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Friday, September 5, 2008
Lakeville North Stands Tall
St. Paul, MN
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By: Carrie Gill
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Photo(s) By: Gabor Deli
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On the national stage of cheerleading, it’s a fact that Southern teams dominate but several programs in the Midwest are trying to change that. Lakeville North is well on their way, as they’ve been competing at the prestigious NCAA Nationals for over 10 years now.
“In the south they have so many feeder programs and start the girls so much younger because of the popularity of the sport,” said Susan Link, the director of the Lakeville North program.
In order to increase awareness and excitement for cheerleading in the area, the Panthers hold summer clinics and camps for kids. Most of the girls on the team have a background in tumbling because of the demands of the sport. Erin Cochran, the lone senior on the team, has a typical story of how she got into cheerleading.
“I grew up dancing and doing gymnastics but decided to try a cheerleading camp in sixth grade,” said Cochran. She loved the excitement of the sport and is now leading eight juniors, five sophomores, two freshmen and one eighth-grader on the varsity team at Lakeville North.
Despite the variety of ages on the team, Cochran thinks that one of their strengths is team chemistry and the fact that they work hard together. “We all have the same goal of being the best we can be so it helps us perform well,” said Cochran, one of the team’s captains. They’re a very dedicated group, as most of the team chooses to concentrate only on cheerleading year round.
Like other sports, team members must work hard on their individual skills in order to contribute to the team. “Tumbling is the biggest challenge in cheerleading and it’s something that has to be perfected over many years,” said Cochran. Part of their practice time is devoted to individual tumbling with specialists coming in to train them.
The team spends over seven hours a week practicing together most of the year. A choreographer from the University of Minnesota creates a special routine for the Panthers at the beginning of the season and they compete with it the rest of the year.
There are 10 local competitions that prepares them for the final event, Nationals, in February. “Because we have qualified to compete at Nationals for so many years, expectations are high,” said Link, who feels that the success of the program has helped draw kids in.
The Lakeville North team has been cutting back on “spirit” cheering, where they lead cheers on the sidelines of sporting events. Even though the school shaved their budget for this kind of activity, the team decided it was in their best interest to continue cheering for the home football games and will perform their routine at the homecoming pep fest in September.
“It will be interesting to see what the future holds as budgets continue to get cut,” said Link, concerned it will become even more difficult for those wanting to participate. Currently most of the funding for competitive cheerleading comes from parents, booster clubs and fundraisers.
The team’s biggest fundraiser will be on November 1, when 46 teams come in to compete at the Lakeville North Invitational. In past years, the team has bagged groceries, washed cars and worked at the Uptown Art Fair among other things to raise money.
Whether it’s working clinics, spending extra hours in the gym or fundraising, the Lakeville North team will do whatever it takes to be successful. Come February, they plan to contend with those Southern teams yet again.
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