MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- The Marine Corps Community Services-South Carolina Laurel Bay Steelers 11- to 12-year-old girls cheerleading squad was named the Grand Champion of the state cheerleading competition in Irmo, S.C. Saturday.
The girls, made up mostly of 10-year-olds, started from scratch at the beginning of football season with a new coach and little or no competition experience to come all the way to earn the highest honor in the state.
Last year's Laurel Bay squad went all the way to be national contenders, but the squad was made up of mostly returning and experienced competition cheerleaders. This year was slightly different. There were only three girls that had signed up for the 11- to 12-year-old squad, but the 8- to 10-year-old squad was overflowing with too many who wanted to cheer. MCCS-SC asked some of the younger ones if they wanted to cheer with the older squad to be able to facilitate two squads.
Lina Kratzert, a mother of one of the girls who was on the national contending squad last year, stepped up to coach after learning that the previous coach had moved.
"We didn't realize we had that much talent at first," said Kratzert. "Even though only two had real competition experience, I knew the girls could go far."
Kratzert said the squad worked on learning the cheering basics first. In August, they began learning the dance portion, the part that would eventually earn them the state title.
The girls had a long way to go to become competition-ready.
"A lot of the girls didn't even know their left from their right," said Kratzert. "They had to learn jumping, synchronization and more. We started out at a crawl and ended up running."
The girls first won the Mink Point County Competition to put them on the road to state.
"I felt real secure when we went to Mink Point," said Kratzert. "My girls were very well-practiced."
Before state and halfway through the football season, Kratzert moved to Charleston, but promised the girls she would see them through to the state competition.
"We made a commitment to each other," she said. "So, I made the drive down once a week for a two-hour practice."
All the hard work and long hours paid off in the end because the girls not only won their age division in the state competition, but were also named the Grand Champions, something neither the girls nor Kratzert expected.
"When they named us the winners in our division, I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't even pay attention to the scores," said Kratzert. "I never thought we'd win the whole thing. We were going against all-stars, and I knew the significance of being named Grand Champions. I was shocked, especially knowing how much progress they had made."
The girls were judged on technique, dance movements and attitude. Kratzert believed the girls' attitudes were what set them apart from the rest.
"What counts the most is if the girls look like they're having fun," she said. "That's how we won, by simply having fun. They learned the techniques and just went out there and kicked it."
In mid-October, Kratzert and the girls learned that there was also an individual category at the competition. Kratzert told the girls that if any of them wanted to compete in it, they would have to come up with their own music and dance. Four girls decided to take the challenge. Two of the four won first place in their age divisions, giving the squad a total of four first-place trophies to take home from Irmo.
Although the squad will not be competing in any more competitions this year, Kratzert and the girls were more than pleased with what they accomplished, and agreed that what they learned from the experience was invaluable.
"The girls learned that 'can't' is not in their vocabulary," she said. "To know that you can teach children and see them actually grasping things so well is an amazing feeling."