Rethink Camp

Eight reasons to consider the alternatives.

By Jennifer Renée Smith

Cheer Biz News April/May 2010

“I personally think the bonding aspect of the camp experience is the best reason to go. It’s really hard for teenagers to bond during practices at times because it’s so ‘work’ focused and sometimes stressful.” —Sally Green, Premier Knoxville West

Traditionally, the tried and true way of providing all-star athletes with a cheer camp is by hosting one in-house with your own staff running the show. In recent years, however, an increasing number of gym owners have been shaking up the system in order to give their cheerleaders a fresh experience. While some programs are hiring professional consultants to host specialized skill and choreography privates, others are going the old-school route of bringing their teams to a residential camp that caters to competitive cheerleaders.

Infuse a new wave of enthusiasm in your program by changing up the same old, same old this summer. Read on to see if any of the situations we’ve listed below ring true for you and to learn how one of these camp alternatives may remedy the situation.

Reason #1: You’ve undergone a merger.

The news that your gym has suddenly doubled or even tripled in size due to a merger can be daunting for your members to hear—especially for those teens who’ve been with you since they were toddlers. Attending a residential camp can do wonders for speeding along the getting-to-know-you process. Athletes will leave with a solid camaraderie, team spirit for their new “brand” and a more uniform performance style, all of which are necessary for the success of a newly merged program.

Kellie Elliott and Troy Hedgren, who co-own Pacific Coast Magic, Inc. (PCM), made such an announcement in March of 2009. Prior to the merger, Elliott’s Pacific Coast Cheer, based in Murietta, CA, and Hedgren’s Magic All-Stars, located an hour away in Laguna Hills, each had their own way of providing athletes with a “camp” experience. For years, Elliott organized a destination camp at San Diego’s City Park, involving a hotel stay and various activities spearheaded by the staff, and Hedgren typically brought in an outside choreographer to work with his teams during an in-house skills camp. To kick start their combined program’s inaugural season, they decided to blend the best of both concepts and brought 10 of their 14 level 2-5 teams to Woodward West, a multi-sport residential camp located near Bakersfield, this past summer. During their four-day stay, they had access to many amenities, including a 24,000-plus square-foot training facility, and were able to bring in the outside choreographers and music producers to work with individual teams.

“Because we now have two locations and 250 athletes, this camp gave us the opportunity to plant the seeds of pride and loyalty and share PCM secrets that only our athletes have earned,” says Elliott. “They really embraced the camp and left with more than just a new stunt or tumbling pass.”

Reason #2: Your cheerleaders have hit a plateau.

A few days spent training under a different authority can make a huge difference in an athlete’s perception of his or her abilities and overall attitude. This can be achieved through bringing outside professionals to your facility for private skills camps or by traveling to a residential camp.

“Sometimes that’s all they need to get over those mental blocks,” says Sally Green, manager for Premier Athletics Knoxville West, who’s been bringing her junior and senior level teams to One Up, an all-star performance camp at Lake Frances in Crossville, TN, where her athletes have the option and advantage of working with outside coaches and choreographers.

Reason #3: You’re beyond busy.

Between interviewing prospective employees, ordering new uniforms and running a fair share of practices, finding time to plan and execute an in-house camp can be exhausting. If you’re craving the convenience of remaining at your home base, bringing in outside people from a reputable company to build a custom-made private stunt or chorography camp that meets the unique needs of your individual teams may be the fix.

“[Camp] staff members who come out to work on stunts with my teams allow me to focus my efforts on running the gym while still keeping up with the trends,” says Stephanie Beveridge, executive director of programs for GymKix in Copperas Cove, TX. Beveridge has been hiring American Cheer Power for camps for the past decade.

Reason #4: Your gym is full of distractions.

Perhaps there’s just not enough time or space to accommodate the summer traffic—a combo of your own teams’ practices and the training sessions you’re hosting for area recreational and school teams. Or your gym is unbearably hot. Or your lobby has turned into a gossip hub. Whatever the situation, switching up the environment can be a welcome change for your coaching staff and teams.

“Getting away from home is a great way to have your team members learn to work together and focus on just cheerleading,” says Stacy Rowe, program director of the Premier Athletics Clayton Shockers in North Carolina, who has hosted in-house camps in the past.

Reason #5: Your facility has minimal training equipment.

If a regulation cheer floor is your main amenity, without question, you’re team(s) would benefit from attending a residential camp that boasts a variety of state-of-the-art training tools, such as foam pits, in-ground trampolines and tumble tracks and rod tumbling strips. Also, professionally trained staff members will be onsite to provide you with spotting techniques and address safety concerns for when you eventually acquire this type of equipment at your gym.

Reason #6: Your members hardly know one another.

If you have multiple senior and junior levels training under one roof, it’s easy for individual teams and even athletes to form cliques and not take the time to meet their fellow gymmates.

“I personally think the bonding aspect of the camp experience is the best reason to go,” says Green. “It’s really hard for teenagers to bond during practices at times because it’s so ‘work’ focused and sometimes stressful.”

Elliott adds, “In my opinion, a camp away from the gym sets you apart from most programs. It empowers kids to meet new friends and become better athletes when they’re working and living in cabins together for multiple days.”

Reason #7: Your teams have very different needs.

Hosting your own camp is challenging when you have multiple teams made up of varying levels and ages. Splitting up your approach may turn out to be a viable solution for your program.

Sarah Schneider, the general manager at Cincinnati Elite in Park Hills, KY, tried this tactic last summer. In the past, Schneider held one big in-house choreography camp using V!ROC choreographers, but this time around she experimented with sending her senior level cheer and dance teams and the V!ROC choreographers away to One Up, while she kept her junior and younger teams at home to work with their own set of choreographers.

“From a coach’s perspective, it was nice to have the senior athletes together outside of choreography hours to focus solely on team-building,” she says. “It was also refreshing to get a head start on team unity so early in the season, when we normally see athletes beginning to bond when they travel together for competitions.”

Reason #8: Your gym lacks a pool, lake or beach volleyball court.

Whose doesn’t? Onsite perks are a huge incentive for kids and provide them with the taste of a classic camp experience. They’ll want to train hard during their designated class times, so they can reap the rewards later on when they’ve earned a break.

“The amount of fun and activities available at an away camp can’t be matched if we’re home working inside a hot gym,” says Elliott, whose athletes had plenty to choose from at Woodward West—a bowling alley, swimming pool, video game room and a digital photography lab, just to name a few.

For the Cincinnati Elite All-Stars, the ropes course was the most talked about feature during their stay at One Up. “The athletes are harnessed in and climb to the top of a tree to complete an obstacle course throughout the tree tops,” Schneider. “This is one activity the athletes raved about when they returned home!”

For a complete directory of companies that offer cheerleading camp services to all-star programs, check out the 2010 Coach’s Handbook, available now.

All-Star Opportunity

Receiving an invite to try out for a camp staff position is a huge honor. If any of your graduating athletes get app’d at a camp or another cheer-related event throughout the season, don’t let them miss out on the chance to build upon their existing leadership skills. Of course, you can share your personal stories as a summer staffer if you’re met with looks of doubt, but just in case, here are some buzzwords to rattle off that will hopefully encourage them to give it a go:

• Role Model: Chances are these athletes are already leaders within your gym. In their role as an instructor, they’ll have the chance to make an impact on hundreds of lives and give back to the sport they love.
• College Prep: If the only type of cheerleading they’ve been exposed to is competitive and they’re gearing up for a college team, this experience will be invaluable. Your all-stars may feel a little out of their comfort zone at first, teaching motions, sidelines and crowd cheers, but come fall, they’ll be ready for what’s expected at the college level.
• Life Experience: Nothing will replace the memories they’ll gain while traveling with equally outgoing people who are all passionate about cheerleading.
• Coaching Skills: If, like many seniors, your app’d athletes have aspirations of coaching or running a gym themselves one day, nothing will better prepare them than working as a camp staffer. They’ll learn how to teach skills (different than knowing how to do them), how to work long hours on end (for not so much pay) and how to coach all different ability levels. They’ll also learn (by trial and error) how to deal with people in a professional manner—adults and kids—who have various personality types.