Berlin’s Game Day cheer team headed to Orlando, Florida to compete in the National High School Cheer Competition the weekend of February 7th and accomplished much success.
This competition took place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and consisted of three rounds; prelims, semifinals, and finals.
The Bears arrived in Florida on Wednesday night and got to work with two practices the next day.
“Our first practice was at the widely known football field at the all-star sports resort and it was a super cool experience seeing all the other teams working on their routines but also a bit chaotic. We also had another practice in one of the arenas at ESPN. It was pretty hot in the Florida sun but also fun and reassuring to be practicing before we competed,” senior Madison Thompson said.
The team’s first performance was on Friday. The girls talked about how it was nerve-wracking to perform on the giant stage at ESPN, but the team stepped out there confident and with lots of energy. They hit all of their stunts and made sure they had strong motions which qualified them for the next round.
Game Day participated in this same competition last year and only made it to prelims. This year, they used that as motivation and worked extra hard because they were determined to make it past the first round.
“To improve from last year, we focused on being a lot sharper with everything we did and maintaining a ton of energy throughout the routine,” Thompson said.
On Saturday, the girls had another practice before they competed again that evening. They had to make a few adjustments to their routine, which put extra pressure on the girls, but they remembered all the new changes and delivered a flawless performance without any mistakes.
Around 10 pm that night, it was announced that they made it to finals. This was a huge surprise to the team but it showed how much they had grown from last year.
“It was such an exciting yet emotional moment for the team. We were definitely shocked and cried happy tears as we had accomplished one of our main goals this season,” Thompson said.
Sunday morning, the girls were up bright and early and took the stage once again at 8:55 in the morning. Even though the sun had just risen, it didn’t stop the Bears and they had another great performance where they hit zero, which means everything went as planned and they received no deductions from the judges.
At the final awards ceremony, the Bears found out that they placed 6th out of 34 teams in their division. This team has come so far from last year and accomplished so much this season. They placed first in every single one of their competitions this season, became Berlin’s first state champions, and are now ranked 6th in the nation in one of the hardest divisions.
The whole nationals experience is definitely something to remember. Thousands of teams from all across the country come to compete at NHSCC, which is the most prestigious high school cheer competition in America. The energy there was unlike anything else and everyone was there to work hard but also have fun.
“I think competing together for three days straight, having stressful practices, and all having the same drive towards our goal was the best part. Through it all, we had a mix of serious moments, nerves, backstage, pep-talks, many laughs and some tears that contributed to the best memories,” Thompson said.
ESPN is located close to Disney World, so when the team wasn’t busy with practice or the competition, they got to spend some time in the parks. This was a great opportunity for the team to spend time together and take a break from the rigor of the competition.
Game Day Cheer has only existed for a few years, but they have already made history. Their coach, Justin Lehman, is very proud of this team and they can’t wait for next season.
