My Game Day Look

Hi everyone! I know that it has been a while since I have written a post. I wanted to thank you all for your continued support of SPU Cheerleading. Summer has been crazy busy. Up until a couple weeks ago, our guest bedroom was literally filled without an inch of floorspace with shipments from Varsity, our uniform provider. After getting them all organized with one of my co-captains, Jordie, it hit me that this is actually happening: that with the help of my amazing co-captains, coach, and family supporters, I was able to actually be a part of organizing the first cheer team that SPU has had in years. I am beyond excited for the season to start.

I decided to make a video tutorial on the game day look that my team will be wearing while in uniform. I hope you guys like it! If anyone has any questions about the products used, about how to achieve this look, or about SPU cheer, please feel free to email me or comment with your questions.

A picture of the finished look

I also wanted to expand a little bit on the verse that I chose to pair with this post and how it relates to cheerleading. 1 Peter 3:3-4 (see below) talks about letting your beauty come from within. I wanted to encourage the cheerleaders who may be reading this to remember that although a big part of our sport seems to be the uniforms and the makeup and the hair and the glitter (lots of glitter in my case... I can't get enough of the stuff), cheerleading, and life, is really about the attitude you have. It isn't about being in the limelight while wearing that cute little skirt. It is about lifting up everyone around you, including the team you are cheering for, your own team mates, and the fans. When you are on the sidelines encouraging your team and cheering them on, do it with a joyful servant's heart, and your beauty will shine through!

I hope that everyone has been having a great and safe summer. God bless!

"Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4

No Shirt, No Shoes...

... No Fro-Yo!

This past weekend our team held a fundraiser at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt in Queen Anne, a neighborhood in Seattle near SPU. Girls on the team worked four hour shifts over four days handing out flyers for customers to give to the cashier at checkout. When someone handed the flyer to the cashier, Menchie's donated twenty percent of the purchase to our team. Can you say "easy money"? 

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt store in Queen Anne, Seattle

Each girl who worked a shift at Menchie's earned between $60 and $80 dollars towards her uniform, depending on the amount of time she worked. It was less than what I excepted our team to make, but it's hard to complain when you have earned $20 per hour for just standing around and handing people pieces of paper. 

I would like to thank Menchie's for hosting our fundraiser and encourage everyone to go there to get some frozen yogurt. Theirs is the best, it is totally delish! Go and treat yourself while the sun is still shining.

A delicious Menchie's creation

Upcoming Events

This Saturday, May 11th, the SPU Cheer Team will be having a car wash at the Les Schwab Tire Center in Mukilteo, Washington from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Come get your car washed and support our team! It is by donation, so let us wash your car for whatever you think our work is worth. 

Come get your car washed Saturday, May 11th!

All proceeds will go towards the SPU Cheer Team and will be used to pay for uniforms, camp, and SPU campus events put on by the 2013-2014 squad.

More updates to come soon! 

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men." Collosians 3:23

Stunting...

... it's a habit!

Today at practice we finally got our extensions up! Having only one practice a week for spring quater has made progress really slow, and we just added a second practice this week. As you can see, it has already helped. We got our flyer, Madi Wolter into an extension, which didn't take a ton of work, as our stunt group was really strong. We also got her into a lib extension, which she has never flown before. I couldn't be prouder! I am so excited to see where this team goes! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for UCA Nationals within the next couple of years. Here are some pictures of our progress.

Madi Wolter (flyer) with Cary Calabrese and Carrie McClellan basing and myself as a back spot. We have other girls four corner spotting because it was Made's first attempt at flying a lib. She did a great job!

Madi Wolter flying with Cary Calabrese and Jillian Roels basing and myself as a back spot.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11a

It is time...

... to bring the bows and poms out of retirement!

When I decided to become an SPU Falcon, I knew my new school would have everything I wanted; small classes, professors and a large portion of the student body who would share my faith, a world class Christian education, and a great campus community. The only thing that was missing was the opportunity to cheer. I fell in love with cheerleading in high school and I was disappointed that I would not have the opportunity to pursue my passion collegiately. However, I knew, after much deliberation and, most importantly, prayer, that God was calling me to attend Seattle Pacific University. I prayed that if the opportunity presented itself that I would be able to have the opportunity to cheer again, but if not, that was alright too.

My first weekend at SPU, I thought that I would try out for the school's dance team, which seemed like a somewhat adequate alternative to cheerleading. Tryouts consisted of one day of instruction and one day of auditions. I went to day one, and the minute I stepped into the room, I knew it wasn't for me. Girls were doing pirouettes and plies and lots of other impressive skills that I couldn't pronounce. I left tryouts because I just was not, am not, and never will be a ballerina.

Soon after that, I discovered that there was a girl on my floor in my dorm who had been involved in cheerleading for ten years. Her name is Jordie Duncan. I approached Jordie with a wild and crazy idea: we were going to start a collegiate team here at SPU. The minute I told her, she burst into tears of joy, thrilled by the very notion that this was something to seriously look into.

I began writing, writing a lot. I wrote waivers, tryout requirements, fundraiser proposals, a team constitution, a team plan and countless other documents. We emailed probably every student life and event and athletic coordinator on campus, and got a million "no way"'s before someone showed interest. We contacted the Event Management, Marketing, and Promotional leader in SPU's athletics department. She was intrigued by the idea, and impressed by all the work Jordie and I had put into planning for a team.

After months of waiting around for the go-ahead, we held and interest meeting, which 35 students attended, and began the hunt for another person to lead this team with Jordie and I. We selected Carrie McClellan as our third captain, which was an excellent choice. Carrie, a sophomore at SPU, had been involved in All-Star cheerleading for 14 years, and her experience really won us over.

Carrie (left) and I at SPU's first annual cheerleading tryouts

About a month and a half after we met Carrie, we also found a coach! Coach Katie Olson, a 24 year old event coordinator, felt led to volunteer her time to SPU Cheer, which really made this dream of mine a reality.

On the weekend of April 6th, we held tryouts, ran by myself, Jordie, Carrie, Katie, and Kristen Moreland, a freshman at SPU who has a passion for cheer, but decided not to join the team (she felt God was calling her in a different direction, which is wonderful. I know He has an amazing plan for her life!). We had a total of 24 girls at tryouts and after much deliberation, we decided on a solid team of 14, including myself and my two co-captains.

Starting this team has been my greatest leadership accomplishment thus far. It has been way more work than I expected, but every minute I put into this team is more than worth it.

I would like to thank my big sister, Alexis for encouraging me to pursue my dream and my niece, Hailey for inspiring me to try to be a role model that is worthy of her. SPU Cheer will forever be indebted to you both for your prayers, encouragement and support.

So now, after giving you this tiny glimpse into my passion, I invite you to join me in this journey of leading the Seattle Pacific University Cheerleaders and making my mark at the school I love.

"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded." 2 Chronicles 15:7