Fame Update: American Heartland Council Bluffs

WHAT. A. WEEKEND.

Here I am with an update from our second cheerleading competition in a row out of four in a row in the month of February. My mom told me I needed to be really careful and take care of myself so I didn't get worn down by this MARATHON OF CHEERLEADING COMPETITIONS. Too little too late is what I say, because I didn't even make it past the first one. I got diagnosed with the flu last Thursday, meaning I wasn't going to be able to go to Council Bluffs with Fame on Friday. :'(

There was no way I was going to just sit around at home and wait to see what happened with my kids, so I found a way to Council Bluffs late after I was feeling better. I kind of got lucky, because they had a run in with some bed bugs and about a zillion hotel changes before I got there. I was able to conveniently skip all of that.

Day 1 Fame looked pretty good. They had zero deductions, but they didn't look as solid as they did last week in OKC. We think the mayhem with the hotels from Friday kind of spooked them a little, and according to them "the music was really quiet." We POUNCED on this accusation and told them they were going to need to learn to generate their own energy on the floor because when we get to Dallas they won't be surrounded by the entire gym (like they were in OKC.) They ended day 1 with a 96.1 and in 1st place by about 3 points. We were kind of bummed about the score, but the competition was scoring low in general. So relatively speaking, it was decently accurate. (The Frosties got kind of screwed. Scored SO LOW for NO REASON.)

The judging was kind of crazy at this event. It was really unclear compared to the others we have been to, and a lot of our teams had been scoring uncharacteristically low. We didn't really know what to tell Fame as far as their standings for the Summit bid were concerned. We just told them they needed to practice generating their own energy and preparing for their upcoming trips to NCA. They went out on Day 2 and had a better performance than they did day 1. Still zero deductions. That's 5 zero-deduction performances in a row!

We had really no idea where we were in the running for a Summit Bid going into awards, so we told Fame not to get their hopes up. Much to our surprise, they announced that the Summit Bid was going to the winner of the Large Junior Level 3 Division. THAT'S US! WE'RE GOING TO THE SUMMIT!

The girls were SO EXCITED. They keep asking us all of these questions about the Summit and Disney and getting shirts and extra practices. We just keep telling them to slow their rolls. We have NCA to worry about!.

This coming weekend is Jamfest in Kansas City, and then NCA in Dallas the weekend after that. We're working really hard on perfection and performance value. Watch out Dallas, we're coming for you!

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Fame Update: ASC Oklahoma City

It was a CRAZY weekend in Oklahoma City. ASC is the competition to which KC Cheer brings all of its teams, so we had 12 teams performing. That makes for two 12-hour days. Not kidding. It was EXHAUSTING.

Fame was in a division with not one, but TWO Woodlands Elite Teams. Woodlands Elite is a very prestigious gym from the Houston area, and we knew they were going to be in for a challenge. We drilled the girls all week long about cleanliness on the floor and good technique. We knew a clean routine was going to be what won the title, because these Texas teams have a LOT of difficulty. 

Fame and Fierce 5 went back to back on both days, so the energy in the practice room was electric. It was awesome to watch them cheer for one another, and the Fierce 5 kids pumped the Fame kids up backstage. They were READY TO TAKE THE FLOOR! 

Fame hit another zero deduction routine on Saturday (2 in a row!) and looked really good. Clearly that pep talk worked from Fierce 5. Can we get one of those every time? Hehe. They ended the day in 1st place by a small margin, because Woodlands Elite Captains had a deduction. Their raw score on day 1 was 96.7, the highest to date. Captains' raw score was higher than Fame's without their deduction, so we knew it was going to be close. 

On Sunday we had another great day in the practice room and another really high-energy performance. Sunday's performance had zero deductions and was the best I have seen from them so far. We were so excited to watch them do so well! Fame ended up winning first place by .1. The girls were ecstatic to prove they were able to hold their own against two huge Texas teams. They ended Sunday with an even higher score, 97.1. This was really exciting news for Zonko and I, because we know they need to be scoring that high for any chance at a Summit Bid or an NCA title. 

We'll see Woodlands Elite Captains again at NCA. We're pretty sure they're going to be in our division. It will be fun to go head to head with them again. I'm a little biased, but I think Fame will come out on top! :) 

WOO WOO WOO THE FAME-ILY IS 5-0!

Fame Update: NCA St. Louis

Fame traveled to St. Louis this weekend to compete in the NCA Midwest Classic in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a competition with a Summit bid available, with one Summit bid going to each level. They would have to score higher than any level 3 team to win the bid.

They went out day one and hit a near perfect routine with only a small tumbling deduction (accidents happen!) They were in first place by a long shot in the Large Junior 3 division, but they were sort of down there for the bid.

On Sunday they went out and hit their first deduction free routine! I was so excited for them! In the end it wasn't enough for the bid, but they still won National Champions by a long shot. Had they not had the deduction on day 1, they might have been able to clinch the bid. Everything happens for a reason though, so who knows.

It was awesome to show the girls they were capable of a zero-deduction routine. They were so excited that they had made us proud!

Fame Update: Bring It On

During the Holiday season, we give the kids like 10 days off. They don't have to practice and get to enjoy the time with their families (and I have time to hightail it to Hawaii!).

We DID, however, have a chance to do some team bonding over the break. Music Theater Kansas City is an organization that involves high school kids in Musical Theater. My best friend Annie Brown was very involved with it in high school, as were a few of my Rock Chalk Revue friends. Annie called me in July and told me that they were planning on doing Bring it On: The Musical and asked if I knew of any cheerleaders that would be interested in helping out (duh. I do). So I gave her Kristi Whitney's phone number, and the next thing I knew KC Cheer was signed up to be part of the production.

 


Bring it On, for those who don't know, is about rival cheerleading teams competing against each other. In the musical, KC Cheer kids played the parts of the cheerleading teams. Any time there was stunting or tumbling in the show, it was being done by our kids.

Fame went to a team dinner on the Plaza and then to the Saturday night showing. It was SPECTACULAR! The cheerleading was so good, and the actual actors in the show were MARVELOUS. They were so talented. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire production, and am glad some of our kids got to be involved. I would have DIED to be able to do this back when I was cheering!

Fame Update: Patriotic Championships

Another weekend, another Fame victory in the books.

This time we found ourselves at the Patriotic championships in Kansas City. Not to be confused with the circus, because that was being held in the building next door. It was like, the tiniest competition I've been to in a while. There was only one panel of judges so they had a team go every 6 minutes. What could've easily been a 7 hour day became a 13 hour day. It was annoying.

There was, however, a summit bid up for grabs. For those keeping score at home, the Summit is the all levels championship at the end of the season in Orlando. It's basically level 3 Worlds. You have to be invited and usually at KC Cheer you have to have a paid bid to go to the summit, but this year they're going to let us go regardless of what sort of bid we get.

Fame was going to have to be the highest scoring team of the entire day to win the summit bid. It was a goal that was kind of ambitious, but not totally out of reach. The Fame Monsters stayed focused and energetic and put an awesome routine on the floor. You could tell they really wanted it! 

We ended up with 1st place and level 3 grand champions. That means that not only did we beat all of the junior level 3 teams, we beat every single level 3 team from the whole day. That ROCKS. 

The summit bid ended up going to a junior level 1 team. Which, duh. Of course you're going to have high execution scores when all you have to execute is a cartwheel!!!!

No matter. This was an awesome weekend for Fame. They learned a lot about how to stay focused in the practice room and on the floor. 2 for 2!

Fame Update: Twister Jam

Some badass Fame Monsters after their big win!

This weekend was a big one for the ladies of Fame, as they had their first REAL competition. We did a performance at the KC Spirit Spectacular in the gym a few weeks ago, but this was the first time they did their routine for a crowd and real judges.

Since it was our first real competition, it was also our first time in the practice room as a team. We've told them that the practice room is where competitions are won. It's all about encouraging each other, lifting your teammates up to their highest points and intimidating the crap out of everybody else. They did a pretty good job of staying focused and had a solid practice.

Our performance was less than awesome. They hit mostly everything with a few tumbling touchdowns, but then they got to the pyramid. One of my flyers started to fall so she tried to grab on to one of the other flyers for support, thus dragging the entire thing to the floor. I'm not kidding we dropped 6 of 7 stunts to the ground. For those who don't know all-star cheerleading, at a big competition, that would be the difference between 1st and about 20th. We were horrified.

We got off the floor and the girls were all crying. We were harsh on them. We told them to wipe the tears off of their faces because they did that to themselves. It was a silly mistake that could've been prevented had they had their heads screwed on right and had they been focusing. There was nobody to blame but themselves! We told them they wouldn't be winning first place, and they were to show sportsmanship and clap for whoever won their division, because they beat them fair and square.

Then came time for awards. We had 4 teams in our division. Zonko and I were ready for a 4th or 3rd place win. The announcer kept announcing other teams that were not us until we realized they had won 1st place. Their technique and execution scores in all categories other than the pyramid were so high that even though they dropped the entire pyramid they were still able to win first place. They were SO EXCITED, and Zonko and I were a little bit dumbfounded. If their technique is that good now, think of how much better they're going to get as the season continues!

We still had practice on Sunday. A first place win doesn't guarantee you a day off when you drop major stunts! Some of the girls didn't understand why we had to practice. "We got first! Why are we here?" they said. After we explained to them, a lot of them came together and worked really hard all practice to continue to refine their skills and make each other better. I doubt they're ever going to drop an entire pyramid ever again.

I can't wait to keep going with these kids. They all have such bright spirits and are so eager and excited to work hard and put great skills on the floor. Here's hoping we can keep getting better and continue to pull out first place wins! It's really cool to watch them all interact with them, and be able to be the one who teaches them about teamwork and mental strength when preparing for competitions. This year I am constantly finding myself looking back to my days on Junior 3 and how much I learned from my coaches. I still look back on those days with the fondest memories, and hope some days these little chicks will too. I just love them so much, and am so excited to keep going!

New Team, Same Dream

You guys. In case you didn't already know, I coach cheerleading in my free time. It started out as a way to pass the time last year while I was looking for a job. I ended up loving it so much that I'm back for another season at KC Cheer, the gym I cheered at all through elementary, middle and high school. I even did a bonus "super senior year" because the age bracket allowed me one more year as a freshman in college. I'm so excited to be involved again with the sport that I love so much and that taught me so much about myself growing up. It's thanks to KC Cheer that I know how to work as a member of a team and to put others before myself. 

Anyways, we just got our team assignments and I'm coaching Fame -- KC Cheer's Large Junior Level 3 team. The USASF, the governing body of all-star cheerleading, has a "level" system that goes 1-5, so these girls are the middle of the road as far as skills are concerned. They are ages 8-12 and they are all so freakin' adorable. Not to mention pretty good. They all already have the highest skills you can have for a level 3 team, and the season is barely a month old. They're all at a point in their lives where they don't care about anything except cheerleading. No boys or drama to distract them. They all just truly genuinely LOVE cheerleading and want to get better. I am so beyond excited to work with these girls. You have no idea.

That got me to thinking. It's 2014-2015 and I have the Junior Level 3 team. 10 years ago for the 2004-2005 season I was ON the Junior Level 3 team. That's a picture of me from that season. Isn't that unreal? It doesn't seem like that was 10 years ago. If you would've asked me then where I thought I'd be in 10 years I NEVER would have thought I would be coaching the team that I was currently on. Granted, I probably would've answered "I don't care I'm never growing up!" but that's a different story. 

I hope my girls this year are like my teammates and I were 10 years ago. Some of my best friends to this day are girls who were on that Junior Level 3 team with me. The coach of that team is still one of my mentors and close friends. I went to visit him in Houston. Do you think 10 years from now my girls will be excited to have dinner with me like I was with my coach? It's crazy to think that I was them 10 years ago and now I am this. I am so excited to try to give them a year as memorable as I had when I was a member of this team.  

So stay tuned for updates on how Fame does this year. I'm hell-bent on winning NCA Nationals with them in Dallas. They have so much potential. I can't wait to love this Junior Level 3 as a coach as much as I loved my Junior Level 3 as an athlete. I'm just a lucky lucky girl.