What a weekend!

This cheer season has been a rollercoaster ride!  We were the team that nobody wanted.  The pilot team.  The first 4.2 in the history of our gym.  Many thought our gym wasn't ready.  Many thought we would fail.

Cheerleading is split into different levels.  The levels range from 1 to 6.  As the girls master harder stunts and tumbling, they move up in levels.  Then along came the level 4.2.  I have to say that when we found out that Avery was going to be on a level 4.2, I had no idea what that meant.  I just knew it was a step up from her level 1 last year.  Piggee, Avery's flying coach and best friend, explained to us that a level 4.2 meant that the athletes could compete using level 4 flying stunts, but tumble at a level 2.  We were so excited since Avery had spent the whole summer working on her flying stunts.  She has never been strong at tumbling, so this team was going to give her the chance to show off her new flying skills without having to master the tumbling.
Some people didn't think this was fair.  Why should they be able to do all the fun level 4 stunts without having to work as hard to get the tumbling?  I can see their point, but if the tables had been turned I'm sure they would have felt differently.

From the beginning our team has struggled.  They have struggled big time!  And since 4.2 teams are relatively new, we didn't have much competition, so all of our wins were not as sweet.  People said, "of course they won; they didn't have any competition."  And they were right. 

Throughout the course of this season, we have lost several athletes and have had to replace them with new ones.  Avery even thought about throwing in the towel, but she couldn't leave her teammates in a bind.

Fast forward to this weekend.  NCA: National Cheerleaders Association.  The Superbowl of Cheerleading!  Hundreds of teams from all over the country.  Six 4.2 teams.  We finally had competition!

And...Cobalt....the 4.2 underdog of Prodigy All-Stars won!  I couldn't have been more proud of our girls.  They worked hard and never gave up!  They deserved the jackets they won.  They deserved to bask in the glory of it all!  This team is proof that adversity builds character and hard work creates winners.  And during this whole season, God has taught me so much more.  He has humbled me and shown me that even this....this amazing win is not bigger than He is.  That without Him nothing is possible and that we should not place anything above Him.  And that even if we do lose sight of what is most important, He still blesses us in the midst of our "temporary insanity."

Hailey and Avery