April 11, 2019 at 11:27AM
Twelve thousand plus cheerleaders compete for a spot at the D2 Varsity Summit with only a ten percent chance of making it. One cheer squad on the Coast are taking their talents all the way to that summit in Disney World next month.
Every tumble, every stunt, every jump, and every move matters to the cheerleaders at Cheer Zone Athletics. Now, they're heading to the most elite cheer competition there is. Cheerleader Makayla Ladner said, "It's kind of like the Super Bowl of football, but the cheerleading version."
Annah Hoda said, "Everybody has worked really hard to go to this. All the teams have worked really hard."
Cheer Zone Athletics owner Sheila Perry said, "We just cherish each year for what it is because we never know what the future holds for that team of those kids."
To even get a bid of the national D2 Summit you must be one of the top three scoring teams at a prior competition. Cheer Zone received four. "To even get a bid is like almost as if we are competing. It's that big of a deal. We did a big bid reveal. We watch it. It streams live and we don't know who has the bids so we come with the notion that it could be disappointing or it could be the best day ever. There were parents jumping up and down. The kids were so excited. We had little kids crying."
For the coaches, their main goal is to make sure the kids do the best they can which doesn't pose much of a challenge. "We don't really have to motivate them very much because they are already so self-motivated by getting this bid. They're starting to work harder. We're upgrading their routines, adding more difficulty, and they're like chomping at the bit to hit that."
They will travel to the summit the weekend of May 9th at Disney World, which may be the most exciting part for some of the girls. Cheerleader Elizabeth Broom said, "I'm really excited because we all get to go on Tower of Terror together."
Twelve thousand plus cheerleaders compete for a spot at the D2 Varsity Summit with only a ten percent chance of making it. One cheer squad on the Coast are taking their talents all the way to that summit in Disney World next month.
Every tumble, every stunt, every jump, and every move matters to the cheerleaders at Cheer Zone Athletics. Now, they're heading to the most elite cheer competition there is. Cheerleader Makayla Ladner said, "It's kind of like the Super Bowl of football, but the cheerleading version."
Annah Hoda said, "Everybody has worked really hard to go to this. All the teams have worked really hard."
Cheer Zone Athletics owner Sheila Perry said, "We just cherish each year for what it is because we never know what the future holds for that team of those kids."
To even get a bid of the national D2 Summit you must be one of the top three scoring teams at a prior competition. Cheer Zone received four. "To even get a bid is like almost as if we are competing. It's that big of a deal. We did a big bid reveal. We watch it. It streams live and we don't know who has the bids so we come with the notion that it could be disappointing or it could be the best day ever. There were parents jumping up and down. The kids were so excited. We had little kids crying."
For the coaches, their main goal is to make sure the kids do the best they can which doesn't pose much of a challenge. "We don't really have to motivate them very much because they are already so self-motivated by getting this bid. They're starting to work harder. We're upgrading their routines, adding more difficulty, and they're like chomping at the bit to hit that."
They will travel to the summit the weekend of May 9th at Disney World, which may be the most exciting part for some of the girls. Cheerleader Elizabeth Broom said, "I'm really excited because we all get to go on Tower of Terror together."