The members of NDB’s Varsity Spirit Team hosted a cheer clinic for a range of over 30 cheer and dance middle school athletes. The clinic was organized by Varsity Spirit Team Coach Morgan Craig with the help of his three captains, Ashley Strain, Alyssa Kimoto and Lucy Wood, and the Ambassador Club. The event served as an admissions opportunity for girls interested in cheerleading and dance at the next level in high school.
In the early morning of Saturday, November 4, the NDB Spirit Team members arrived in the Moore Pavilion at 8:30 to begin setup for the clinic. The middle school cheer athletes arrived between 10:00 and 10:30. They were checked in by the cheer team moms, Debi Beltramo and Christina Daheb, along with other NDB cheerleaders. They received a Junior Tigers t-shirt, in the size they had previously ordered, and a goody bag with upcoming admissions events, friendship bracelets and stickers, put together by the Ambassador Club.
The Varsity Spirit Team, made up of 29 girls, were split into four groups: cheer/jumps, stunting, tumbling and dance. Each group got a leader, Ashley Strain led the stunting rotation, Gabby Lonardo ran the tumbling group, Alyssa Kimoto and Gianna Beltramo were the cheer and jump leaders and Lucy Wood was the dance leader.
Varsity Cheer Co-Captain and Ambassador Board member Alyssa Kimoto used her involvement in admissions and her authority on the cheer team to help organize and effectively execute the clinic.
“Every team member has their own skill set, especially across two teams,” Kimoto shared. “Each girl was assigned to a station where they could best showcase their skills, ensuring that each athlete was able to put their best foot forward.”
The middle school cheer athletes were from all over the Peninsula, with over 13 middle schools being represented. The 39 girls who showed up were split into groups of five to six to begin rotations. Every rotation was 15 minutes long. At noon, the parents of the athletes began to arrive to watch the performance.
Morgan Craig, the Varsity Pom and Cheer coach, gave a quick introduction and overview of the program. He introduced the Varsity cheer team who performed for everyone first. After, the middle schoolers performed their own cheer, which included a jump, and then the dance they learned for their parents.
“The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive…One of NDB’s greatest aspects is the overwhelming involvement in school spirit, both in terms of cheerleading and general excitement. The participants got a glimpse of what it means to be a tiger and had a good experience with the girls,” Kimoto shared.
The experience, which aimed to prepare the middle schoolers for cheering in high school, served as a NDB admissions event, getting both prospective students and families involved in the community.
