Hello all!
I hope everyone is doing well and all of the girls have now had a chance to get some rest! I slept for over 15 hours, so I know many of them will still be recovering for a few days. Please let them know that rest is the first step to recovering their sore muscles. They did a lot of work the last few days!
I could not be more proud of the girls than I am right now. I can not stop thinking about what a great job they did at camp. I want to take a few minutes to let you all know of their accomplishments.
TSC was the best camp I have ever attended. The girls had FUN which I was very pleased with. Many camps don't emphasize the fun aspect of camp. TSC does. The girls had breaks throughout the day to bond, even with other teams, and to just dance and go crazy! With as much work as they were doing these activities kept them going! We performed our home routine on day 1 and both teams ROCKED! We knew we were not going to get our evaluation until the last day, I think I was more impatient than them, but I was confident they did well. JV placed FIRST and Varsity placed SECOND out of about 10-15 teams in each category! (Don't worry we have video of almost everything- Thanks to Staci!) We even had Meaghan on Skype for the performances, which was way cool!
They started learning a camp dance and a performance cheer which they would be evaluated on the next two days. The girls were assigned a private coach from TSC staff to help make changes to the routines and to add stunts to the cheer. Their evaluations went very well! I have to tell you about the dance evaluation. Both LQ Teams performed almost perfectly and received Game Ready blue ribbons. They were in a group with a JV team from another school. This team was very timid and nervous, and our girls cheered them on. After the first performance the other squad was very upset. Our girls went out of their way to cheer them on to try again, and cheered throughout the performance. They did perform and after LQ and this team played a cheer game together. LQ went out of their way to put a smile on the face of each of the other teams' girls. WITHOUT a prompting from any of our coaches. I have NEVER seen such kindness from any cheer team. I was so proud I almost cried. The group we have this year is truly the sweetest most caring group I could have ever hoped for. You should all be very proud of your daughter and the wonderful young lady she is! This was a wonderful life lesson for these girls, and I hope they can bring that experience back to LQHS and spread the kindness there!
Day 2 was very hard on the girls. There was A LOT of stunting. Our girls took it like champs and fought through to learn each skill. They were open to new techniques and skills. The stunting classes were superb. They really took the time to teach safe technique and the basics so that each stunt would progress from there. Our girls hit each stunt with ease and if they didn't they tried until they got it. They cheered each other on to success, and even cheered on other teams when they struggled. By the end of the day they were sore, and tired, but never gave up. I am so looking forward to getting back into practice with these new skills and really wowing our crowd next year! This team is one talented group of young ladies!
Day 3 is always the hardest. Everyone is tired, and cranky. No one gave up. Everyone stayed positive and encouraged others to keep their spirits high to accomplish their goals. I could see the energy fading, I know they stay up late after I tape them in at night, and they still fought through to continue to learn and progress. We had a Superhero dance party that night where we wore all pink. The girls had a blast dancing with other teams, and our Blackhawk even went to the party in costume! I could not help but laugh as I saw him being chased around the room by girls from all teams. I think he may have been the only mascot there!
The final day of camp was like none other I have ever experienced. By now I am sure you have heard, Bruce and Kris Jenner's daughters were at camp with us. As well as Jamie Foxx's daughter. I had never experienced this. Our girls really understood to let them have a normal camp experience and not harass them with requests for pictures and such. On the final day the Kardashian clan was present to watch the performances. I hate to brag but, Kourtney Kardashian's baby was quite taken by our Blackhawk. Maybe he will end up on the reality show. That is pretty cool I must admit!
Varsity performed both the cheer and the dance, and JV performed the dance. Both teams placed in each category bringing home a trophy! JV also was awarded Most Improved Team, and Varsity was awarded an Outstanding Team award! There are a few individulas I must recognize for their stellar performance at camp as well-
(these were preformed in front of the WHOLE Camp)
There was a jump-off- we had Courtney Carnavale, Ally Jenkins, Lindsey Klein, and Jessica Smith participate. All did AMAZING! Courtney won for all of the JV camp, and Jessica made it to the finals for Varsity.
For All- Stars-
Varsity- Whitney, Kayla, Solveig, Alex, Brooke, Lindsey, Jessica Smith, and Desirae performed a jump, the dance, and the cheer.
Brooke, and Jessica were named over all All Stars winning $ Scholarships. Alex was deemed OVER ALL All Star for 11-12 graders winning the ultimate title in her category! GREAT JOB to ALL these ladies! Way to reresent LQ!
JV- Savannah, Courtney, Ally, Melanie, and Maryfer performed a jump, the dance and the cheer.
Savannah and Courtney won $ Scholarships and were named over all All Stars! Wonderful job TO ALL these ladies! It took a lot of courage to perform in front of such a crowd and to do as well as they did!
I am so proud of the girls for all of their accomplishments, both team and personal. Camp is a lot of hard work and they rose to the challenge and represented LQ in the BEST way possible! I have to recognize the Varsity Captains, Alex, Brooke, and Solveig as well- They encouraged the WHOLE team to bond, through activities each night, and in preparations for camp. Each girl was made to feel a part of the team and I believe much of this was from their planned activities, and gifts. Their experience has given them the know how to be able to make this camp the best it could have been. I am SO PROUD of them. GREAT WORK GIRLS!
A BIG Thanks to Coach Staci, Coach Shantae, Coach O'Grady, and Mrs. Crystal Gentry for helping me all week. I am so blessed to have the expertise I have this year assisting me with the program. Coach Shantae is an amazing addition to the program. The girls really bonded with her this week and I am so lucky to have someone assisting me who truly cares for the girls and the betterment of the program. The work she has done with both teams is AMAZING! Coach Staci is truly respected by the girls and her expertise has allowed the girls to be aspire to the greatness they have already achieved. I could not have survived camp without her! Coach O'Grady was instrumental in helping with each performance and stunt. I am lucky to have her help as she has much more experience in coaching than I. Mrs. Gentry is one of my best friends, and willingly went to camp to help out in being a chaperone. She took it like a champ! I could not have made it through the week without the encouragement and help from these wonderful women!
Thanks to all the parents who came to watch the performances yesterday and also to Debbie McNicol and Tonya Carnavale for getting my messages out while I was at camp! All of YOU are the backbone to this program. Thank you for your continued support and willingness to encourage your girls to become such wonderful young ladies!
I am glad I can type these words, because I certainly can't speak! I sound like a hoarse Demi More! Please be patient if you need to call me, I fear you may not hear me over the phone! I couldn't help but scream encouragements for each performance and during awards. I am the team's biggest fan, after all!
Thank you for allowing me to care for your girls this last week. I really do feel like they are my daughters as well, and care for them as such. Take care, and I hope everyone has a great 2 week break! I will be working on getting out the football schedule, organizing buses for those games, work week plans, practice schedules for next year, and more ideas to make this team even better!
To The Girls, I have to end with a- LOVE YA!
TAKE CARE!
