Good Thoughts, Great Friends - The Pop Warner Cheer Experience!

What goes through your head if you're a member of a Cheer or Dance squad that has just performed at the awesome Pop Warner National Championships, but was not be able to win a trophy? Well, on this second day of Cheer & Dance competition at The Milk House on the Disney Wide World of Sports complex, we decided to find out.

"Smile, Perform, Look at that Judge, and then Smile again!" Those words kept rolling through your head as you made your way up the line with your teammates, thinking over and over again about what you've practice all year…a routine that will bring smiles and excitement to everyone. Then, you were out there, in front of the biggest crowd ever, doing your best, with all your friends and teammates! And, suddenly, it was all over. When the awards were passed out, you didn't win this year . Your first thought was naturally "disappointment."

But then, lots of others thoughts started to run through your head too, good thoughts; funny thoughts, inspirational thoughts. For instance, Brick Mustangs Pee Wee Large Intermediate squad members (from the Jersey Shore) thought about Arnold Schwartzenegger. You know, 'We'll be back …next year!'

They also smiled when they thought about their hats, with Mustang's insignia, and how hard they were to get on the plane to Florida. And they smiled again when they thought about how hard they'd worked and how they had supported each other through the whole Disney/Pop Warner experience.

Mustang's Head Coach Nancy Skoog had her own thoughts as well, including "family ". For example, Nancy sat, and watched, and thought about her own daughter performing in the Pee Wee Small Cheer category. She thought about her husband coaching Pop Warner Football and her son playing for the Brick Memorial Mighty Mites. " It's been intensive but the kids love it and get a lot out of it, " said Nancy of Super Bowl Week at Disney.

"I also think about the successful season our girl have had, and how that has boosted their confidence , how it's helped them to meet lots of kids in the town and in other towns. I think about how Pop Warner's helped our kids to improve their self–esteem and how it's exposed them to all different kinds of people."

Nancy also thinks about her Brick Memorial Mustangs, and she's not embarrassed to say, "Well, I'm gonna cry, because they are very young. They are eight and nine years old. It was the first year of cheering for a lot of our girls, first year competing for 22-25 of all the girls, and they really came with a lot of team spirit and effort. We are proud of their performance, everyone was proud of them, coaches, parents, friends, they did the best that they could do, yet disappointed, the other teams had more experience and tumbling, and performed better, they did a great job with what they had it was a great accomplishment for them to get here for their first year with their age and experience level. She continued… How far they progressed from August to September.

When we started in August," continued Nancy, "we really had nothing, and then to see how far they came! Some girls, for the first time, learning how to even make a motion or how to do a jump, even cartwheels. They have come so far in the past four months, and overall they have had quite an experience. They are having an awesome time and I think they got over the disappointment very quickly. They really don't realize what their accomplishments are yet. But, pretty soon they'll realize that many teams have been here year after year and to think, our team got here in their first year!"

And Nancy, like so many cheer and dance squads , their coaches and choreographers, thinks about all the parents and how they want to thank them for bringing kids to practice and supporting them in their trip. "We understand that it is a big expense and commitment. We know as a family, because we commit our whole family to this organization. We appreciate their support and hope that they keep their kids involved, because they gain a lot from it. They work together as a team and it helps their self-esteem whether they win or lose."

And, that's the best thing that runs through your mind as a Pop Warner Cheerleader, Coach or Fan. Win or lose, it's all about going for it, striving to do your best and building wonderful memories for life! Keep those good thoughts rolling!

Story by Erin Katherine Sykes