A dozen girls aged 4 to 10 joined cheerleaders in riling up the crowd at Friday’s DFAL championship football game against Acalanes.
According to Addison Naton, the cheerleaders and aspiring tiny cheerleaders spent the preceding Tuesday and Thursday, from 4-6pm, rehearsing. “They have learned 3 cheers and a dance [this week],” Naton said, “I love having them here because it’s so full of energy, and all of them want to do cheer when they get old enough.”
A half-time dance performance by the cheer group was accompanied by Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.”
With such an age range, younger girls tended to just wave their arms around, while the more “experienced” knew every single move, like 8 year old Mika.
“Me and my friend Drew went to her house and just started practicing and we didn’t stop until it was like 8 o’clock! This is my second year, because last year my brother was a freshman and now he’s a sophomore,” Mika said.
“My favorite dance is probably ‘Spirit’,” Mika said. The girls also learned the “Cats Are Best” cheer from their mentors.
Mika said, “It’s a great experience to be with the cheerleaders and having fun with everybody, and learning dances.”
Cheerleaders had a rough time parting with their younger counterparts at the end of the game. “I can’t pick favorites!” Naton said.
