It all begins with practice. 

The varsity cheer team practices two-three times a week for three hours and stays persistent with their practices. Whether it’s in the small gym or in the quad, they make sure to leave the practice with some sort of improvement.

Practice starts with stretching before the cheer team members begin working on their routines. Their routines are packed with two and three person stunts and tumbling. They use gymnastics and dance skills throughout their routines.

All of the team’s hard work has paid off with an upcoming trip to the USA Spirit Nationals in Anaheim on Feb. 14 and 15, where they will face over 7,500 of the best cheerleading teams from across the nation.

“We make it a habit of focusing on ourselves and on bettering our team.” Eric Martinez,  one of the squad’s three captains, said. The other two captains are Christen Rohm and Karen Linares. They explained that working on their skills is worth more than criticism or drama.               

The cheer team consists of two varsity teams and one junior varsity team. While all varsity team members compete at CIF, only part of the team competes in USA competitions, hence the titles of the CIF and USA team.

The USA cheer team is comprised of a select group of various varsity team members. These members cheer on a more advanced level with flexible flyers, advanced tumbling, and boy partner stunts. 

Thanks to three first-place wins at the World Class Cheers competition, the USA cheer team is off to Anaheim in an attempt to take home the nationals trophy. At the moment the USA cheer team remains undefeated. 

To anyone who wants to join cheer but has doubts, Rohm says, “I’d have to say, don’t knock it till you try it. I’ve played other sports before and I think cheer is just as difficult.”

“I feel extremely proud of the students and new coaches for qualifying for nationals.” says cheer coach Maria Renard.