On December 4, 2013 my dance team, or my "dancing dolls" as I call them, consisting of 20 girls hurriedly filled into my classroom after school. The school girl excitement was evident, not for the standard "school is out" reason, but we were about to board a bus to attend the infamous Washington Redskins Cheerleader private clinic. This would be their first time dancing together as a team since being selected during hectic tryouts in  November. Coach Nef and I were excited about our new team, but we knew we needed to jump start the season in the right way, so I made a call to WRC to see if they could workout a private intensive session.  The solution was easy for Jamilla, she walked us through the process with open arms. She gave us one of her best girls, Maya, to lead our session, a grand tour of the facilities, but most importantly her and the rest of the staff made us feel like stars throughout the entire day.

 All of my young ladies ranted about how great the experience was. They are very familiar to working hard, all of them maintain a GPA above a 3.0 carrying heavy workloads consisting of AP courses and outside dance or sports teams, but I never heard one complaint about the extended day and the intense session.  Jasmine Jones, a junior 4.5 GPA student who has been on the team since she was a freshman summed up her experience by saying:

"Recently, my team and I took part in a private dance clinic held by the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders. This experience was an all-around good experience. We got to shake up our normal routine and do something different. Doing so was great for the team because we got to grow together and also learn some new moves, all while having fun. Not only did we experience new things but our teacher for the day, Maya, was an amazing person and she seemed just as eager to teach us as we were to learn. Lastly, we got to see the Redskins stadium personally, as well as the cheerleader's locker room, which just topped everything off. I think I speak for my team when i say that I would do it again if I could!"

Jasmine's summation is so well stated. Our team not only grew as a unit during the session, but they also had fun (my perfect recipe for a successful season). We know we have a significant challenge as we face the MAPDA  Division I Championships in March. After winning division II last year we have arrived to the grand stage. We will face teams who have competed in this division since it's existence and I can confidently say that participating in WRC has given my team confirmation that they can compete with the best. The intense workout, learning  challenging combinations, all while fighting fatigue shows that they are disciplined enough to compete against the best dancers this season. Since we end every practice with "shout outs" we would like to give a huge "shout out"  to Jamilla and the WRC staff for opening your doors and dancing into our hearts. Every moment was worth it.

Catrice Alleyne (Coach A)
North Point Poms Squad