Five Redwood Cheerleaders were recently selected locally in Visalia in the midst of cheer camp during mid August 2021 to compete internationally representing team USA in the All-American Cheer competition.
The competition event will take place in Europe on New Year’s Eve and will last for a week (specific dates to be determined). Considering a few push-backs from the pandemic, RHS cheer is stepping into the 2021-2022 season with places to be.
The All-American Cheerleading team is an international cheer competition that opens up tryouts via school recruits each year which takes place during cheer camp. In the course of cheer camp on Sunday, August 15, three All-American coaches visited in search of new recruits to represent the USA internationally competing team.
Photo courtesy of Jasmine Luna
While in Europe, the trip will last three to four days and the cheerleaders will be able to arrive as early as they wish, or if they choose to travel to Europe prior to the competition, they can do that as well. The girls will be cheering in their Redwood uniforms representing Redwood High School and Team USA inside of a large cheer arena.
This year, Redwood was able to grow the All-American Cheer squad with five new editions that are to be performing in 2022. Those new editions to the team include varsity Redwood Cheer captain, Cheyanne Lopez, ‘22, Isabella Galaviz, ‘22, Keira Bixler, ‘24, Jocelyn Trevino, ‘23, and former Redwood cheerleader, Malayna Nieto, ’23.
From an outside perspective, it may seem as though it is a simple process, when in reality it takes many factors for the cheerleaders to go out and give it their best effort.
In the tryout of the All-American process, young cheerleaders are expected to perform a defensive cheer in small groups in front of judges, followed by their best high jump.
While the process of trying out for competitive All-Star teams can be nerve-wracking and lengthy, the positivity of Redwood cheer is what has kept the girls motivated.
For Keira Bixler, ‘24 having the mindset to “not be the best in the world, but the best for the world’’ is what has kept her grounded and in a positive state of mind especially during the All-Star tryouts.
Bixler remarks that the original reason why she joined cheerleading for RHS was because “[she] really wanted to find a way to combine [her] love for dance and [her] love for the school, and [she] found that in cheer.”
From her experience in cheering, Bixler describes it as a “whirlwind of excitement and craziness around [her]. It’s really amazing.”
Photo courtesy of Jasmine Luna
Similarly, Jocelyn Trevino, ’23 adds that her family was on her mind while she was enduring the All-Star tryouts.
For Trevino, this tryout was a way for her to step out of her comfort zone as she says, “I felt accomplished because I usually don’t do things like that, I had a lot of adrenaline, I was just so excited.”
Former RHS cheerleader Malayna Nieto, ’24 says, “I’ve actually never done something like this, so it was both exciting and nerve wracking, but I was just hoping for the best and luckily I got it.”
Nieto then states that though her beginnings started in dance classes when she was little, cheer was a way for her to “try something new” at Redwood.
Her advice for future participants who also wish to tryout for All-American is “If you try your best at something you’re passionate about, you’ll be fine and everything will work out in the end.”
“They will see girls from all over the world, from all over the United States, and it’s just an experience… It’ll definitely be a memory that they will never forget..”
RHS Cheer Coach/Advisor, Becky Springer
Team captain, Cheyanne Lopez, ‘22 reflects on her moments pre-trying-out stating, “I was really nervous, I’m not going to lie because like there are a lot of really good girls on the team, and I’m not too confident on my jumps.”
It’s typical for nervousness to trigger anxiety thoughts to block out positivity, but fortunately, Lopez was able to manifest good energy into winning her spot on the All-American squad.
RHS Cheerleader Isabella Galaviz, ‘22 reflects on her moments during her experience in the tryouts stating, “Leading up to the tryout, I know that at first I was nervous… afterwards, I felt relieved. I mean, I feel that I did really well.”
Post-tryout, Galaviz describes her feelings now towards looking forward to traveling abroad to cheer, “I think I’m more nervous… not even necessarily nervous to cheer, but the fact that it’s out of the country, I’ve never been out of the country before, so it should be interesting.”
Though the cheer competition will take place in Europe in 2022, it is “still a priority,” adds Coach Springer. It is crucial that the girls stay conditioned and ready in order to perform their best.
In preparation for the All-American squad, as well as in all of the RHS sports events, the cheerleaders go through extensive conditioning every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays with special coaches, as well as with help with stunt coaches to help increase confidence mostly for flyers and for base spotters.
The hard work that the Redwood cheerleaders put into their season will allow for great performance and excellent preperation for the competition that is to come in the incoming year in Europe.
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