UCA Camp at West Harrison; Jun 20-21

91 girls, 6 area schools- and it only promises to get bigger next year. The central location may draw kids from both Omaha/Council Bluffs and Sioux City. Last year Iowa Western hosted a cheer camp, this year it held a Drill camp instead. June 21 was the same day as Morningside College's cheer clinic... West Harrison may just be onto something. Denison, Benson, Maple Valley, Lawton Bronson, and Boyer Valley made this camp a lot of fun.

Sam, Christine, and Kassi work on learning a new floor cheer Friday.

We had instructor two instructors from Iowa State, one from UNI and one from Iowa Western.

Don't be afraid of heights. West Harrison girls give Kassi a lift into a full-extension.

Denison girls put Sam up in a double thigh stand as part of the floor routine that the Monarchs and Bulldogs did together. Long live the "Mon-Dogs!"

See Coach's Facebook page for more UCA Camp pictures.

Here's the story I submitted to the Missouri valley Times, the Mapleton PRESS, the Dunlap Reporter, the Denison Bulletin-Review, and Harrison County Ambition- We'll see if any of them run it and how soon and with which pictures-

Loud and Proud;
Area Cheerleaders
Work to Get Ready for Seasons Ahead

Muscles strained, nerves may have too. Sweat poured from the hard work and repetitive motion. At times the shouting was deafening. But some of them hadn’t had so much fun all summer.

91 girls representing six high schools from around western Iowa and Omaha attended the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) camp at West Harrison High School in Mondamin June 20 and 21. Cheerleaders from Boyer Valley, Denison, Maple Valley-Anthon Oto (MVAO) and West Harrison were among those at the camp. Some were bussed, others drove, some even spent the night in Missouri Valley.

Instructors from Iowa State University and Northern Iowa University put the girls through a grueling but fun regiment of cheering, dancing, stunt building and tumbling.

West Harrison Coach Gina Felton decided to organize the camp after seeing a need in the region that wasn’t being filled.

MVAO Coach, Laura Holst hoped the camp would provide her squads skills they will need for the state cheerleading competition this fall. The Rams sent 18 girls to the camp; basketball and football cheerleaders, both Varsity and JV.

Boyer Valley Coach Ted Mallory was impressed with the superior level of instruction, especially for the reasonable cost.

“$60 per cheerleader for a two-day camp is great when many three day camps can cost as much as two to three hundred dollars,” said Mallory.

Felton hopes the camp will become an annual event that more schools from the newly formed Western Valley Conference will consider attending in the future.

Indian Hills CC

Indian Hills Community College

May 5,2007

Dear Cheerleading Coach,

Do you have senior squad members who are planning to attend Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa next fall? Are they interested in cheerleading at the collegiate level? If so, please let them know tryouts for the IHCC cheer squad will be held in June. I am looking for applicants with enthusiasm, a good attitude, ability to work well with other squad members, sharp motions, and strong academic background.

A one-day camp for the tryouts will be held on Friday June 15, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Tom Arnoid Net Center on the Ottumwa campus. ProspectIve students must attend tne camp in order to be eligible to tryout. The tryouts will be held at 9:00 a.m., Saturday June 16, 2007, at the Net Center. Students who live too far away to drive back and forth may stay in an area hotel, or may spend the night in Trustee Hall for $12.00 per night. Students staying the dorm will be under the supervision of the IHCC Cheer Coach, and should bring their own bed linens, towels, etc. Meals may be purchased in the cafeteria.

Tryouts for the squad will consist of performing a cheer, dance, and a motion drill learned in a one-day camp, their own chant or cheer, two jumps (one will be a toe-touch), and their own 45-to-60 second dance routine. Candidates must bring their music on a CD. Candidates will also be required to base and/or fly an elevator with cradle dismount. We will be working on progressive stunts up through elevator with cradle dismount during the camp to prepare for tryouts.

To be eligible for the cheer squad, students must be enrolled for the fall term, must be in good physical condition, and must maintain a 2.0 GPA at IHCC. For tryouts, candidates will be required to complete an application, submit their fall schedule (classes should end by 4:00 p.m.), and complete the IHCC Student Athlete Insurance Waiver form. These can be found on the college cheer squad web site:

http://www.indianhills.edu/ihcc/Athletics/cheer/cheer.asp

A letter of recommendation from a coach or school administrator is required, as is a 1-2 page essay answering the following questions: 1. Why do you want to be a member of the squad?
2. What strengths or skills will you bring to the squad? 3. What do you hope to gain by being a member of the squad? 4. What can you do to motivate a difficult crowd?

Cheerleading takes a commitment, so onily people who are truly interested should tryout. Candidates who make the squad will be assessed a $50 fee to help offset the cost of shoes, warm-ups, etc. Squad members will be required to attend a team camp at ISU August 7 and 8. If for any reason, the student doesn't attend the fall term, that student will be billed the cost of the camp as well as the cost of hotel, meals, etc., involved with traveling to the camp.

As part of the athletic department, cheer squad members are required to follow all squad rules and abide by the IHCC Student Athlete Code of Conduct. Please feel free to contact me bye-mail at cleffler@indianhills.edu or by phone at (641) 683-5178 with questions.

Cheryl Leffler
IHCC Cheer Coach

525 Grandview Avenue Ottumwa,Iowa 52501 (641) 683-5111
http://www.indianhills.edu