2009 FCC Mission Updates

CROATIA - DAY 1
Today we started our first day of camp in Croatia! We have over a hundred campers, which is a huge enhancement from the size of last year's camp! And, not only have the numbers increased, but the skill level of these campers has progressed more than any other camp I've seen. Not only has their stunting technique advanced, but they've also developed more in every area in cheerleading as a whole. So, it was so exciting to see how hard they've been working, and how quickly growth has taken place here, in the realm of cheerleading. A highlight of the day was reconnecting with all of the familiar faces from years past. Most of the clubs here came last year, so it’s great to not only have a bunch of new teams to build relationships with, but also that we get to continue building ones we've already made. There is one club that took an 11 hour train just to come to camp! So, not only were they very exhausted at the end of the day from travel, but they're also so excited just to be here. It's moving to know that FCC is being spread by so many different means over here that people are desperate to be a part of it! I am impatient and eager to see what all is going to be accomplished this week at camp in so many different ways just because everyone here showed up with a desire to develop and advance not only themselves personally, but also each other as a camp, not just an individual club. As for the staff, we are all well rested and blessed to be a part of this experience. We feel as though big things are going to happen this week and are thankful that we will have a firsthand encounter to it all!

CROATIA - DAY 2
Today we had our first full day of camp! The campers here are so good at speaking English that they caught on to the cheers really quickly. Their motion technique and sharpness is so impressive; we loved watching them perform the cheers. We had a very extended stunt class because they are all so eager to learn new stunts. We taught them tons of stunts with flips and twists; they have some very powerful bases!! We also got to watch their cheer performances tonight, and they were awesome! They were all very creative and encouraging for each other. Our word for the day was courage, so the staff performed a skit at the end of the night based on our word of the day. The campers really enjoyed this almost as much as the staff enjoyed performing it! By the end of the day the campers were very exhausted because they had worked so hard all day long! Tomorrow is fun day, so everyone is very excited about it!

CROATIA - DAY 3
Camp today was amazing! It was Fun Day, and what a fun day it was! The camper's showed up this morning hyped and ready to go. From the beginning of morning warm up to the end of the day, they never lost their energy; it was awesome! Overall, this camp has a lot of very talented cheerleaders. During jump class this morning the staff was so impressed at the flexibility of this camp. Their jumps were so high, and for the most part, hyperextended! Stunt class was a true highlight for us today! We worked on a lot of advanced stunts involving flipping and twisting. One club got two back tuck baskets! And, the best part of that was watching the fliers overcome their fear and their squad member's ability to encourage them to do so (not to mention the celebration afterwards)! We also put together Varsity All Music Routines today for all of the clubs and spent most of the day practicing them. Needless to say, they are very impressive, and we can't wait until tomorrow to watch them perform! It was an awesome day from start to finish, and the staff can't believe tomorrow is already our last day of camp! This camp has gone by so fast, we feel like we've barely been here 2 days! We have made some great friendships here, so tomorrow will be a very sad day as we all depart. (tears).

CROATIA - FINAL DAYS
Today was our final day of camp! We started the morning off with private coaching, and it was evident the teams had been working all night long! Their routines looked so good this morning! Everyone went home with blue ribbons after they all hit perfect routines! It was great watching them all perform, each with their own style. Seeing how far they've come since the beginning of the week, and how much their stunting has improved since they've been here, was a great thing for the entire staff. During our awards ceremony, we had so many different awards to give out that were donated by the camp sponsors. We had many different best categories and individual skill awards. Determining who to give the awards to was the hardest thing the staff has had to do all week! Afterwards, we took pictures and said goodbyes for over an hour. Evidently, no one wanted to leave. We even helped teams with more stunting! Our most favorite part of camp overall was our Buddy Time, where the staff spent time talking with their buddy teams at different times throughout the day. Last night, after Mindi spoke about Joy during Prime Time, the staff all met together to talk with their buddies about internal joy and where/what brings them joy. There were some very good conversations. Slavica, our Camp Coordinator, has been amazing! She has been so accommodating for us, trying to make sure we have more than everything we need. Her spirit is so sweet and serving; it has been a true blessing to have gotten to spend so much time here with her. She has done a wonderful job at setting everything up and making sure this camp experience was perfect for everyone. We are going to have our final meal with her before we leave on our train for Slovenia tonight. She will be the hardest person to say goodbye to for all of us. They are very lucky to have her here in Croatia! The FCC - Split camp could not have been any better! What an amazing experience for us all!

SLOVENIA - DAY 1
So, today was awesome! We have had a lot of down time the past couple days. We went swimming and went to the salt fields over the weekend, so we were well rested for the beginning of camp today. Varsity All Music was sweet. Camp Cheer not so much, but I'm sure the video will surface on facebook soon. I have been working with Lucia and the dancers. That has been really fun. There are around 50 campers total. Many are pretty young. They seem a little shy, but a lot of the younger campers don't understand us. Stunt class went well, but we only had one stunt class and will split it tomorrow. Today was Lauren's birthday so we sang to her and the campers sang in Slovene. It was cool.

SLOVENIA - DAY 2
Today the campers learned one of the two cheers that we offered and performed them with a jump and stunt for evaluations. Most of the teams received blue ribbons and they all received treats from the sponsors. The dancers were also evaluated and did the camp dance that Lucia taught them. It is amazing! They have already started adding onto it for the final day. Many of the beginners really improved their stunting today and the advanced stunters worked on some really cool stunts. We had a jump jam for the cheerleaders and a turn jam for the dancers. Those girls are so talented!

SLOVENIA - DAY 3
So day three of camp was amazing! We had our Circus Fun Day. That's right! There were clowns and animals as well as juggling, jumping rope, flipping, rolling and much more! After jump and stunt class and teaching the Varsity All Music voice over, we had our circus performances. Each team had to make up and perform their circus routines. They were all cute. We had private coaching to prepare for evaluations tomorrow. In the meantime the dancers had a guest dance teacher who taught them hip hop and did an awesome job. Smiley shared at Prime time. The word of the day was Joy. Smiley spoke about where our inner joy comes from. Afterward we had FBI time and gave the teams their Alpeadria camp t-shirts. It's hard to believe that camp is almost over.

CZECH - DAY 1
Day one started with out a hitch! This camp is mostly younger teams with a few older squads mixed in the bunch. The first day is always the most chaotic as there is a lot to cover material wise, but that didn't seem to stop everyone from learning everything! Despite the language barrier, the campers did very well picking everything up ... though it does help when everyone, including most the younger campers, speaks pretty good english. This week should be interesting since all the staff members, minus one, have been on multiple Czech Missions trips before! It has been really good getting reacquainted with some old friends, especially meeting little Jonas for the first time!!

CZECH - DAY 2
Today became very interesting since we had to move inside due to weather problems. However, staff and campers bounced right back and jumped in head first. Warm-ups took on an interesting twist as Nicol and Simona, both Czech nationals, led warm-ups with a little "rockin' thru the decades" dance off! The teams joined in and everyone had a blast! We spent a lot of time on stunt class for both partner and group stunts. Everyone was very eager to learn as much as possible and it required us to spend more time teaching all the stunts. The rest of the day went without a hitch. Our highlight as a staff is taking time after camp is over and we've finished practice to head over to the camper's hotel for a little R&R with everyone. Its great to just spend sometime with the campers sharing our hearts and passions with them outside of cheerleading.

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