The Unveiling of a 9 Month Competition Prep Season

One goal of VCA is to bring China to the forefront of the cheerleading world. We are constantly striving to improve our athletes to that of the skills of the best cheer and dance programs throughout the world. That is the reason and our motivation for everything we do at the gym. Whether it be the way we teach, the classes and teams we offer, or the length of our athlete’s sessions and seasons.

The first change we made was the addition of competition prep teams. We wanted our athletes to be in a faster paced setting with like-minded athletes. We pushed skills and started to give them the feel of what it is like to be on a team with a competitive mindset. With the separation of rec teams and competition prep teams we saw a lot of our athletes really start to flourish and stand out in their routines.

Another recent change we made was a revamp of our monthly tumbling classes. We made them very goal specific so our athletes could work on the skills they needed in order to push their tumbling to the next level. Since this change, we have seen a dramatic increase in skills and our gym as a whole, performing at a much higher level.

The next big change we are making at varsity is the length of our competition prep season. We will be having a nine month season for our competition prep teams. The reason for this is because it goes hand and hand with what the rest of the world does. We want our athletes to be with each other for a longer amount of time so they can get more comfortable with the people they are performing with. When athletes are more comfortable together routines become not only safer, but more difficult and visually appealing.

Competitive teams do not just train for one competition. They have a series of competitions leading up to a higher stakes competition at the end of their season. Every time they perform their routine the athletes and the coaches learn something about the routine and are able to make small adjustments. These small adjustments over a nine month span lead to a huge difference in the final product.

That is what we are hoping to do with our nine month season here at VCA. We want to put out more difficult routines that are more appealing to crowds and eventually judges. This next season at varsity is going to be monumental. Make sure you have a spot and sign up for your material and tryout clinics today!

 The authors：

- former High School Cheerleader

-former University of Missouri Cheerleader

-UCA staff and Head instructor 7 years

-10 years experience coaching at the High School, College, and Competitive level of Cheerleading