To continue the Mustang passion and spirit into the future, the Homestead cheer team held a community Youth Cheer Camp last Friday for elementary and middle schoolers interested in performing under the bright stadium lights.

The cheer team has made some significant changes over the past few years with the addition of a competition team and a change in uniforms. Now, cheer coach Connie LaScola has decided that the biggest change she wanted was for her girls to be leaders.

“The camp did make me feel like a leader just because my co-captains, the team and I got to teach them the basics of cheer leading,” cheer captain Paola Navarro said.

During the camp, young campers learned the notorious cheers that many students have learned word-for-word at every football game. In addition, the campers were given their own set of pom-poms and a HHS Cheer Camp shirt as their uniform for last Friday’s game against Leland High School.

The girls and boys excitedly cheered on the Mustangs from the sidelines during the nail-biting game.

One of the campers, Alaina Harlow, said, “[The game was] very loud and very exciting.”

The small campers positively warmed the hearts of the cheer team, and even captain Alycia Harlow learned from the experience.

“It sort of gave me an idea of what my coaches do when they work with us,” Harlow said.

Even though the Youth Cheer Camp only lasted two weeks, its impact on the campers will last a lifetime.

“I thought it was was weird because I actually went to one of the camps while I was in middle school, and now I was one of the leaders for it,” Navarro said.

Coach Connie puts on collaborative events like these for the benefit of both the existing and future cheer teams.

“The youth camp is a fundraiser for all of the cheer teams,” Navarro said. “Plus a lot of the kids that participate in the camp actually end up trying out for the team once they get into high school.”

With the cheer team bringing in the community through the love of cheer, the results on the happy campers’ faces are unforgettable.