Nationals 2010 - AU Cheer Junior, Chenise

The AU Spirit Program will be competing in the NCA/NDA Championship this year for the second time. On top of being full time students and performing at men’s and women’s basketball games, we practice three days a week to perfect our Nationals routine. We work hard and work out even harder. In order to prepare for nationals, we condition throughout the year and stretch our muscles before and after practice. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into this routine. We work hard to make sure all teammates are in sync.

The AU Spirit Program has come a long way since last year. The AU Cheer squad went from competing in the All-Girl Intermediate Level to Division 1 Co-Ed. We began our season at the beginning of August and continued to strengthen our skills throughout the year. Last year, we started off struggling with extensions and libs. Now, our routine consists of back tuck basket tosses, rewinds, 360s, & two and a half high pyramids. Our squad went from having about 6 strong tumblers to more than half the squad pulling back handsprings. Cheerleading is a team sport. We can’t do the routine full out if one person is injured or sick. We need each other, which made our team grow into a big family. We help each other out, inside and outside of practice. It is this support that will allow us to thrive at Nationals.

Both teams have developed more technique and skill to create a more advanced routine. Now that we know what to expect at Nationals, we have higher expectations for ourselves. We are prepared to show the judges how we have grown as a program and how we are only getting stronger as a team. When we compete in Daytona next month, we are going to give it our all.