By: Olivia Morris, Contributing Writer Excitement filled the gym as young athletes joined the Centralia High School (CHS) cheer team at Chance Elementary School for their stunt clinic. On January 25, aspiring cheerleaders from grades 3-8 learned new stunt and tumbling skills with the help and support of the high school cheerleaders. With all of the team’s experience and guidance, these young athletes were able to expand their love for the sport.
The cheer clinic served as both a learning experience for participants and a fundraiser for the CHS cheer team. The money that was raised on Saturday will help cover the costs of uniforms, warmups and competition expenses including props and choreography. Head cheer coach Rebekah Kropf said, “The clinic also helps younger athletes explore cheerleading as a possibility. It gives them a chance to see what cheer is about and try some things before they get into middle school or high school cheer.” The rising stars learned proper tumbling and progressions for forward rolls, handstands, cartwheels and roundoffs. If the athletes had tumbled before and wished to learn harder skills, the cheerleaders would be there to spot them on skills like walkovers and back handsprings. For the stunting part of the clinic, students learn basic stunts like a prep, extension, smush and cradle. Depending on the age group, kids also had the chance to learn more creative stunts like baskets, half-ups and step-ups that you can see the cheer team perform during some games and assemblies. “It is rewarding to see the younger girls learn a new skill that I have learned because I know the hard work it takes to accomplish those skills,” explained Ava Lawrence, a senior cheerleader. A highlight from the stunt clinic was the guidance provided by the high school cheerleaders. The cheer team puts in a lot of time and effort to learn new skills. These skills are shown and taught to the participants in order to inspire them and increase their confidence in the sport. Assistant cheer coach Krista Morgan said, “These clinics are one of the only chances that we get to introduce cheerleading and all that comes along with it to the younger girls in our district. It is so fun to see the future of the program and for them to learn from our current high school girls each year. We have a lot of girls that talk about and remember doing these clinics when they were younger.” The event left young children eager to improve their skills and move forward with the sport. Not only did the clinic bring in money for the CHS cheer team, it brought a sense of pride into the cheerleaders who were able to pass on the love of cheer to these aspiring athletes. Comments are closed.
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