High School Are Squads Required To Attend Cheer Camp?

[EWalsh1029]

This x1000. I wish that stunting-heavy camps were more popular as an option. My kids don't need to learn four cheers, a band chant, an xtreme routine, a hip hop routine, etc. etc. for hundreds of dollars. With that kind of money I'd much prefer to do a home camp focused specifically on stunting and maybe an xtreme routine and some bonding elements, but then you lose out on the atmosphere and interacting with other teams, which is one of the best parts about cheer camp.

Honestly the thing that sucks is since you need to attend a UCA camp in order to compete UCA, they know they aren't going to be losing camp business anytime soon -_-

I know NCA offers the "Speed Camp" which can be mostly geared towards stunting - does UCA offer anything like this? Currently UCA is hosting a "Solid Ground Stunts" camp here in MA that seems to be mainly focused on stunts (given the name). Not sure if that is a local thing or offered nationwide?

***EDIT - from the looks of the solid grounds Instagram story today it looks like they're actuall learning cheers and dances too - I stand corrected!

 

[ScottyB]

I like away camps for the bonding and atmosphere it puts them in. 4 days away from family, boys, jobs and day to day normalcy to focus on cheer AND it puts them in a competitive environment so soon in the season. Those to me are the perks.

What I don't like is that it's $400+ and growing each season for material we don't use. The prices have gotten out of control. The overnight camps when I started coaching less than a decade ago were in the range of $280 a girl. You can't attend a camp in this area for under $400. It's really hard to justify that price for the "experience." We do nationals, and it's financially tough to do both each season, especially when both prices keep going up. We are in a pretty well off area, and even with fundraising, it's still a lot to ask from families year after year.

YUP

 

[ScottyB]

Our UCA camp is a 2-day home camp that focuses on stunting. And although is being held after tryouts this season (last season it was held mid-summer) I am not clear on whether it is mandatory or not. I believe they do need a high percentage of team attendance in order for it to "count".

75% is what you need.

Squad Credentialing FAQs from UCA's site: https://varsity.com/uploads/editor/files/PDFS/UCA/FAQ_SquadCredentialing.pdf

 

[ScottyB]

I know NCA offers the "Speed Camp" which can be mostly geared towards stunting - does UCA offer anything like this? Currently UCA is hosting a "Solid Ground Stunts" camp here in MA that seems to be mainly focused on stunts (given the name). Not sure if that is a local thing or offered nationwide?

In CO we did a UCA Masters which took a lot of the fluff out and was really geared towards skills and competition prep (stunt and pyramid sequences). Pretty solid 4 day experience for our kids. Didn't learn any cheers or dances at the camp, brought our cheer and learned the camp dance in advance.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

In CO we did a UCA Masters which took a lot of the fluff out and was really geared towards skills and competition prep (stunt and pyramid sequences). Pretty solid 4 day experience for our kids. Didn't learn any cheers or dances at the camp, brought our cheer and learned the camp dance in advance.

That's the one exception to my "no away camp" policy. If we were in a position to do a masters camp, I'd probably go.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

Over the years, I have done all of the camps for Pine Forest and each HI runs camp as they please, but I can honestly say, Trails End and Chestnut lake focus much more on your useable material and your stunting then the fluff versus the traditional Pine Forest... none of which are bad, but it is all what your team needs and you want out of it as a coach.

 

[dhubbz]

Albeit, I'm a little biased since I'm on NCA staff, but NCA offers Speed Camps and Performance Camps. At performance camps, we teach the Jam Dance that you only have to use two 8 counts out of and can be changed to just "resemble" the Jam. You do a Pyramid and a stunt and add fluff. Most people add tumbling. They only learn one Chant, but can use any of them from the curriculum and they learn the camp cheer. Those are EXTREMELY popular in Arkansas. We hold two back to back at the convention center. There are 7 floors and probably about 25+ teams. It's pretty much focused on stunts and teams that compete. You're NFHS credentialing works on any nationals, because it is a Varsity brand.

I don't have much info on Speed, because I'm not on that staff, but they only use camp cheer and be it's pretty much ALL elite stunts. I've heard a lot of great things, plus Speed staff and College staff are darn near the same people so there is a lot of experience and knowledge.

But, all of that is in the Midsouth/SouthEast region. I don't know how much they have spread across the nation. I know performance have spread to at least the east. Clemson had one this year and I heard about a performance camp or something like I think being held in Oregon.

 

[AScheer]

Albeit, I'm a little biased since I'm on NCA staff, but NCA offers Speed Camps and Performance Camps. At performance camps, we teach the Jam Dance that you only have to use two 8 counts out of and can be changed to just "resemble" the Jam. You do a Pyramid and a stunt and add fluff. Most people add tumbling. They only learn one Chant, but can use any of them from the curriculum and they learn the camp cheer. Those are EXTREMELY popular in Arkansas. We hold two back to back at the convention center. There are 7 floors and probably about 25+ teams. It's pretty much focused on stunts and teams that compete. You're NFHS credentialing works on any nationals, because it is a Varsity brand.

I don't have much info on Speed, because I'm not on that staff, but they only use camp cheer and be it's pretty much ALL elite stunts. I've heard a lot of great things, plus Speed staff and College staff are darn near the same people so there is a lot of experience and knowledge.

But, all of that is in the Midsouth/SouthEast region. I don't know how much they have spread across the nation. I know performance have spread to at least the east. Clemson had one this year and I heard about a performance camp or something like I think being held in Oregon.

We are not an NCA school, but speed camps are something I looked into years ago. I really like the set up of it. Unfortunately they just aren't in our area. Even if there was one, we are such a UCA heavy area, that it probably wouldn't be well attended. I have done masters & elite UCA. They are the only type of traditional camp I consider, but even then we get so much more out of private, home and stunt camps.

 

[dhubbz]

We are not an NCA school, but speed camps are something I looked into years ago. I really like the set up of it. Unfortunately they just aren't in our area. Even if there was one, we are such a UCA heavy area, that it probably wouldn't be well attended. I have done masters & elite UCA. They are the only type of traditional camp I consider, but even then we get so much more out of private, home and stunt camps.

Oh I'm with you. Stepping away from the NCA uniform, private camps can be tailored how you want and save so much money. It definitely depends on how much a coach values the feeling of a residential camp, with the camp competitions and the bonding. Once I start teaching in a school, I'll probably rotate them and do a home (performance camp) every other year.

 

[coachrah]

In CO we did a UCA Masters which took a lot of the fluff out and was really geared towards skills and competition prep (stunt and pyramid sequences). Pretty solid 4 day experience for our kids. Didn't learn any cheers or dances at the camp, brought our cheer and learned the camp dance in advance.

What is the fluff?

 

[retiredl5cheer]

What is the fluff?

IDK if it's the same for high school, but at a college UCA camp, the "fluff" is about a million cheers and chants that we never touched after camp.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

IDK if it's the same for high school, but at a college UCA camp, the "fluff" is about a million cheers and chants that we never touched after camp.

Pretty much sums it up

 

[ScottyB]

What is the fluff?

The others pretty much covered it, but all the excess of sidelines, cheers, and dances.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Pretty much sums it up

Bleh. Do any schools actually use the material they learn at UCA?

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

Bleh. Do any schools actually use the material they learn at UCA?

We use it on the sidelines, but I feel confident that some of my older kids could come up with material that would be just as good in the eyes of the casual onlooker.