Summer Strong: RHS' Road to Fall Sports Success

Summer is widely known as a time for vacation and relaxation. However, many students of Riverbend High School use the summertime to work behind the scenes to prepare for success in sports during the upcoming Fall. Student involvement in preseason training, kids' camps, and fundraisers sets the teams up for incredible success by the time Fall rolls around. Two incredibly remarkable teams stand out this summer as they both have been extremely active. 

Field Hockey

Field hockey has had an eventful summer, rapidly preparing for the upcoming season. 

Their most significant task was a kids camp that they held on July 8th, 10th, and 12th for elementary and middle school students. 

The RHS athletes planned the camp this year; as rising senior and varsity athlete Hailey Gass explains, "This year, some of our upcoming seniors, including myself, have planned and organized the camp." 

She continues, saying that head coach Rebbecca Williams gave them this task because "Our coach wants us to be a leader on and off the field so that we can be a great team this year and gain some life skills out of our time on the team with her. "This camp also serves as a large fundraiser for the team, as they plan to use the funds to purchase new equipment. 

The camp aims to introduce younger players to the basics and help them develop these skills. Gass says, "Most importantly, we are excited to give the campers a place to have fun this summer."

Between the camp and summer conditioning officially beginning in July, these girls had a hectic summer, as they have worked hard leading up to tryouts the first week of August. The work ethic and natural talent shown by this team are monumental and have truly set them up for a remarkable season with a powerful group of girls. 

Cheer

The cheer team holds tryouts before the end of the school year, so the group works hard during the summer to develop the new team's skills. 

So far, the team has held a car wash, which turned out to be a large success, as they were working to raise money for new uniforms. The cheerleaders donated supplies for the car wash and volunteered to cheer on the side of the road, invite cars to get their cars washed and clean them. 

Rising senior and varsity cheerleader Jailin McCauley says, “It's all based on donations, so we never ask for any specific amount of money. Anything we ever get is always appreciated, and we're always so grateful for the community's giving back to our program!"

In July, the team had the opportunity to go to UCA camp, where they stayed for three days to learn new skills. Rising junior and varsity cheerleader Bebe Blalock says, "UCA cheer camp is when many cheer teams from different schools come together and learn new chants, dances, and stunts from professional UCA cheerleaders." Blalock continues about some fun aspects of the camp, saying, "We compete for awards each day for who has the best spirit!"

At the end of July, the team wrapped up the summer months nicely with a kids' cheer camp hosted by the RHS cheerleaders. The team uses this as a fundraiser and teaches some of its techniques to younger children. The camp was open to Kindergarten to 5th-grade students, who were separated by grade into a cheer routine that they performed for their parents at the conclusion of the camp. Additionally, Blalock says, "The kids can also come and cheer at one of the varsity football games."

In addition to all these activities, the cheer team practices three days a week throughout the summer. By the time the official season and competitions begin, these girls will be more than prepared.