The managers of the Varsity cheerleading camp visiting Eastern this week said their main focus is team building.

Courtney Vanderheiden, head camp manager, said most of the focus is on maintaining cohesion with in the separate teams.

“A lot of it focuses around teamwork and getting together and creating one team versus this little clique here and this little clique there,” she said.

Vanderheiden said safety is stressed in all facets of the camp.

The camp is put on by Varsity and the National Cheerleading Association, and has about 100 cheerleaders representing eight cheerleading teams.

Vanderheiden said the theme of this year’s camp is “Light the Fire” in recognition of the Olympics.

“With the Olympics, we incorporate different mentalities that the Olympians use,” Vanderheiden said.

She said they learn cheers, jumps, stunts, basket tosses, safety and teamwork.

“They do stunts,” Vanderheiden said. “We start with core stunts, talk about safety and the things that are real important for them to feel comfortable enough to do the stunts.”

Vanderheiden said the cheerleaders start with the basics and work their way up to advanced techniques if they are ready.

She said she likes to watch the cheerleaders change over the course of the camp.

“It’s interesting to see the transformation that the girls make throughout the week,” Vanderheiden said. “They come in as individuals, but they really exit as a team.”

Vanderheiden said there are some classes where they break down into small groups and practice jumps and other moves, and they have “prime time” segments where the individual teams can work on what they want with their cheerleading instructor.

Vanderheiden said Varsity is an umbrella corporation with many cheerleading and dance organizations under it.

National Cheerleading Association employees handle the instruction and Varsity employees handle the administration function of the camp.

She said the association’s instructors can only work at National Cheerleading Association camps, whereas she can work at any of the camps under the Varsity umbrella.

Vanderheiden said that the experience of living together for the week is a big part of what the camp has to offer, and allows the coaches, captains and other team members to get to know each other better.

“It’s nice to get to know the girls on another level,” she said.

Vanderheiden said the camp also encourages the different teams to get to know each other.

“It’s like a mix between cheering and team building retreat and things like that,” Vanderheiden said.

Marcus Smith can be reached at 581-2812 or masmith6@eiu.edu.