District 5 Cheerleading Teams Hold 'Little Girls' Summer Cheer Camps

Submitted by Lexington-Richland Five.

Seven-year-old Irmo Elementary student Izzy Gill loves to cartwheel, a little too much perhaps for mom’s taste.

“She loves it … can’t you tell,” Izzy’s mom, Mellie, said. “She does this all around the house. So, yes, we signed her up for the cheer camp again this year. She does it every year.” 

Izzy was one of more than 50 girls participating in Irmo High School’s “Little Girl” Cheerleading Camp June 24-27. Chapin High School held a similar cheer clinic for girls ages 3 and up in mid-June with more than 180 participants, and Dutch Fork High School will hold their clinic July 15-18. 

Some of the cheer camps and clinics in Lexington-Richland School District Five were started more than a decade ago. And many are now led by high school cheerleaders and volunteers who once attended these events as little girls, organizers say. 

“It’s tradition, and it’s a positive thing that we can do to involve the community and promote the sport of cheerleading in a really positive way” said Chapin High School Head Cheerleading Coach Vicki Williams, whose varsity cheerleaders are 3A State Champions for the fifth year in a row. 

The coaches and parents who help run the cheerleading summer camps say the events also help give the younger girls a glimpse at just how far the sport of cheerleading has come and what it takes to be a cheerleader. 

“It gives the little girls something to aspire to and an idea of what they’ll have to do if they want to cheer at the top level,” said Irmo High Head Cheerleading Coach Lisa Boulware, whose varsity team recently finished in the top ten in the state. “If they want to cheer in college, they know they have to cheer in high school. And for many of them, their commitment to this sport starts right here in a clinic.” 

Cheer camp participants learn the basics of cheerleading during the four-day events, which include lessons on chants, cheers and dances. But for most of the participants the camps are all about one thing: “It’s just really fun,” said Izzie, wide-eyed and smiling while giving her best cheerleading pose.