Cove Junior High cheerleaders capture multiple honors at camp

Special to Leader-Press 

SAN MARCOS, TX—Twelve teams, four days, hundreds of cheerleaders from across the state learning and competing with new material every day at the cheer camp at Texas State University. 
A new school year means a new a squad, a new captain and a new coach. CCJHS cheer captain Allyson Somolowski says the hardest part was learning to trust each other. 
“I learned techniques at camp including good pep rally planning, how to raise the crowd’s spirit and team bonding,” the 8th grader said. 
CCJHS cheer coach Candace Dunning said the camp was truly a time of growth for the girls. 
“They were able to master more elaborate stunts than previous years and went home with a strong understanding of cheer and mascot basics,” Dunning said. “In a short time, the girls were able work through issues and trust one another. This allowed them to step out of their comfort zones when learning new things and work together to help those in need. While it was nice to take home a few trophies and ribbons, I believe their greatest accomplishment throughout camp was the family they made within the squad.”  
Each day, students were evaluated on their rally dance, game day routine, and overall readiness. With every evaluation, the CCJHS cheerleaders received a Superior ribbon. CCJHS brought home trophies for Most Improved in both the mascot and cheer divisions. The cheerleaders also earned the trophy for third place Superior ranking for their overall final performance. Makayla Calhoun was given the Pin it Forward Award by the camp staff for outstanding character.
Eighth grader Ella Steele, who received a Superior ribbon for her overall performance during camp, learned how important it is to be the mascot and how fun the job can be. 
“A mascot is important to cheer up the crowd and sometimes the mascot needs to interact with the crowd and cheerleaders. We can also make up routine and make it look fun. Even accidentally falling, as mascots, we make it funny,” Steele said. “I’m going to be the best mascot I can be.”   
CCJHS Spirit Leader Abigayle Rocha was named All American cheerleader and is eligible to participate in a Thanksgiving parade at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
“Our squad learned to trust, cooperate, and find the positive in anything. When we first started camp, most of our team didn’t have a lot of knowledge about cheer. But throughout camp, they learned stuff they probably didn’t think they could do when they first started,” the eighth grader said. “I’m so proud how fast they learned and how we are becoming a family toward each other.”