Mat The Team example essay topic

All 16 girls, 1 boy, 2 coaches, and many parents and fans met at Detroit Metro Airport on February 5th, 2003 at 5: 30 am. All of us checked our bags and waited around for flight 476 from DTW to Orlando, Florida. The team was so excited for this trip because it was our first time to the Universal Cheerleading Associations National High School Cheerleading Championship. The UCA Nationals is the biggest cheerleading competition in the world. The big event was the only thing discussed on the plane.

What our coaches had in store for us never crossed our minds. We heard the flight attendant say "Welcome to Orlando, Florida. Our current landing time is 9: 30. For those of you who are visiting, have a great stay. Thank you for flying Northwest Airlines". The team cheered the news with enthusiasm.

We were finally there. This is what we had been waiting for almost all year. After we got off the plane and got our bags, we headed to the UCA shuttle. The shuttle took us to the hotel that would be our home for the next week. Arriving at the Caribbean Beach Resort all of us were flabbergasted. The resort was huge and beautiful.

We got to check into our room but we were not allowed to look around yet. Our coach told us to change into practice clothes and get ready to go the Wide World of Sports arena. We did not know why, but we followed orders. On our way there, our coach told us that the small and large co-ed competitions were to be held in that arena and that we had a scheduled mat time for 11: 30. We arrived at the arena and were hurried down a little hallway to an elevator that took us to a backstage warm-up area. The announcer then came on the PA system and said, "Romeo Varsity", that was our cue that our mat time was about to come up.

We went to the on deck area just like we would during the normal competition. The moment we stepped onto that stage, everyone was like "wow". The WWS arena was better than any of us could have imagined. There were all sorts of lights shining on us on stage. We warmed up all of our material and then were allowed to go back to the hotel.

The shuttle ride back to the hotel was filled with talk about the following day's preliminary competition. We got back to the resort and got ready to go out that night. We went to dinner at a local diner. After eating we went to the Disney Marketplace and got to walk around and go shopping. There were many interesting little souvenir shops there.

There was also the Lego section, where there were all sorts of vast Lego people and things. There was a Lego sea monster, a sleeping guy, Ronald McDonald, a castle, a bridge and a lot of other things. While walking around the Marketplace we all realized how big the UCA National competition was. There was UCA and cheerleading merchandise in almost every one of the stores.

It made the team that much more excited to compete the next day. We got back to the hotel and decided that we all wanted to go swimming. We wandered around trying to find the pool and after about 15 minutes of walking we found it. It was stunning. It made you feel like you were in paradise. There were exotic plants all around.

There was also a bridge over the pool as well as a hidden water slide and waterfall into the pool. We met some other teams that were competing in the co-ed division while we were in the pool that night. One of the teams was in the small co-ed division just like us and the other was in large co-ed. The team that we competed again was St. Louis High School, actually from Hawaii. It was also their first time at UCA Nationals. The other team was the infamous Christian Brothers Academy.

That night the members of the Christian Brothers told us what to expect from the competition and what would happen every day of competition. They also told us that for their first 4 years at the competition, they did not make it to finals. The Academy's members also added that normally teams take about 2-3 years to make it to finals. That news kind of bummed us a bit, but it made us put the whole trip into prospective. We were there to have fun and compete. It would be wonderful if we made it to the finals, but even more spectacular if we placed them!

The next morning we woke up at 8 am to have breakfast as a team and then head to the Disney Quest. Disney Quest was a very exciting place that had many interactive and hands-on games. There we played a bunch of games and went on a few rides. We also got to design our own roller coasters and ride them in a simulator.

Then the team made the craziest, fastest, hardest roller coaster the simulator could handle and made our coaches ride it. When they came out their faces were a bit pale. Later that day we went to Universal Studios. We had lunch at the Pizza Planet. We played a bunch of Toy Story games there. We went to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids part and played on giants ants and huge blades of grass.

We got to be a part of a show that was put on there. The show involved green army men. We got to go on a stage and had to do all these exercises while being ordered around by army men. It was a lot of fun. After we got done at Universal Studios we went back to the resort and got to take an hour nap before we had to go compete in preliminary competition. We went to the WWS arena and went backstage and warmed up.

We were all nervous when the announcer called our name and we began to take the mat. Then suddenly, a great feeling came over us. All the lights, screaming people, camera men, and judges - it felt like everyone's eyes were on you. From the minute our music started to the end of our routine I felt nothing but excitement, happiness, joy, and unity. That was the best routine we have ever performed.

After we got off the mat we had to wait around to see if we made it to the semi-finals. The announcer called off all the teams in a random order so it was very nerve racking. We heard some of the teams we were friends with like Salem High School and Eisenhower High School, the Christian Brothers and St. Louis. Then we heard the voice announce Romeo High School! That was a very exciting moment.

We made it to Semi-Finals and out of 78, teams we were in the top 35. That night UCA held a Celebration night. During Celebration night, UCA and MGM team up and close down MGM for the public and it is all for the cheerleaders. They have all the rides up and they have a DJ in an area and everyone goes and has fun and dances and gets to know other people.

That night we all went on the Tower of Terror together and did the Rock-n-Roller Coaster. The day after Celebration night was a day to rest and practice. We got up about 10 am and went to a Character breakfast at MGM. There were all the Disney characters there like Mickey and Minne y, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Belle, Tinker bell, and Buzz. They sang and danced for us and signed autographs and took pictures with us.

It was a very fun and exciting breakfast. We went back to the hotel and got ready to practice. Our coaches surprised us and let us stay at the hotel and practice. We went down to the lake they had there and practiced on the beach.

It was a very enjoyable and relaxed practice. Because we were not sure if we were going to make it out of the next round our coach told us that it didn't matter if we made it to finals or not, just have fun out there. The rest of the day we hung around the hotel and rested. We went to the pool, played volleyball, walked around, shopped, and went on a boat.

It was very fun and calming. We hung out with some of our new friends from the other teams there. They were all so very nice to us and showed us around the place. The Semi-Final competition was early on Monday morning. We had to be to the arena by 9 am.

We were one of the last teams to go again so we did not get to see any of the teams ahead of us. Before we went on the mat I turned to my team and said, "Just have fun out there. Forget about competing and do what you love to do. We made it this far, and that is more than most teams their first year here!" With fire being our team word we all huddled and on three yelled fire. We fired-up on the mat and waited for our music to begin. Again there was nothing but fun and excitement from the moment the music began to the moment we were off the mat.

My team went out there and had fun. We had another one of our best performances ever. We got off the mat and went to wait for the results to see how we did. This time we did not have to wait long. The announcer began the results and the 4th team he called off was Romeo. We all jumped up and started hugging each other.

We were so happy. Our first year to UCA and we make it to finals. That is an accomplishment all in itself. The next day we were all still so excited about making it to finals that we did not even want to go to Magic Kingdom. All we wanted to do is to go back to the WWS arena and compete for the National Championship title. Our team, Eisenhower, Salem and Swartz Creek all went to The Magic Kingdom together.

That was a lot of fun. To have a bunch of people from Michigan with us was refreshing. The four teams hung out all day together. We also went to dinner together at Planet Hollywood. After dinner, it was back to the hotel to get ready for the next day of competition. Getting ready meant washing and ironing uniforms, cutting and starching new bows, and putting curlers in our hair.

The next morning we all woke up at 9 am to get ready for the day ahead. Us, 16 girls all had to get our curlers taken out of our hair, and our make up done. All Brian, our one and only boy, had to do was get dressed. We left for the arena about 11 am. Finals for small and large co-ed started at 12 am. When we got there we barely had any time to warm-up.

Our team was the 4th team to go in finals. The whole team was very nervous. Right before we went on the mat the team was freaking out. We were just told that the competition was going to have a live feed to ESPN and we were going to be on TV. The thought of that scared everyone.

When we stepped onto the mat you could tell we were all very frightened. That finals routine was almost the worst routine we have ever done. There were many errors. The award ceremony came and the whole team thought that we were not going to place at all. We were disappointed in our performance but happy that we made it to finals. The announcer started with 15th place it was not us.

At this time you don't know if you should think you didn't place or that you placed higher. The announcer kept going and he got to top 10. Then the ninth place was Romeo. We were so happy! We thought with how bad we thought we did we would not have gotten 9th. Then it was large co-ed awards.

Our friends from Salem ended up getting 4th place and Christian Brothers got 1st. After the awards were done we went and congratulated both teams on a terrific job. As a friend Steve from Christian told me, "It feels like we won the lotto", that is how we felt. We may not have gotten first place or even top 5 but we made it and placed in finals our first year at UCA Nationals.

That night we all went to Pleasure Island and danced out excitement out. It was a lot fun to get to go dancing with all the friends we made during the week. After we left Pleasure Island we went back to our resort and went to the pool together. We all played games, and laughed together. It was one of the best days of my life. It was sad that that night had to be our last there.

The very exciting week had flown by way to fast. Sitting on the plane the next morning I realized that you have to live in the moment of things or it will all pass you up. I am so happy that I lived in the moment every moment with my team that week. Being with them made Disney World a whole different experience from every other time I have been there..