Pee Wee cheer camp wows the crowd

Pee Wee cheerleaders from Kindergarten to 5th grade performed to "Baby" at halftime of the football game on Sept. 16.

There may be nothing more endearing than the sight of 4-year-olds trying to shake their pom poms and 9-year-olds practicing their cheers until they’re perfect. The cheer team got a chance to see some of the best elementary school talent from this year’s Pee Wee cheer camp.

Pee Wee is an annual camp led by SHS cheerleaders to fund raise for the various expenses needed to keep the team running. The camp is extended to any elementary school student, from kindergarten to 5th grade, and usually rakes in students from Argonaut, Foothill and Saratoga Elementary. This year, it was held for a week from Sept. 12-16.

“The camp was awesome this year,” junior cheerleader Nadya Shahin said. “Seeing those girls working on their cheers is adorable; it is what I look forward to every football season.”

The Pee Wee cheerleaders perform the material from the camp at the halftime show of that week’s football game. They learn three cheers, a dance, and jumps to perform in routines. The song to this year’s dance was “Baby” by Justin Bieber.

“I loved teaching the dance this year, mostly because of the song,” said junior Haley Wong. “It was so cute because every pee wee girl out there knew the song, and they were singing along the entire time.”

As part of the camp, each pee wee receives her own T-shirt and pair of pom poms.

“Whenever we hand out the pom poms,” said senior Rebecca Smerdon, “all the girls go wild. It is so funny to watch how excited they get.”

Some of the current cheerleaders on the team remember their times as Pee Wee girls as well.

“Part of the reason why I tried out for high school cheer was because I did the Pee Wee camp,” said senior Morgan Webster. “We still have pictures, and its so surreal teaching the camp now instead of being in it.”

This year’s camp had 75 student participants and 28 cheerleaders teaching. Coach and child psychology teacher Laressa Ridge says that Pee Wee is a great way to teach girls how to teach.

“Pee Wee this year was amazing,” said Ridge. “A ton of parents came up to me and told me they thought it was a great camp for their daughters to be involved in.”