. This year is the second year the team has gone to camp since COVID. Going to UCA Camp allows the Rocky Cheer Team to meet new people, learn new things, and prepare them for the upcoming season.
Though the team learned a variety of new things, Varsity cheerleader Vanessa Boswell talks about her favorite part of cheer camp, saying, “My favorite part of camp was probably when they showed us a bunch of different stunts and then we had to try them.” Cheer camp allowed the Rocky Cheerleaders to learn new stunts, as well as stunting techniques to show off during the season. A big focus during camp was safety, and making sure everyone could have fun stunting, while also practicing safety.
Head Coach Patricia Gallegos said about the experience, “Camp is usually a good time. I always get nervous leading up to it because I just wanna make sure that you guys are as prepared as I can possibly get you guys. Getting there, it’s just really exciting because there’s other teams, and it’s just a whole big ball of energy that’s just a lot of fun.” Before heading to camp, the team has to prepare themselves for the experience. This includes getting their stunting basics down, so they can advance to more difficult ones at camp, learning different chants used during camp, and preparing mentally because camp can be a bit overwhelming at first.
Coming home from camp means coming home with improvements. Vanessa talks about how she thinks camp has improved the team, saying, “I think camp definitely helped with our stunting a lot and the ability to switch stunt groups and everything, and also being able to learn cheers a lot quicker.” Similarly, Coach Gallegos talks about the biggest improvement she’s seen, saying, “From camp, I would say the biggest improvement was maybe stunt wise, I think that we got a lot more confidence just from some of the things we learned at camp, as far as like stunts and safety wise, so I would say maybe the confidence in our stunts.” The team was able to not only learn new stunts, but they gained confidence. Confidence is a huge part of stunting. It’s important to know what you need to do, what other people are doing, and just trusting your group. It allows for better stunts and safety.
At the end of camp, the Rocky Cheer Team ended up winning overall Camp Champions. Vanessa said, “It was amazing. I was actually really surprised but I think we definitely deserved it. I’m happy for us.” Winning Camp Champions was a huge accomplishment. There were a lot of other amazing teams competing, but the Rocky Cheer Team really put in the effort to stand out to the camp staff and make their mark. Winning also meant the team got to bring home the banana, a representation of the team with the most spirit, the team who stands out the most throughout camp.
Overall, the Rock Island Cheer Team had a successful time at camp. The team got to learn many new things and even came home as champions! The Rocky Cheer team will take all that they’ve learned and apply it this season, so make sure you stop by a game!
