On January 6, the HHS cheerleaders flew to New Orleans, LA and began preparations for their performance during halftime at the National Championship BCS Bowl.

The BCS Bowl is a collegiate football series in which ten teams compete in a five-game showcase, and the top two competitors go helmet -to-helmet in a playoff game. This year, Alabama and Louisiana State competed at the Super Dome in New Orleans on January 9.

HHS’s varsity cheerleading team was invited to perform during the BCS Bowl in the middle of the competitive season prior to the district tournament.  In order to raise the $1500 necessary for plane fare and costumes, the cheerleaders brainstormed fundraiser ideas, and head coach Bridget Smith selected the best idea.  The team decided to sell cookies and fudge, and purses out of a ThirtyOne catalogue. Each teammate was accountable for selling at least 30 boxes of cookies, but if any of the athletes sold 40 or more, they were rewarded with an Under Armour sweatshirt.

“It was hard to raise that much money because not everyone liked what we were selling, and the people we sold one thing to we wouldn’t want to go back and sell something else to,” senior captain Gentry Dove said. “Me and three other girls spent about five hours going door-to-door selling cookies one day. We all worked really hard.”

A little over a month prior to the BCS Bowl, Smith and assistant coach Devon Skelly received a video of the routine they would be performing during halftime.

“We gave each of the girls a copy of the DVD,” Smith said. “David Scott choreographed it. He choreographed the Step Up movies and was also on So You Think You Can Dance.”

The cheerleaders worked on learning the dance at each other’s houses over break, and rehearsed the routine several times during scheduled team practices at HHS. As opposed to being taught by an instructor step-by-step, the cheerleaders repeatedly watched select parts of the video and mimicked the dancers’ moves.

“The girls in the video danced the whole way through the routine without stopping and giving any advice or instruction,” senior captain Evan Wetsel said.  “That made it really hard to learn.”

The dance was comprised mostly of body rolling and hip-hop based moves; however, the Scott also incorporated cheerleading stunts and tumbling into the routine.  Each cheerleader was required to pack black tennis shoes, black spandex, and their performance dresses for the trip. In addition, the entire team had to match for rehearsals.

The entire trip stemmed over five days. The team left Harrisonburg, VA at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 6 and carpooled to the Dulles Airport.  From there, the cheerleaders took two flights – from Dulles to Atlanta, GA, and from Atlanta to New Orleans; they arrived in the Big Easy at 12:00 p.m.

“The plane ride was crazy!  Some of the girls were freaking out because they’d never been on a plane before, but we were all really excited to go,” junior Sarah Bell said.

Once they arrived, the team checked in at the hotel and left to take a tour of the swamp.  After the tour, the team returned to the hotel, changed, and headed to their first dance rehearsal, which lasted three hours.  On Day 2 of the trip, the cheerleaders had practice from 8 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., and then went on a trolley ride to a cafe and took a steamboat tour to eat dinner.  The following day, the team had an eight hour rehearsal from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Afterwards, the athletes were surprised with tickets to a Cee-Lo Green concert, succeed by a traditional Cajun dinner and dancing.

“The Cajun dinner was really cool because it was a completely different culture and the music sounded like something I’d never heard before,” Dove said.

During rehearsals, the choreographer instructed each of the athletes through every move, ensuring they fully understand all the skills and movements.

“[Our choreographer] was really fun, but there was a point where he had to be strict too so we could get it done. We all liked him because he was funny and laid back about a lot of things,” Dove said.

On the fourth day of the trip, the team boarded the charter buses at 8 a.m. for a four hour dress rehearsal at the Super Dome.  The team had about two-and-a-half hours of free time before they had to prepare for their performance.  The team of seventeen got dressed and did their hair and makeup before being whisked away to dinner with the other teams performing during halftime.  Before their BCS Bowl performance, the team had put in almost twenty hours of preparation in only three days.

“When we did our hair and makeup, it made us all more excited.  Our makeup was really ridiculous, but we had to do it because the stadium lights flush out your face.  When we went to dinner and saw all the other hundreds of cheerleaders and dancers dressed up too, it was amazing.  We were even able to watch the game on a huge screen during dinner, which was cool, because a lot of us are Alabama/Louisiana State fans,” Dove said.

After dinner, everyone was rushed to the backstage of the stadium.

“All of us had to fit in a small tunnel under the seats until halftime,” Wetsel said.  “We could see the clock and the game and everything.  It was really amazing.”

As soon as the second quarter ended, the cheerleaders rushed onto the field to perform the routine, a culmination of the team’s hard work and dedication.

“I think all of us had a huge adrenaline rush.  It was pretty much the best feeling in the world.  Looking around and knowing all the spectators were watching us was unreal,” Dove said.  “During the performance, I was just having fun with it and concentrating on the steps, but at the same time, I knew i would never be able to do it again.”

After spending an additional day in New Orleans eating at Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and sightseeing on Bourbon Street, they flew out at 6 p.m. and arrived back in Harrisonburg at 1:30 a.m.

“It was nice to be home, but [performing during halftime] was definitely my highlight of the year. I got to be in New Orleans with seventeen of my best friends,” Dove said.