This past February, Varsity cheer made school history at the National High School Cheer Championships in Orlando, Florida. NHSCC is the biggest and most rigorous cheer competition for top cheer teams across the nation. Before the actual competition in February, teams must qualify to attend the competition. YLHS qualified for NHSCC back in November of 2024 at their first UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) competition, taking home second place in a pool of skilled competitors.
Beginning in May of 2024 at the start of the season, a goal was set to compete in Florida. In itself, competing at NHSCC was a big step for Varsity cheer as they had never in school history partook in a competition nearly as big. Fast forward to January of 2025, Varsity cheer began to attend competitions each weekend, taking every opportunity there was to feel more confident with their advanced routine.
To kick off the trip, the team met at 4:45 AM at YLHS for an early call time. Although it was very early and still dark out, the energy was already high as everyone was extremely excited for the trip that everyone had been anticipating for nearly one year. On the plane ride to Florida, three California teams were also headed to Orlando: Edison High School from Huntington Beach, California; Downey High School from Downey, California; and Hart High School from Santa Clarita, California. Despite the plane ride being around five hours, the spirits were high and in no time the team had arrived in Orlando!
The trip officially started on day two because day one was more so of a travel day. Day two was a practice day and the team was up bright and early to lock in the skills that had been perfecting all season. In addition to practicing out in the Florida sun, the team also had the opportunity to watch and learn from national title holding teams such as Mater Dei High School and various others. Despite the fact that this day was primarily focused on practice, the team bonded greatly, taking in each moment they had together and working as a team to face any obstacles that were presented. At the end of day two, the team was feeling confident for the next day: Prelims day.
Day three of the trip was the first day of the competition, the preliminary round. In this round of the competition, out of the 112 teams that competed in the small advanced division, only 50% of teams would make it to the semifinals round. Madalyn Kientz (11), a varsity cheerleader shares, “I was super surprised to hear that we made it to round two, especially because we as a program had never even been to Florida before. Hearing this news was super exciting and I was so proud of our team and all that we had accomplished up to that point ”.
The next day was the semi-finals round. Now with only the top 50% of teams left, the competition was even tougher and in order to make it to the final round, the pressure was on. Through all the hard work and dedication poured into the routine by both the coaches and athletes, the team hit a zero deduction routine in the semi-finals round, meaning that the routine was executed without any deductible errors. Although it is always an expectation to execute a zero deduction routine, it is a challenging task due to the advanced structure of the routine. Having performed a great routine, the team moved on to the final round of the competition – a milestone that exceeded everyone’s expectations.
The final round of the competition only the best teams of the competition were remaining. After a long, hard fight to reach the final day, Yorba Linda High School took home 30th place out of 112 talented teams across the nation. This was a huge accomplishment for the team. Not only had they made school history, but it was also extremely touching for the team who faced many injuries and obstacles throughout the season to have made it this far. The final days of the trip were filled with fun! The team visited various Disney parks including Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Having the opportunity to go to Florida and spend so much time together brought the team closer. Ultimately, this trip was extremely successful and showcased the hard work put in throughout the season. Abby Reddick (11), a three year varsity cheer member shares, “I think that this trip brought the team together a lot. We got to share lots of memories, especially with the seniors who are graduating this year. I’m super happy that our hard work that we put in this season finally got recognized and I’m extremely proud of everyone on the team.
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