Courtesy of coach Melissa Caffey.
VVHS cheer
The Vestavia Hills High School competition cheerleading team placed first at the Southern Regional Competition held Dec. 6, 2015.
The Vestavia Hills High School competition cheerleading team is once again heading to nationals this year, set to be held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The team of 30 girls, ranging from freshmen to seniors, will compete against the best at the National High School Cheerleading Championship on Feb. 6 and 7.
The event will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2 to over 100 million homes in 32 countries, according to the Universal Cheerleaders Association.
This mark’s Vestavia’s 16th trip to nationals, said varsity coach Melissa Caffey. All but one of those teams made it to the final round of nationals, she said, and in 2010, Vestavia won it all.
This year’s team secured its nationals bid in December when it placed first at the Southern Regional Competition.
In Orlando, Vestavia will compete in the Super Division, made up of teams with the largest number of cheerleaders.
“You can always do more with a bigger team, said Caffey, “bigger and better stunts.”
Leading up to nationals, Caffey said the team will ramp up practices, doing everything from stretching to tumbling, stunts and pyramid drills, as well as perfecting the music and cheer portions of the routines.
Along with Caffey and coaches Kim Whitten and Stacy Pugh, the team is also working with head competition coach Ryan Martin to prepare.
Martin, said Caffey, is known for starring in the TV show “Cheerleader Nation,” before she went on to cheer for the University of Alabama.
Caffey, who cheered in high school, said she has been involved with the cheerleading team at Vestavia for 24 years and has been a teacher there for 30 years.
“I like it because it gives me the chance to interact differently with students,” she said. “You’re still teaching, but you’re able to be more involved.”
The chance to go to nationals, she said, is about more than the competition.
“It’s such a great team-building experience,” she said. “More than anything, it requires everyone to work together. The whole experience is really good for these girls.”
