The Tracy High Cheer Clinic commenced on Sept. 23, when the cheer team got together to teach the future generation of cheerleaders all about cheer, and prepare them for their first performance at the halftime show of the varsity football game on Sept. 25.

“The Tracy High Cheer Clinic has been a cheerleading tradition for years, and even I, as a young girl, attended it and absolutely loved it,” Coach Sheila Soares said.

At the clinic, the girls on the team taught the young girls the techniques and skills that every cheerleader must have.

“We taught them how to do jumps, stunting, basic cheers, and how important it is to smile to the crowd,” senior cheerleader Maya Spencer said.

The clinic allows future cheerleaders to get an idea of what it is like to be an actual high school cheerleader and motivates them to want to become cheerleaders.

“We have many cheerleaders on the team now that have gone through this clinic when they were younger, so we hope to inspire these future Tracy High cheerleaders,” Soares said.

“I did this same cheer clinic three years in a row before coming to high school, and it was so fun and inspiring that I could not wait to come and be a cheerleader in high school,” Spencer said.

“It was amazing to see how eager and excited these young girls were to learn about cheer, and it made me wish that I had done it when I was younger,” senior cheerleader Angeli Indran said.

The clinic also gave the Tracy High cheerleaders a chance to exercise leadership skills and help the younger generation.

“Placing my girls in leadership roles allows them to take initiative in their community, and I love to see how the little ones are in such awe of them,” Soares said.

“Because I am also in Leadership, I was able to utilize my skills of encouraging others towards helping and teaching these young girls,” Spencer said.

“It was so great to become a leader and have the younger girls look up to you as a role model,” senior cheerleader Amarette Morales said.

The team and students of the clinic were a little on edge before the game, but proved those nerves were not a challenge after the performance.

“I was a little nervous for the girls to perform at the game on Friday, because I knew they would be nervous since it is most of the girls’ first time performing, but I was mainly excited to see how well they progressed and see how much fun they were having,” Indran said.

“While we were waiting to perform, the kids were practicing over and over, and when we finally got out there, they had the biggest smiles on their faces, and that made me so happy,” Morales said.

“At the beginning we were really nervous to perform,” 11-year old cheer clinic student Brooke Vollbrecht said.

“When it was over, all of our nerves went away, and it was so fun,” 11-year old cheer clinic student Ashley Wheelar said. “I can’t wait to be a cheerleader when I come to high school.”

“It was so amazing to have the chance to actively participate in someone else’s learning, and see how your own experiences in cheer helped the little ones better understand and grow in their desire to become a cheerleader,” Indran said.

The cheer clinic was a success and there is much to look forward to for the future Tracy High cheerleaders to come.