Wanna Join the Team!?!?!

Appalachian State University is one of the few

Appalachian sports that lets walk-ons in the sport. In
fact the team encourages it, during the year the team
host several open gyms for people that want to try the
sport out. During the second semester open gyms are
scheduled for once a week every week and increases to
twice a week a month before tryouts. Many people that
are currently on the team started by attending these
open gyms.
Appalachian State Cheerleading

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 PROGRAM HISTORY Universal Cheerleading
Association
Appalachian State University is proud to be home to some of the most
Appalachian state University Cheerleaders is a strong program and becomes stronger every year this is partially
talented cheerleaders in the east coast. under the leadership of a world due to the fact that the program has so many people that work for UCA below is a brief history of the
renowned cheer leader Coach Morgan Robertson the Appalachian state organization
cheer program has grown from an small team consisting of only female
cheerleaders to a full all-girl and co-ed team. Morgan Robertson started Universal Cheerleaders Association was founded in 1974 by Jeff Webb to provide high quality educational train-
ing for college and high school cheerleaders through summer camps and clinics on college campuses.
her career as a cheerleader at a very young age. In middle school she was
recruited to be a part of her cities competition team and when she was old During its first couple of years, the company literally operated out of Jeff s apartment in Memphis, Tennessee.
Instructors were hired from college squads and 4000 students attended Varsitys 24 camps in the Midwest and
enough to become a UCA cheer instructor she was one of the cheer com- the South during the summer of 1975.
panies first hires for that summer. Morgan has remained an UCA cheer
During the next several years, UCA began to rapidly expand as their reputation for outstanding instructional
instructor for eleven years and that has put her in a place that not many programs, and in particular the emphasis on cheerleading gymnastics, quickly spread.
other Professional Cheerleaders can say they have been. with such high
UCAs goal is to inspire leadership on and off the field. All of UCAs material and programs are centrally focused
qualifications it was not surprise that she was selected by Appalachian on the traditional role of cheerleading. UCA believes that the primary purpose of a cheerleader is to support ath-
State to be their cheer coach, a team that she cheered for her entire college letic programs and lead the crowd before and during games. Cheerleaders play an instrumental role in raising,
leading and maintaining school spirit in and around their communities. In short, they are leaders in building
career. That very same year she implemented changes to the team that set general morale at their school!
the improved team that is currently at Appalachian. She recruited eleven
males for her co-ed team and increased the number of her all girl team.
Morgan began strict check offs and exercise requirements in order to get
her team to a point where not considering her team athletes was not in the
question. This lead to the team becoming funded by Appalachian Athletics
and gaining athletic trainers and weight lifting coaches. Currently the Ap-
palachian State Cheer team is shooting for the stars as another year comes
to an end and tryouts are around the corner. Morgan plans to continue
improving the team and make Appalachian State University the best cheer
program in the south east.

Appalachian State Cheerleaders at the Bowl Game, all of the laides in this picture are also a
part of UCA

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Below is a cupie this is a higher level stunt
that every Male cheerleader of Appala-
chian state has and requires lots of skill and
strength Learn the skills Meet the Team

Leah Clayton- Captain for the Appstate Cheer Program for three years Leah has trully given her all for Ap-
palachian State and has been vital to this program every year she has been a part of the team when evr she
is needed she is happy to help. she leads practices and never minds helping flyers learn new skills
Alisha Leonard- The up and coming captain of the Cheer team Alisha is a competitive and hard working
girl that has no problems doing anything that is asked of her. She does all-girl mainly but has no problem
being up in co-ed skills as well. She has been in UCA as well for the past 3 years.
Khalieb Henry- an upcoming senior on the team khalieb is the oldest guy on the team and is a co-ed base.
He has been a cheerleader for four years and plans on making this year the best one yet. you can find him
leading and working with the rest of the co-ed guys at practice.
Shendi Weigman- leader of the co-ed tops Shendi is a very telented and important part of the Appstate
cheer team. her skills allow her to help other top girl in advancing in the sport. she teaches new skills as well
as being there for any lady on the team that needs her

Toss To hands- This is when the Male co-ed

base throws a female flyer to hands and
catches the feet. (below). An Extension is
similar to hands, the only change being to
press through the arms until fully extended
(above

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 The History of Cheerleading
Cheerleadings roots are closely tied to American footballs.
The first intercollegiate game was played in 1869, between
Princeton University and Rutgers University in New Jersey,
and by the 1880s, Princeton had formed an all-male pep club.
A graduate of Princeton, Thomas Peebles, took the Princ-
eton cheers to the University of Minnesota, where football
and fight songs were becoming very popular. In 1898, U of M
was on a losing streak, and a medical student named John-
ny Campbell assembled a group to energize the team and the
crowd. Johnny picked up a megaphone and rallied the team
to victory with the first organized cheer: Rah, Rah, Rah!
Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-so-
tah!
Cheerleading grew from there. It wasnt until 1923 that wom-
en were allowed to cheer for the first time, at the University
of Minnesota. During this decade, cheerleaders added tum-
bling and acrobatics to their routines, and a University of Or-
egon cheerleader used flashcards for the first time. Although
women were joining teams in the 20s, it wasnt until the 40s
that they joined in large numbers, since so many college-aged
men went off to fight in World War II.
In 1948, Southern Methodist University cheerleader Law-
rence Herkie Herkimer held the first summer cheerleading
clinic at Sam Houston State Teachers College (now State Uni-
versity), and went on to develop his signature Herkie jump,
the spirit stick and the pom pon, all cheerleading staples to
this day. In 1961, he incorporated the National Cheerlead-
4 5
ers Association (NCA). By the 1960s, cheerleading could be
found in virtually every high school and grade school across
the country, and pee wee and youth leagues had developed
as well. In 1974, Jeff Webb (who had been general manager
of NCA) founded Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA),
which taught higher level skills. The 80s decade brought
the launch of many more event companies, as well as AACCA
(American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Admin-
istrators), in 1987, the first association devoted to teaching
safety to coaches and advisors. UCA has grown into Varsity
Spirit Corp., today, encompassing 17 cheerleading event, ap-
parel and service companies.
All-star cheerleading started in the late 80s, and grew rapid-
ly through the 90s. All-star cheerleading focused on athletic
training and competition performances, as opposed to school-
based cheerleading, which still encompassed leadership and
spirit qualities. Today, many companies offer both scholastic
and all-star categories, and some companies focus primarily
on all-star cheerleading.
The original purpose of cheerleading is still relevant in to-
days world, even with the increasing popularity of competi-
tion.
Cheerleaders are the promoters of their schools and com-
munities. They are a key marketing tool to the athletics pro-
grams that they support, and they create the community
patriotism we call school spirit. Most importantly, they are
tomorrows leaders who through the development of athlet-
ic skills, leadership, and teamwork will be vital members of
the community in the future. Be a cheerleader and become a
leader.