The Magic has only Begun
by Jazmyn C. Boulware-Wilburn

The final morning starts, once again early! 5:30 a.m. will never be the same for me. Once again at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, I am greeted by the most unusual cheerleader to date. A dad, yes, a DAD. Dressed in a red cheer skirt, complete with "pig-tails." He jumps and spins and gets the attention of the crowd and tells me, "we are in for an awesome day!" I now see that SPIRIT has no end when it comes to the coaches, parents and fans. This enthusiasm enables the day to begin on a high note without a doubt.

Day two started with a very energetic performance of the Pop Warner Invitational teams. Both started us off with strong and solid performances that had the crowd cheering for more.

Team after team hit the mat, getting better and better. Their is no doubt in my mind that the Best of the Best have arrived. Tears of joy, and tears of sorrow have already been seen. Cheerleading is serious business and no matter how much praise and guidance is provided throughout, once on the floor, they are on their own.

What I have found and experienced over the past few days is that TEAM UNITY includes much more than the individual girls/boys themselves, but the coaches, parents, football teams and supporters and fans of all kinds. This obvious unity got the teams here and continues to enable strong competitors in the future.

I talked ith so many girls from various teams and have concluded that they all have the same dream, and the dream is to win a National Championship. What they continually forgot was that they are all champions long before this competition and long after as well.

To succeed is to try! To excel is to learn! We are still learning and I welcome it!

Congratulations to all the teams who have come to compete and I wish them nothing but success and greatness in the future.