By Erin P

The Walled Lake Central Cheerleading team gave back to their community on Saturday, February 11, hosting a cheer clinic that catered to kids from grades K to 8th from the Walled Lake School District.

Although the clinic started at nine, the cheerleaders decided to come early to support another  fundraiser, held by the Walled Lake Central’s Women’s basketball team. Sophomore Sarah Abrams said, “Being able to hang out with the girls without worrying about cheer was a nice change,” she goes on to say “I love my team and I’m going to be really sad when the season ends.”

After the team breakfast, the girls set up for the kids’ arrival. As the younger girls started arriving  they were immediately thrown into games as an ice-breaker. After a quick stretch, they were split up into age groups and sent off to do different activities at each of the five stations. These stations included crafts, tumbling, jumps, stunting, and chanting, along with a quick snack break in the middle. Junior Destiny Dabish,one of the cheerleaders in charge of the fourth through sixth graders, said “I liked having the older girls to mentor, they payed attention and were very eager to learn the way a varsity cheer team does it.”

At the end of the clinic, 11:30 am, the kids’ parents arrived and watched some short performances from each age group. Co-captain Junior Elizabeth Bembas said, “Showing the parents what their kids had learned was my favorite part,” she continued, “It made me proud of the girls and how they had learned so much, in a short amount of time.”

The money, a little over $1200, from the clinic went straight to the cheerleaders booster club to help with future expenses. The team is planning on holding another clinic in the fall with their sideline cheerleaders, so stay tuned for a set date.