Each year the cheer and dance teams travel to compete at a national competition. The dance team travels to the National Dance Alliance’s competition (NDA) and cheer travels to the National Cheerleaders Associations competition (NCA). Each year the cheer and dance teams travel to compete at a national competition. The dance team travels to the National Dance Alliance’s competition (NDA) and cheer travels to the National Cheerleaders Associations competition (NCA).
Both of these competitions serve as an opportunity for the athletes to compete against teams from across the country.
Cheer coach Jen Ivey highlights how important it is that they get the opportunity to showcase their routines on a bigger stage.
“It gives them another platform to be able to highlight their skills and what they’re able to do, and have an opportunity to celebrate themselves and all of the successes that they’ve had together,” Ivey said.
Dance coach Nicole Porter also emphasizes how the atmosphere of nationals vs. state varies, and why it is important for the team to be able to experience that national level ambiance.
“The vibe [at NDA] is different because most of the people who are at nationals have been around dance for years and years. So there are certain teams that you look for and are excited to see, whereas, at state, I don’t think it shows what dance teams can do,” Porter said.
While both teams compete at the KSHSAA State competition this varies a lot from the national one. There are a greater number of teams and a higher skill level.
Senior dancer Josie Mason has experienced the level of competition for herself.
“At Nationals, people are more out to win,” Mason said. “You’re less worried about everyone else, and you’re really worried about yourself because there’s a lot more people [and] you don’t know everyone there.”
According to Porter the national competition is also a chance for the dancers to display more of their routines.
“[Nationals] allows us to take our skills to the next level where KSHAA doesn’t allow us to perform some of those other categories, because dance teams do pom, hip hop and jazz and we don’t get to showcase those things that we’ve excelled with at state,” Porter said.
At state, both teams perform their gameday routines which focus on energy and crowd leading but at NCA and NDA each team gets the opportunity to perform a new set of routines.
At NCA, the cheer team competes a performance routine made up of tumbling, jumping and stunting. At NDA the dance team also competes in gameday as well as pom and jazz.
Ivey points out that it’s good for the girls to see different kinds of cheerleading at NCA.
“[Nationals] puts you at a higher level of competition where you’re seeing the styles of cheerleading from all across the country,” Ivey said. “It’s a great experience for the girls to be able to experience what cheerleading looks like across the country, as well as to be motivated and challenge themselves to continue improving here at our school.”
However, the competitions aren’t just an opportunity for the teams to showcase their skills, they also serve as an opportunity for the athletes to bond with each other.
Sophomore Amanda Makalous values the team bonding that comes along with the atmosphere of nationals.
“[Traveling for competition] offers a lot of bonding. We get to spend a lot of time together. We ride the bus there together, and then we usually do team brunch or dinner, and we are always together for four days.” Makalous said.
Junior Addison Maier has also enjoyed the bonding that pairs with the competitions.
“[Traveling for competition] makes us closer as a team, because you get a certain bond with some people as you’re traveling,” Maier said. “We go out to team lunches and room with people, it just makes everybody closer.”
Mason believes the shared aspirations of the team bring them closer throughout the season and also at the competition.
“Having the same goals as the people around you really motivates you to do better because everyone wants to win, obviously, but when you have a team that’s really driven, it helps you to push yourself to be the best that you can,” Mason said.
