The gym at Clarkston Community Education was filled with energy as girls were practicing what they learned during the week at Cheer/Stunt Camp.
“It is going great,” said Beth Ann Markey, head coach for the Clarkston Varsity Cheer teams. “They have been learning everything from the basics and safety to transitions from stunt to stunt. They are learning to put their stunts to cheers so they can perform them at their games.”
The camp is designed for cheerleaders heading into sixth through eighth grade and they learn the same cheers as the varsity cheerleaders.
“It’s been really fun,” said varsity cheerleader Katie Clements. “All of the girls are super nice. They are learning really fast. It is nice to how they have progressed over the four days.”
She added another aspect of cheer the girls learned was trust – which is an important key.
“If you don’t trust each other then nothing is going to go,” Clements explained. “You won’t be able to work on the harder stunt levels. The camp really helps with the fundamentals all cheerleaders need for stunting with their form and how it works. They are in their own stunt groups which helps, too.
Nicole Schmidt, coach for the seventh grade team, added it helps the girls learn new positions for their upcoming season.
“It’s great because they have the timing down so it all works,” she said, adding they will learn more at cheer camp in August.
They also held a Tot Cheer Camp for ages 3-5, teaching them beginner chants and cheers, and held Elementary Cheer Camp for those entering grades 1-5. They learned jumps, cheers, chants and tumbling.
For more information, please visit www.clarkston.k12.mi.us/cec or call 248-623-4326.