When in Doubt, Cheer It Out!

Beginning October 4th, Fair Grove High School Cheer hosted the annual Junior Cheer Camp for girls in Pre-K through 4th grade. The girls performed at halftime during the football game on October 7th.

During practice, the girls broke up into groups of about 30-40 kids and have anywhere from 2-4 high school cheerleaders as their group leaders. High school cheerleader Nevaeh Lahey (10) said that, “The type of things that take place at this event is getting to learn material such as a cheer, chant, and dance, as well as getting to possibly watch some stunting and jumps!”

Group leader Carissa Thompson (12), shared that her favorite part is, “Getting to know the kids and building relationships with them.” Carissa and two of her teammates were in charge of the youngest group which proved to be a challenge at times, but the girls were well managed.

Lahey explained, “I am very excited to meet all of the little girls, and to see them work hard as little cheerleaders.” This was Lahey’s second year doing Junior Cheer Camp and she said, “I loved doing it last year and have been looking forward to it since the beginning of the school year.”

According to Thompson, planning and working the cheer camp requires a lot of time and effort. For three hours after school, everyday, for three days, the girls go to the elementary school gyms and practice their dances, cheers and tricks. And, of course, they have a snack break halfway through. This requires lots of patience and willingness from the girls as working with kids isn’t always easy. 

On October 7th, during halftime performance of the Fair Grove versus Buffalo football game, the elementary cheerleaders performed everything they had worked on throughout the week starting with a toe touch and the Fair Grove chant. The girls ended their performance with a dance to the song “Party In The U.S.A.” The girls walked off the field with a big applause from the stands and huge smiles on their faces.