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Berlin cheerleaders place fourth during nationals in Florida

(Dec. 8, 2016) The Berlin Pop Warner cheerleaders placed fourth overall during the national competition on Monday at Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports, bringing home a national trophy for the first time since the program’s inception.
“The girls did great and received a higher score than at regionals,” Head Coach Jessie Parsons said. “It was a pretty long and hectic day, but we had no deductions. This is a big deal because it’s really hard to not get one by bobbling or stepping over a line. They did their routine the best I have ever seen it done.”
The trip has the girls excited to increase stunt difficulty in their routines and sharpen their other skills to return next year. A winter session of Pop Warner cheerleading will take place from January to July.
“We were up against three teams who had won the national championship before,” Parsons said. “It was tough, but they were excited about getting a trophy. We also beat the top two teams in tumbling execution and it made the girls feel really good.”
Monday morning was long for the Berlin cheerleaders when buses picked them up from the hotel at 6:30 a.m. Many had been awake for hours getting ready for the competition.
Tony Morris, president of the Berlin Pop Warner Association and a football coach, started a break-down chant to get the girls excited and Smarties candies were passed out about 20 minutes prior to their competition.
Before the awards ceremony began, each team participated in a parade by region and wore something to represent their hometowns.
One of the mothers made bows, which included the Maryland flag with a crab in the middle holding a can of Old Bay.
“We were the only team from Maryland there,” Parsons said. “It was really special and all the kids had a lot of fun.”
The girls also had practice T-shirts with their new routine chant, “Faith, trust and pixie dust,” on them, which played off Peter Pan, and wore matching Tinkerbell bows.
Many of the girls stayed in Disney World after the competition and Disney’s Animal Kingdom shut down on Wednesday night from 8 p.m. to midnight for Pop Warner teams to enjoy all-you-can-eat food and unlimited rides.
The 21, level three peewee cheerleaders range in age from 9-13 years old. Most of the girls have been cheering together for a number of years, while six are new to the sport.
The team advanced to nationals after coming in second place during the Eastern Regional competition on Nov. 6 in New Jersey. This was the group’s second consecutive year competing at nationals.
Berlin Pop Warner is always accepting monetary donations for its football and cheer program. Donations are tax deductible and can be mailed to: Worcester County Youth Football P.O. Box 205 Berlin, Maryland, 21811.
For more information on the Worcester County Youth Football and Cheerleading Berlin Seahawks, call 443-783-8628 or visit www.BerlinSeahawks.com.