Six South Western cheerleaders travel to CheerHawaii
HANOVER, Pa. — What better place to further your athletic skills than Hawaii? Over the summer, 6 South Western high school cheerleaders, families and coaches traveled to the beautiful island of Oahu to do just that.
Seniors Anabelle Hasenstab and juniors Paisley Stormes and Tandi Zegowitz all agreed the take-always from their CheerHawaii experience is life-changing. Their coach, Katy Seibert, said of the experience, 鈥淕oing to Hawaii and being a coach for Cheer Hawaii was amazing – I have no words to explain the experience. It was a lot of fun, but there were also a lot of long days and late nights. The cheerleaders and their families worked hard to get to Hawaii with working and fundraising, and seeing their excitement was definitely worth it!鈥�
According to CheerHawaii鈥檚 website, 鈥淭he CheerHawaii Invitational provides an amazing blend of college prep cheer instruction with an incredible Hawaiian experience.鈥� Coach Katy further explained the process to get to Cheer Hawaii saying, 鈥淎thletes are nominated by a cheerleading coach based on GPA, leadership ability, coachability and attitude, as well as their desire and drive to learn. As a coach, I had to send my resume, write a cover letter, and submit 3 letters of recommendation.鈥�
Anabelle spoke of her experience saying, 鈥淚 liked getting to meet coaches and instructors from all over the states and learn how they teach and lead. I liked learning the new cheers, chants, and dances. For non-cheer activities, I really liked going to the Polynesian Cultural Center, the beaches, and the swap meet. I loved seeing the island and learning about the different cultures there.鈥� When not at camp, Paisley said, 鈥淚 liked the trolly ride and the shopping!鈥� Tandi added, 鈥淢y favorite cheer activity was the showcase where we performed what we learned over the week for our parents. My favorite non-cheer activity was the Polynesian Cultural Center where we learned about the different islands and cultures.鈥�
All 3 SW Mustang cheerleaders agreed the experience provided them with many unforgettable experiences. Annabelle explained, 鈥淵ou will always have people with different levels of experience and skills on teams. Whether it鈥檚 a sports team or a workplace team you are going to be working with people of all skill levels. It鈥檚 easy to be frustrated when someone doesn鈥檛 know as much as you but you have to remember that you were once learning just like them.鈥� 鈥淚 learned how other people make things and how others love in different places,鈥� added Paisley. Tandi cited the most important thing she learned was 鈥渉ow to go about cheering in college.鈥�
Each cheerleader found different parts of their Cheer Hawaii experience challenging. For Tandi, 鈥淭he hardest was a full day of workouts, we all were tired and frustrated but we pushed through as a team.鈥� Annabelle explained, 鈥淚t was sometimes hard to figure out why stunts wouldn鈥檛 hit but we had to remember that we鈥檝e all never stunted together before and it was ok if it didn鈥檛 work the first couple times. My least favorite part was probably the tight schedule. Everyday was pretty much one activity after another and there wasn鈥檛 much free time. It was hard to be so far away from my family and friends and with the time difference and schedule, I had a hard time getting to talk to them.鈥� Paisley readily agreed saying, 鈥淭he hardest part, I would say, was being away from my family.鈥�
Paisley has been a cheerleader for 10 years, including cheering with SJC Allstars and Eagles Elite squads. She commented, 鈥淭he biggest challenge I have in this sport is being frustrated when I can鈥檛 do something or we as a team can鈥檛 do something. To manage this I try to walk away for a little while and talk about it with friends. Outside of my cheer, I hangout with my boyfriend, watch new movies and play with my dog.鈥�
Anabelle, also with 10 years cheering experience, explained, 鈥淔or sideline cheering, I love being able to support my school’s teams by cheering them on through games. For competition, I love how close we all get with each other. We all spend so much time together at practice and competitions that we鈥檙e pretty much a little family. I also love being able to compete for my school and bring home trophies or banners, etc.鈥� When not cheering, Anabelle said she 鈥渓ikes to spend time with my friends, bake, and play with my cats.鈥�
Tandi hopes to continue to cheer at the collegiate level. Mentioning her biggest hurdle, 鈥淢y biggest challenge is having a mental block when it comes to tumbling. I face this by working hard and pushing myself to keep trying even when I鈥檓 scared.鈥� She tries to remember advice from her coach, 鈥淜eep trying and to commit to your goals. As you won鈥檛 get anywhere if you give up.鈥� Outside of cheering, Tandi said, 鈥淚 like to hang out with my friends and family.鈥�
Katy was the coach for Cheer Hawaii鈥檚 Team Hoku and said, 鈥淓ach team is given a Hawaiian themed name. Hoku is the Hawaiian word for star. My team consisted of 15 athletes from all over the country: Texas, Vermont, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma to name a few. There were a total of 11 teams this year with approximately 14-16 athletes on each team.鈥� A South Western graduate herself, Katy explained 鈥淚 cheered at South Western in middle school and high school. After graduating in 2007, I came back as a volunteer coach. In 2009, I was hired as the freshman basketball cheer coach and the rest is history. I am now the head coach for Varsity Football and co-coach Varsity Winter with my best friend. We were actually co-captains our senior year at South Western.鈥�
Being part of a squad and Cheer Hawaii has taught all 3 cheerleaders slightly different but important lessons. For Anabelle, 鈥淚 always wanted to try the best that I possibly could and set a good example for younger girls. They learn from the older girls so I always wanted to show them that it is important to put in lots of effort and show that you want to be there. The biggest challenge is learning to continue to put in my full effort when other people aren鈥檛. It鈥檚 hard to make a routine work or stunts hit when everyone isn鈥檛 putting in their full effort. Seeing other people not working hard during practice can make it hard to want to put in my full effort but I just remember that it鈥檚 never going to work if no one puts in effort.鈥� Tandi added, 鈥淐heer has taught me to value teamwork and learn how to help others learn new skills. Cheer Hawaii, specifically, taught me how to be a leader and yet listen to each other at the same time.鈥� Paisley learned, 鈥淏eing a member of a team has taught me a lot of communication. You have to speak to each other to get the right outcome you want. During Cheer Hawaii, we learned how to work with new people and how to change to the needs of your team.鈥�
Although teams travel together to the week-long Cheer Hawaii event, once there, the teammates and coaches rarely are in the same group. With their jam-packed schedule, Coach Katy said, 鈥淒uring the day I only saw my girls in passing. I didn鈥檛 have any athletes on my team who were from South Western. Cheer Hawaii does their best to split up athletes from the same school to be on all different teams. They really come to camp and are put on a team not knowing the others. In the end, these athletes end up creating long-lasting friendships and making memories they鈥檒l never forget, myself included.鈥�
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