SANTA ROSA — With one fist in the air and the other on her hip, Faith Perez double clapped in unison with her team and chanted loud and clear, “Lets go, Warriors!”
Perez is one of the 41 girls attending the Lady Warrior three-day cheerleading mini camp.
The girls began learning the school’s popular cheers, dances and the hometown’s favorite football chants Thursday.
“Everything is going well and everybody is having so much fun,” said Isabella Escobedo, Lady Warrior cheer captain. “The kids like learning the cheers and being cheerleaders.”
Escobedo said she started cheerleading because of the annual cheerleading mini camp. And she has been cheering for the Warriors ever since.
“I think the cheer camp is great for the kids,” said Randy Martinez, a Santa Rosa resident.
He said he liked the way the camp promotes teamwork and prepares the girls to be confident.
Martinez enrolled his 3-year-old daughter, Alliaha, in the camp.
“She will be very prepared to cheer for the Warriors at the games,” Martinez said. “She is getting used to being out on the court and looking out into the stands and being out there with her teammates.”
Martinez said his daughter couldn’t wait for the camp because she wants to be a Warrior cheerleader with her cousins and meet new friends.
“It’s designed to get our youth and community together,” said Christine Rochelle Limon, Lady Warriors cheer coach. “It gives a chance for our cheerleaders to interact with the youth.”
There are 22 Santa Rosa cheerleaders who participated in the camp as coaches. On the last day of the camp today the campers will present what they learned to their parents.
“Usually when we begin it’s a little shaky, but by the end of the day they know all the cheers and chants,” Limon said.
The campers ranged in age from kindergarten up to sixth grade.
The campers learned cheers, chants, jumps and dances. The girls also will have an opportunity to participate in the homecoming parade and cheer at one home football game.
“We try our best to do as much as we can with the girls,” Limon said. “The cheerleaders like to teach the little girls and get them prepared, so when they get to the games they cheer along with them.”
