The Live Oak cheer and dance teams return this year with even
more spirit then ever.
The Live Oak cheer and dance teams return this year with even more spirit then ever.
The team participated in a camp in Santa Cruz over the summer and came home with several awards. Live Oak had just three practices before the camp. In that time, the team had to put together a home evaluation cheer for JV and varsity and a dance routine for the song girls.
“We have a wide range of personalities that have come together,” said coach Lana Wright, who owns a dance and apparel store in Morgan Hill. “They get along so well. They have a great time together. They had a lot of fun at camp and worked so hard.”
Teams and participants were evaluated every day on their performance and on the stuff they learned during camp. Live Oak received “superior” awards in everything and won spirit awards every day. The Acorns received the unity award after being recognized by the other 25 or so schools in attendance. The song girls also won the award for the hardest working team.
As a result of receiving the superior awards, the Live Oak cheerleaders were again invited to perform in the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. The team probably won’t go again this year since it was there for the festivities last year, Wright said. The team was also invited to the Hollywood Christmas Parade in Los Angeles.
Audition tryouts for the All-star team were held the second night of camp.
Stephanie Egbert, Sabrina Dominguez, Christina Estrada, Jessica Towner and Elicia Perkins will represent Live Oak’s cheer squad. And senior Pamela Cedano and junior Noella Huerta were selected from the Live Oak varsity song team.
Seniors Charmaine Rocca and team captain Danielle Pacheco were asked to audition to be U.S. Gymnastics instructors. Last year, Rachel Dunning from Live Oak was selected as an instructor after auditioning.
Live Oak participated in the Fourth of July parade, and the team also put on its cheerleading camp this summer. About 25 of the 36 cheerleaders helped out with the 86 campers.
The varsity group is an experienced group – 18 of the 29 girls are returners. There are seven cheerleaders on the JV squad, although the team has to do without for several weeks Lauren Curd, who fractured her pelvis during a car accident.
Many of the girls on the varsity squad come in with prior cheer or dance experience.
“It is a lot of talent coming together,” Wright said. “They are very unique this year. It is very refreshing to coach them.”
Saber Kitten Kristen Mosley and Raderette Liz Berry have helped develop solid cheer programs at Britton. The freshmen cheerleaders cheer for Live Oak’s freshman football team and for the Britton and Murphy freshmen basketball teams. Allison Ashworth is the assistant Live Oak coach and has also helped develop the girls potential.
The cheerleaders will be giving up blow horns during the home opening football game against Oak Grove to help gets fans pumped up.
“Right now we’re working on our game-action cheers and on getting the crowd involved,” Wright said. “We’re mainly focusing on football. Halfway through football we will start working on basketball.”
Football and boys basketball will again be the only sports that have cheerleaders. Wright said the team won’t be doing any competition because it would take too much time away from studies.
The cheerleaders’ play book is almost as extensive as the football team’s. Cheerleaders are given a two-page list of cheers as well as a video to watch to help them get ready. The team is constantly adding new cheers to its book, Wright said.
“By the second or third game, the girls will know about 60 game-action cheers,” Wright said. “We have a ton of offense and defense cheers and some general cheers so that way you are not doing the same cheers over. It kind of changes things up.”
