Clarksdale, Miss – The Coahoma Community College Cheer Team recently attended a Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) camp in College Station, Texas, on the campus of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Students from across the nation were welcomed to the Texas A&M campus to attend a cheer camp hosted by UCA. This year’s event was a bit different as the CCC cheer team would make their first appearance at an off-campus UCA function.
UCA has a stellar reputation among collegiate cheer teams for helping groups of all
ability levels learn suitable sportsmanlike manners and excellent sportsmanship skills
while still performing safely. While in attendance, the Coahoma team won 1st place in the 2022 College Spirit Camp and received the Newcomer & Tradition Awards.
With the team full of school spirit, Carolyn Hunter, cheer coach & administrative assistant, was excited to share her experience of taking her team to the UCA Camp.
“I had a wonderful experience attending Texas A&M. I enjoyed the opportunity to observe a group of young women succeed daily, do things they have never done before, and possess self-confidence,” she shared.
Laylanni O’Neil, cheer captain and sophomore banking and finance major from Walls, Mississippi, also shared her experience.
“Attending camp at a collegiate level was a very fun- yet different experience. A lot of new things were shown and taught to us. We got a chance to meet different people from different areas,” O’Neil said.
The camp was held in an indoor facility at the multi-million-dollar recreation center of Texas A&M University, and different cheer squads were housed in dorms on campus.
“It was exciting to be there as a captain. I was very proud of the team and overall felt really accomplished,” O’Neil added.
Coach Hunter shared her decision to choose this camp because out of the 18 ladies on the cheer team, only three have been to Texas. So, she thought it would be an excellent experience for the ladies to travel there for camp.
“My goal is to make sure that each year I give each team a different experience at the camp of Coahoma,” said Hunter.
Before camp, the team had preparation conditioning with Coach Samuel Marshall to help the young ladies get in shape twice a week.
Coach Hunter is excited for this upcoming season with the Cheer team and shared her primary objective for the eager group.
“My major objective with this squad is to create a successful cheer team or program
by developing a resilient culture through consistency, planning, zeal, and positivism,”
said Hunter.
O’Neil also shares how excited she is for the upcoming season, “I am the most excited about us being able to deliver the school spirit and tiger pride to Coahoma Community College. We have a great team this year, and the girls work very hard, and I’m ready for them to be able to show it off!”