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Piper had such a precious little birthday.  Complete with pink poodles, friends and cake.  We love our little girl and love how she is growing.  We love you Piper.

I began coaching the DHS cheerleaders three years ago and three years of hard work has finally paid off.  July 22-25 the Durango High School varsity cheerleaders went to UCA cheerleading camp at the University of New Mexico.  As always, the girls were prepared to work hard and do the best they could.  In light of last summer, they knew they could be successful as positive, young leaders even if they weren’t very skilled cheerleaders.  Last summer, as we headed to camp, the girls knew they would struggle to learn material quickly and that they would be one of the weakest teams at camp.  Because of this, they determined to win every award that had nothing to do with the athletic element of cheerleading.  There were successful.  During the summer of 2007, the DHS cheerleaders won every non-athletic award possible.  They were recongnized for their enthusiasm and their leadership.  I was very proud of them.  They were, however, disappointed in their obviously weak cheerleading performances.

This summer was different.

The girls weren’t sure what to expect at UNM.  We couldn’t predict the ability levels of the other teams and we weren’t sure how well our new cheerleaders would pick up the camp material.  We were confident that we could affect the energy level of the camp in a postive way and that we could model hard work and leadership. What the girls discovered is that they were awesome.  They earned a “superior” (the highest mark) on each of their six evaluations.  The camp staff grew to enjoy their company and paid them special attention.  This, of course, improved our camp experience.  The girls continued to earn spirit awards each day and to improve their cheerleading performance.  By the end of the week they were the clear staff favorites.  All of my lectures about using their powers for good seem to have made an impact.  They had learned that through encouragement, enthusiasm, hard work and leadership they could turn a mediocre camp experience into an amazing experience for every team in attendance.

The end result was difinitive.  During the closing ceremonies, we won every award possible.  We competed for Camp Champ, and won (against more experienced teams with higher levels of difficulty).  We were given the Leadership Award (voted on by the other teams at camp).  We were given the Top Banana award (voted on by the staff).  We were given a Spirit Stick (cheesy, but important) and we earned a Superior trophy for our consistency during evaluations.  The only award we didn’t (and couldn’t) win is the Traditions award.  It is given to a team who lives up to their long standing tradition of cheerleading excellence.  DHS doesn’t, yet, have a long standing tradition of cheerleading excellence - but we are working on it.

One final, and by far most impressive commendation, was that all of my seniors were given applications with written recommendations to try out for staff positions for the Universal Cheerleading Association.  This is an incredible honor.  The UCA staff cheerleaders are some of the most amazing athlete/leaders I have ever met.  I have coached good cheerleaders before, and I have never had a senior “get app-ed.”  The staff was obviously impressed with my girls.  I was also impressed.  They exceeded my expectations.  They exceeded their expectations.  They have set a new standard and I am excited to see what else they accomplish this year.  Go Demons!!