BRYC Cheerleaders Win First in Alexandria Invitational

The BRYC Cheerleaders have continued to work hard to be competition ready for Nationals in January, and to prepare for the event, in addition to practices and fundraising, they participated in a local rec competition - the Alexandria Invitational - and came away with another First Place Trophy.

"I can't believe this is only a Level 1 Rec team!" exclaims an Alexandria Invitational judge. "They are sharp, and really work as a team. Great job!"

The team used the judges comments and score sheets to find out where their flaws might be, and each girl has spent hours tirelessly reviewing video of their performance to determine what areas they need to work on, and where they are really strong. They come to practice prepared with 3 things they did great on, that they are proud of, and 3 things they personally need to work on.

"As coaches, we don't really need to tell them where they could have done better. These girls want this. They know right away where they want to work and focus their time, what they want to improve on. We ask them to look for the great things too, because they tend to forget they have learned a lot. It's ok to be confident in what they rocked. That's kind of the point!" states Head Coach Ashley Ruggiero.

Even in their fundraising, they are able to explain why this is such a big deal, telling their story, passionately describing their accomplishment in detail to community members, Christmas shoppers, and even the shop owners as they brave the cold windy day, soliciting donations. "There was a guy whose daughter had been to Worlds and won the last 4 years who was talking to the girls, and when they were in awe and responding, one girl stated, 'now imagine if your daughter did that and had never competed before.' The man looked shocked and made a donation on the spot. They know what they're working for." states one parent.

To date, the squad has raised over $2,000 of the necessary $6,000 toward their trip from both generous donors and odd jobs. We have girls wanting to donate their allowance and walking dogs to build up the fund and help each other get to this competition. We aren't just teaching them to cheer. We're teaching them to set a goal and put in the hard work to achieve it. -- Micelle Emery

To find out more about BRYC Cheerleading and to follow their progress towards their goals at Nationals, please visit: www.cheerbryc.org/blog