Competition Listing1/23/12 - Pam is one of our Junior mom's and has been the one working on the yearbook for our program this year. If you are interested and have not been able to speak to her yet you can email her at Pam_Porter@hpe.honda.com Here is a quick rundown on the yearbook.
This year CEA will have it's first ever year book available for purchase this year.
The yearbook will be done by LIfetouch Studios and will include individual pictures as well as team pictures for both Eden and Burlington.
It will be in full color and will be given out at the annual Banquet at the end of the year.
The total cost for the yearbook will be $24.00
If you are interested in purchasing a yearbook, please see Pam Porter (Madison Porter mom of our Burlington Junior squad) tomorrow at the competition. If you don't know who that is just ask and someone can point her out to you.
12/5/11 (Eden Juniors) - Back when I planned the schedule for this year I tried to plan around everything, including the parade in Gibsonville this weekend. Unfortunately as happens at the Y every year around this time there are conflicts with our current times. I'd love to have a place of our own, but until that happens it's one of the few unfortunate things we have to deal with. So the schedule will be adjusted through the end of this year. I apologize for the inconvenience, but mainly for the late notice. With everything going on, it's the first opportunity I've had to sit down and fix everything. And there's a good chance I'll mix something up, so if I do be sure to let me know =)
No Tuesday tumbling for Juniors for a while. We will be offering tumbling on Thursdays once my ribs are sufficiently healed, which is right now week to week. I am not teaching any tumbling classes this week. The calendar has been updated to include the changes. Despite being on our schedule, there is no practice this Thursday due to conflicts with scheduling at the Y.
Eden Juniors
Dec. 10th - 9:00 am to 11:00 pm (different time to accommodate parade)
Dec. 17th - 10:00 pm to 12:00 pm
12/5/11 (Eden Youth) - Back when I planned the schedule for this year I tried to plan around everything, including the parade in Gibsonville this weekend. Unfortunately as happens at the Y every year around this time there are conflicts with our current times. I'd love to have a place of our own, but until that happens it's one of the few unfortunate things we have to deal with. So the schedule will be adjusted through the end of this year. I apologize for the inconvenience, but mainly for the late notice. With everything going on, it's the first opportunity I've had to sit down and fix everything. And there's a good chance I'll mix something up, so if I do be sure to let me know =)
No Tuesday practices for Youth for a while. We will practice on Saturdays til our schedule returns to normal. The December calendar has been updated to include the changes.
Eden Youth
Dec. 10th - 11:00 am to 12:15 pm (different time to accommodate parade)
Dec. 17th - 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
11/23/11 - Before this week we were already juggling quite a few conflicts for the upcoming Dec. 3rd competition. Our second order of uniforms haven't arrived yet, the squads are in a various mix of being ready to being close to ready, we have a few injuries affecting three of our squads (none of which occurred in the gym just so you know =), and Thanksgiving is this week eliminating a week of practices right before competition. All of those things could have been possibly dealt with...and now I'm told they will induce Mindy's labor...on Friday...Dec. 2nd...the day before competition.
Look I came to a lock-in the day after breaking my ribs (working on our Christmas float no less) so I'm not one to ignore my responsibilities. And if it was just having our child the day before then I'm more than confident in our staff handling things in my absence. But after 13 years of coaching I'm still learning and last year I pushed too hard to compete early when things felt wrong and we got off to a bad start which took us way too long to get over. So after long consideration we've decided to not attend the Dec. 3rd competition.
I hope I've explained myself good enough and yet I know I don't really have to. You have all been so supportive and it's amazing to have so many people so excited for us. I'm looking forward to enjoying the first day of my child's life and not worrying about competition...and I know that right there is reason enough for most of you.
Just so you don't confuse missing a competition with disappointment, the season has gotten off to a great start. With our season starting in September it's always hard for us to compete before the new year and I think the work we've put in should put us in good position when we finally take the floor. In addition we have found an April competition I hope we can attend, not only filling in an empty month but also keeping our number of competitions where we want them.
Right now we do plan to still practice. Eden Youth will be Tuesday evening from 6:30-8:00. Please be on time so we can begin as soon as possible. Eden Juniors will practice Saturday morning 10:00-12:00 as normal. Burlington Juniors will practice Monday 6:00-8:00 and on Sunday as normal. Seniors will practice Wednesday 6:00-8:00 and Sunday as normal. Burlington Youth and Mini's will practice Tuesday as normal. I have updated the calendar with all of that information and I hope I have it right. If not someone be sure to let me know =)
11/9/11 - This Saturday, Nov. 12th we will have a cook out for both our Eden Youth and our Burlington Youth. This is a great opportunity for not only our kids to get to know each other, but also the parents so everyone is invited. We will begin at 10 am with a short practice for both of our squads. As our squads compete the parents can cook the food and when we're done practicing we can eat. Since this is a practice it is required for the kids. Parents aren't required, but we'd certainly love to have you in attendance.
The gym address is 1001 Springwood AVe Unit #13 in Gibsonville NC, 27249.
Many of you have offered to bring items for the cook out so I'm including the items we need in this email. If you see something you'd like to bring let me know and I'll mark it off the list. Some are more expensive, some are cheaper and there isn't enough for everyone to bring something. So if you want to go in with someone else or don't feel you can bring anything that's fine. We have 35 girls plus an assortment of parents so I'm guessing about 90 people total. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you on Saturday.
buns (4 packs)
buns (4 packs)
burgers - taken care of
cheese - taken care of
mayo - taken care of
mustard - taken care of
tomatoes
chips - taken care of
plates
cups
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
drinks (2 liter)
graham crackers (2 boxes)
chocolate bars (miniature)
marshmallows
11/9/11 - Our first lock-in will be this Friday the 11th for both the Eden Juniors and the Burlington Juniors. The Eden Juniors are asked to arrive at 7 pm for a short one hour practice (since obviously you won't be practicing Saturday morning) and the Burlington Juniors can arrive at 8 pm. While this event is mainly for fun, it is REQUIRED since it is a wonderful team building opportunity. You're advised to bring clothes to play in (I'm sure there will be some stunting and tumbling going on) as well as sleep in. Probably a good idea to bring a blanket and pillow as well. Dinner will be provided although you're welcome to bring snacks if you like. In addition bring $10, this will pay for your long sleeve t-shirt that we will be tye dying during the evening. Parents can pick up your kids at 8 am Saturday morning. I hope everyone is looking forward to the evening as much as we are.
The gym address is 1001 Springwood Ave Unit #13 in Gibsonville NC, 27249. For any questions feel free to email me back.
9/2/11 - All of the practices this past week went great. I hope everyone was as excited as we were to get the season started.
Just a quick reminder we will not be having practice this Saturday or Sunday. In addition we will not be having tumbling class in Burlington this Monday.
8/25/11 - Can you tell I'm getting excited? I've started sending out more emails =)
Those returning from last year please try on your uniform and make sure it still fits. If any part of it does not please wash (carefully, the material can fade if you're not careful) and dry the parts that do not, place them in a large zip lock back and label it with your name and size information. That way we can do our best to sell it for you.
Those who are new should plan to be sized for your uniform at your first practice. Normally we wait a bit, but with our first performances scheduled so soon there's no time to wait!
8/21/11 - Well, everyone has been asking me when the first practice is. I can't believe school is already starting and the start of the season is upon us. Where did the summer go!
Before getting into practices I want to say a few quick things. I don't usually toot our own horn, mainly because as the owner I feel like it's not my place. Goodness knows some programs do, but I prefer to let you guys do the talking. I recently planned a trip for mine and Mindy's anniversary and asked her, "do you want to be surprised or do you want to know where we're going so you can look forward to it?" I already knew the answer and with that in mind I'd like to share just a little bit about the coming year.
Between the two tryouts we have only four members not returning from our Junior and Youth teams. That's amazing! Now I don't say that to point out the four leaving, but rather all the others returning. That's better than ever before and I'm humbled. Now obviously with graduation and high school we have a few more leaving from our Senior teams and yet it's still less than in years past. We have more members beginning this year than we started or finished with last year. We have an exciting schedule lined up that includes more performances than in the past. The competitions we picked were not only the ones we wanted to attend, but they ended up being less expensive than last year. Plus, unlike last year I'm going to be a little more careful with my choices of what to do if one is canceled or snowed out.
The coaches are excited and ready to go. We want you at every practice, but we need everyone at these first two practices. The first practice will be for us to see everyone together for the first time and see how everyone fits together. You'll have the following weekend off for Labor Day. The next practice you will learn your routine!
The calendar will be updated shortly. It always has some mistakes and I'll make a few changes, but for the most part it should help out. I'll include the practice you should attend at the end of this email. If you have any questions let me know and otherwise we can't wait to see you at practice!
***If you are not receiving this email and can only view it on the website or wish to add an email address please let me know***
Eden Members 7th grade and above Saturday, August 27 - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Burlington Members 7th to 9th grade and below Sunday, August 28 - 1:15 pm to 3:15 pm
Burlington Members 10th grade and above Sunday, August 28 - 3:15 pm to 5:15 pm
Eden Members 6th grade and below Tuesday, August 30 - 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Burlington Members 6th grade and below Tuesday, August 30 - 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
8/7/11 - Just a quick thank you to everyone who attended and helped at the Cheerleading Jamboree Thursday night. It was a tremendous success! In addition to handing out over 500 glow sticks, setting up our booth, and taking part in the awards ceremony, we also provided bottled water to all the competitors during the night. It was a need we saw following last years competition and every competitor seemed genuinely thankful to receive it following their performance.
Also congratulations to all our members who competed for their schools. It was equally gratifying to be such a big part of the event and to see so many of our Carolina Elite cheerleaders performing with their schools. We look forward to continuing our support in the future and hope if you missed it this year you can make it next year!
8/7/11 - Our next set of tryouts for our competition squads are coming up this week. In Eden tryouts will be Tuesday, August 9th from 6 pm to 7 pm at the Eden YMCA. In Burlington tryouts will be Wednesday, August 10th from 6 pm to 7 pm. If you attended the first one you do not have to attend this one. Cost is only $5 per person, parents should attend to receive information, schedules, etc. and ask any questions.
I know some of you were out of town for the first one, I know cause you've asked me continually when we will be having the next one =) Depending on how many attend this tryout we may have one last tryout before we begin our season. Not to worry though, if you miss them all we'll be sure to set up something for those of you interested. We know the summer is a busy time, but the more we have attend the actual tryouts the quicker start we'll have to the season!
I'm continuing to ask, if you're getting emails and do not wish to please let me know so I can remove you from the list. I don't want to send any unwanted emails. Conversely if you want me to add email addresses to the list be sure to let me know that as well.
8/2/11 - As mentioned earlier the Cheerleading Jamboree is a competition for many of the local high schools to compete in . No, we will not be performing or competing, but we are helping to sponsor it. I've always felt like whenever we can help to develop cheerleading in the area we can and this is a great opportunity to do so.
Anyone is invited and we'd certainly love to see as many of our members attend as possible. It's an opportunity for you to be proud that you are a part of a program that is such an important part of the local cheerleading community. We will have a booth set up, we will be handing out glow sticks, and distributing water to the cheerleaders after they compete. The more help the better so if you can come and help out it would be greatly appreciated.
Directions and details can be found on the Jamboree website at http://www.newbridgebankjamboree.com/ If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Those who wear your Carolina Elite attire and help out may be asked to help in giving out the trophies during the awards ceremony =)
7/24/11 - First off my apologies for the lack of any information from me this summer. I know it must seem like I'm enjoying my time off, but it's quite the contrary. We've been busy working with many of the local schools with their summer cheer camps. Every summer we do camps and this year we've had more than ever before. It's been a wonderful experience working with our past cheerleaders as staff, our current cheerleaders as members of many of the camps, and future cheerleaders as many have since joined. Amazingly we fill our schedule each summer and it's all done through word of mouth. I'm not sure I could make it through the summer if we actually advertised.
Speaking of advertising, our biggest advertising event has become the sponsorship of the New Bridge Bank Jamboree. What started as a local competition between the four Rockingham schools has grown to 24 teams and several counties. Each year many of our all-stars compete with their local squads and we're proud to be a part of it. After sponsoring the entire event last year, we will be sponsoring the awards ceremony this year and we're very happy to again take part. Everyone is invited to attend and information can be found on their website at http://www.newbridgebankjamboree.com/default.aspx I'll have more information as it draws closer, but plan to wear your CEA attire and support your teammates.
In addition, we have already had one tryout and many of you have been asking when we were going to have another one. So our next tryout will be Tuesday, August 9th from 6 pm to 7 pm in Eden at the Eden YMCA. Tryouts in Burlington will be Wednesday, August 10th from 6 pm to 7 pm at the Carolina Cheer Center in Gibsonville. If you missed the first then this is your next opportunity. Be sure to invite your friends! Advertising in this business is usually pretty ineffective, information is passed much more by word of mouth. That's why we enjoy spending our advertising dollars on something like the Jamboree where the money is given back to the kids. So while we hope to have a few new members learn about us there, we still rely on you bringing your friends!
I've done my best to update the emails and with so many returning there was little to do. Still if you're receiving this at an email you don't want or would like me to add one just let me know. If you see this notice on the website and didn't get an email let me know and I'll take care of that. If you're receiving this and not planning to return go ahead and let me know that too. While I haven't put the schedule for next year online I did distribute one at the tryouts, so if you want to know where we're going next year you have to attend =)
6/20/11 - We're attempting to address something that has always bothered me this year. I've always found it silly to ask returning members to attend tryouts for the following season. If you were good enough for us one year I'm pretty sure we'd be more than happy to have you return for the next. For that matter we don't turn anyone away based on talent so the whole idea of tryouts seems a bit superfluous. Still many new members expect it and we usually have a nice group who attend. Unfortunately without the returning members it always seems a bit...underwhelming for those joining.
This year we will be having a tryout session and EVERYONE is asked to attend, returning and new members alike. We will be using this session to get a jump start on next year and hopefully create some benchmarks you can use to keep you in shape during the summer. Tryouts will be this Saturday from 11 am to 12 pm in Burlington and 2 pm to 3 pm in Eden. During that time everyone will be learning the first part of our exhibition/parade dance. In addition we will be offering several test (conditioning, strength, flexibility, etc.) you can use as benchmarks to work on during the summer. The dance is required, but the test are optional. We don't want to scare anyone away, particularly new members, with the test. For returning members this will hopefully help us address some of our needs during the summer so we're in better shape for the start of next season.
We will have the schedule for the following season, cost estimate (even less than last year, although I don't know how we keep getting the cost lower). There will be a $5 fee per person that we will be using as we continue to raise money for new mats. If you can't attend this Saturday it's alright, it's not the end of the world we will have you in at a later date. We do ask that you let us know though, so we can keep you informed. Still it's only an hour and we'd like to get as many there as possible to get a great jump start on the next season!
We competed in Myrtle Beach, then we had the banquet, now I'm asking you to attend tryouts. I know it seems as if I'll never give it a rest, but after this you do get some time to rest and recover over the summer. Our next official practice, etc. won't be til the end of the summer. Don't forget, however, that we are continuing to offer our summer tumbling classes. It's a great way to stay in shape, catch up and get ahead. So be sure to take advantage of it when you can.
Last but not least, bring in your friends. I've had hardly anyone discuss not returning next year and while I'd love for that to be the case, it's not something we can count on. We'll have holes to fill simply from graduation and girls moving up, so be sure to bring your friends in. As most of you know I have no desire to be the next mega-program...but we've still got plenty of room to grow before I have to start worrying about that. Thanks and I hope to see everyone soon =)