By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
For three days, athletes going into sixth through eighth grade learned chants, jumps, stunts, tumbles and more from the Clarkston Varsity Cheer and coaches during camp, June 26-28.
“We really try to build on the skills that will be helpful to them when they try out in the fall,” said Megan Chorazyczewski, assistant varsity cheer coach about Cheer Camp. “We try to teach them some of the stunts they will need to know and the tumbling skills. We also try to teach them the performance aspect like how to have presence out on the sideline when you are doing a cheer, arm placement – things like that.”

The campers also learned a cheer the varsity team learned during their camp last year in Alma.
They also held a cheer camp for those in Young Fives through fifth grade and had just over 70 attending, June 19-21.
“It went really well,” said Chorazyczewski. “We do somewhat of the same thing but on a lower scale where we teach them some of the easier level chants.”
She added it was great for the varsity team to teach and lead during both cheer camps.
“It’s good team bonding for our team as well because we just started practicing a few weeks ago,” she said. “Doing these camps really brings our teams together. It gives people chances to step up as leaders. Early on in the season we really see who those leaders are and most of the time it’s our upperclassmen who have been here year after year and know what to do and how to run it. These girls are also great to run it because they know what to expect. These girls could be their future teammates one day. They are essentially teaching their future teammates.”
Each camp had a small cheer show for families on the last day.
Chorazyczewski added they will have a clinic for those in Kindergarten through sixth grade in the fall on a Saturday.
“They learn a bunch of our chants,” she said. “They get to perform with us at one of the football games.”
The cheer camps were held through Clarkston Community Education. For more, visit www.clarkston.k12.mi.us/community/community-education.

  cheer camp, Clarkston Community Education