By Caitlin Wolfe
DouglasNow.com
This past weekend, the Coffee cheer program set off to the Great Wolf Lodge in LaGrange to attend their annual NCA cheer camp. The cheer program, made up of a freshman, JV, and varsity squad, uses this camp to help them prepare for the 2023-2024 football and basketball season. NCA, National Cheerleaders Association, was the first cheerleading organization that focused on competitions and bringing cheerleaders together to learn new skills. The organization has yearly summer camps for cheerleaders all across the country and also holds the NCA Nationals Competition which is considered to be the biggest cheerleading competition in the world.
For years now, the Coffee cheerleaders have been attending the NCA summer camps to kick off the upcoming cheer season. While at this four-day camp, the squads learn things like band dances, pom dances, stunts, band chants, cheers, technique, leadership skills, and team building activities.
The Coffee cheer squads also had a chance to show off their skills and win awards for various things they learned at camp. The varsity squad won the NCA Top Team Band Chant award for the Varsity division, the JV squad won the Top Team Cheer Award for the Junior Varsity division, and the Freshman squad won the Top Team Chant and Band Chant Award for the Junior Varsity Division. Coffee’s own varsity basketball cheerleader, Bre Griffin, won the jump-off competition out of every school that attended the camp.
During the camp, cheerleaders from Coffee and other schools are observed by the NCA cheerleaders to determine if they will be nominated for the chance to try out for the All American Team. According to the NCA organization, this nomination is given to cheerleaders who display superior technical skills, leadership, and strong personal values. The Coffee cheer program had 30 cheerleaders who were nominated and nine girls who made the NCA All American Team.
With home practices already underway for the varsity cheer squad, the freshman and JV squads will begin practice for football season next week.
The varsity cheer squad will get to cheer their first game of the season at the scrimmage football game in Fitzgerald on August 4. The freshman and JV squads will kick off their cheer season at their first game on August 24. The annual Mini Cheer Camp will be held on August 25, with the little girls having the chance to show off their learned skills that Friday night at the Coffee football game.
If you are interested in purchasing some Trojan gear for the upcoming season, the cheer program is currently doing a fundraiser. You can contact any Coffee cheerleader or the head cheer coach Nikki Davis to sport your Trojan spirit.