Alhambra Cheerleaders Take Third in Davis Competition

Alhambra Comp Cheer Squad walked away with a third place trophy from Sunday’s USA competition in Davis. After going into the competition with a perfect season of four wins, several of the girls were disappointed in the outcome.

But they did what they always do: They looked at their performance and began self-critiquing. “Even when they are first,” coach and choreographer Erin Chin said, “they know they have to move on and do better. They know what they need to work on even before I can tell them. They’re already on it.”

This third-place spot was bittersweet for the team for two reasons: First, they came into Sunday’s competition prepared, energized and confident after a first-place win Saturday at a UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) competition in Sacramento.

Second, Sunday’s top-two winners, Leland and Monta Vista, were teams Alhambra normally would not compete against. Both have more team members, and that usually puts them in a different division. Unfortunately for Alhambra, that wasn’t the case Sunday. But most of the girls and the coaches were making no excuses. They said they could have done better.

Chin said she will have to review the tapes to know what specifically went wrong Sunday, but she said they just weren’t sharp. “We didn’t hit like we did yesterday. There was a bobble in the beginning and we’ve never done that.” They touched down, didn’t make a lift and, according to a couple of judges, had some spacing issues.

Still, Alhambra is headed to the USA National Cheerleading Competition in less than two months, and Sunday helps them know, one coach said, that you can’t make mistakes and expect to always walk away with a first place.

Chin said they would work hard in preparation for nationals. They may add a competition between now and the end of March. They will, of course, practice, practice, practice the routine. “We’ll focus on the details, on getting the little stuff perfect. Fine tuning.”

But, she said, they will do more than physically prepare. “We will mentally prepare,” Chin said. “We will have the girls do things like visualization; we want to keep them mentally stimulated.” Chin says she knows how much it can help to have the girls in the right frame of mind. They were in a good place mentally on Saturday, she said, and she has no doubt they can be there again.

It helps that they are one of the most talented teams Chin has coached, she said.  And Chin knows cheerleading talent. She’s been coaching since she was a teenager and has had two past Alhambra teams bring home national championship trophies. This team, she says, has an excellent chance of winning at nationals.