High School Uca Vs. Nca Camp

[AScheer]

Is a team's attendance at a UCA camp required for them togo to UCA Nationals? Or does that only apply to teams in the Game Day division?

That is only high school game day divisions. You qualify for UCA nationals at a regional competition. Elite camps don't participate in gameday at camp so I'm not sure if they're allowed to enter that division at nationals or not, we did not participate in the new gameday stuff so I don't know about that.

A team going to NCA camp can qualify for nationals there. I personally didn't like that. After being a coach and seeing the "checklist" to get a bid, it took out any prestige of getting a bid and made the whole thought ridiculous. I don't think NCA HS nationals itself is, but the qualifying process seemed very basic. Again though could have been the individual camp experience.

In my opinion NCA has better dances (though they don't care if you learn them and never evaluated us on them) and UCA has better cheers and set up so you leave having game material ready. I personally think UCA has better stunt classes, but that could attribute to the fact that we've done elite camps. NCA elite (does that exist??) may have the same exact stunts classes. I prefer the way UCA does all American as well and was really turned off on the way coaches could make the staff nominate anyone they wanted at NCA, deserving or not.


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[cheernerd5678]

That is only high school game day divisions. You qualify for UCA nationals at a regional competition. Elite camps don't participate in gameday at camp so I'm not sure if they're allowed to enter that division at nationals or not, we did not participate in the new gameday stuff so I don't know about that.

A team going to NCA camp can qualify for nationals there. I personally didn't like that. After being a coach and seeing the "checklist" to get a bid, it took out any prestige of getting a bid and made the whole thought ridiculous. I don't think NCA HS nationals itself is, but the qualifying process seemed very basic. Again though could have been the individual camp experience.

In my opinion NCA has better dances (though they don't care if you learn them and never evaluated us on them) and UCA has better cheers and set up so you leave having game material ready. I personally think UCA has better stunt classes, but that could attribute to the fact that we've done elite camps. NCA elite (does that exist??) may have the same exact stunts classes. I prefer the way UCA does all American as well and was really turned off on the way coaches could make the staff nominate anyone they wanted at NCA, deserving or not.


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How does UCA do all-american? I never experienced coaches "making" the staff nominate anyone at NCA, but that's not to say it couldn't/didn't happen.
I like the NCA stunt classes a lot, but I think they needed more supervision and a pre-evaluation.We could choose to go to beginner, intermediate, or advanced, regardless of actual skill. I had a really strong stunt group so it was fine for us but watching people try to tick-tock when their lib wasn't solid.... no no no.

 

[AScheer]

How does UCA do all-american? I never experienced coaches "making" the staff nominate anyone at NCA, but that's not to say it couldn't/didn't happen.
I like the NCA stunt classes a lot, but I think they needed more supervision and a pre-evaluation.We could choose to go to beginner, intermediate, or advanced, regardless of actual skill. I had a really strong stunt group so it was fine for us but watching people try to tick-tock when their lib wasn't solid.... no no no.

NCA nominates girls. Prior to this they ask the coaches who they would like to be nominated. I told them that I wanted no part in choosing, that they could nominate anyone they felt deserved it. However I witnessed first hand many coaches telling their buddy they had to nominate every single girl, or they had to nominate __, or don't you dare nominate __. I just sat there shocked by the madness around me. It put a bad taste in my mouth for it. And the girls on the team where the coach made NCA nominate every girl annoyed the crap out of me... turns out 2 on the whole team actually made it, because thats all that should have been nominated anyways. Things like that just bother me! Tryouts were done individually.

UCA doesn't nominate anyone. They let each team submit 4 girls tryout, or all seniors. (I think its 4 but could be wrong.) The teams choose who does it, UCA stays out of it. Tryouts are done in large groups of 4. Other than I like how UCA doesn't take is long because they make a lot go at once, the actual tryout I don't have a preference for. It was how the girls were chosen at NCA that bothered me.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Re: NCA all american. I was always the one who said "It really doesn't matter to me" just so they could move it along and I could continue with my camp!

Like 12 kids on my team trying out individually? #aintnobodygottimefodat

 

[cheernerd5678]

NCA nominates girls. Prior to this they ask the coaches who they would like to be nominated. I told them that I wanted no part in choosing, that they could nominate anyone they felt deserved it. However I witnessed first hand many coaches telling their buddy they had to nominate every single girl, or they had to nominate __, or don't you dare nominate __. I just sat there shocked by the madness around me. It put a bad taste in my mouth for it. And the girls on the team where the coach made NCA nominate every girl annoyed the crap out of me... turns out 2 on the whole team actually made it, because thats all that should have been nominated anyways. Things like that just bother me! Tryouts were done individually.

UCA doesn't nominate anyone. They let each team submit 4 girls tryout, or all seniors. (I think its 4 but could be wrong.) The teams choose who does it, UCA stays out of it. Tryouts are done in large groups of 4. Other than I like how UCA doesn't take is long because they make a lot go at once, the actual tryout I don't have a preference for. It was how the girls were chosen at NCA that bothered me.

I feel like too many get nominated, but I prefer that to not enough people being nominated and someone who is all American material not getting to try out and prove it. My second time to camp (junior year) I was one of the last ones to be nominated, and the whole time I was like "have I regressed? I was all American as a freshman and I've only gotten better, how am I not nominated?" I ended up the only one on my team to make it. Plus id hate to wait till my senior year. What if you can't muster up the money for the trip that year but could the year before? It would suck to know you could've gone but "seniority" kept you from it. I actually just hate the whole idea of seniority so I'm a little biased but... I prefer the NCA way to the UCA. But I think it should be based on the staff not the coaches opinion. The coaches should have no say in it....I never realized they did till now.


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[BuegeSmalls]

Plus id hate to wait till my senior year. What if you can't muster up the money for the trip that year but could the year before? It would suck to know you could've gone but "seniority" kept you from it.

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Or on the other hand waiting til senior year could help you since you'd have time to save up money throughout high school if you knew going on the trip was something you really wanted to do.

 

[cheernerd5678]

Or on the other hand waiting til senior year could help you since you'd have time to save up money throughout high school if you knew going on the trip was something you really wanted to do.

But then you risk not making it and not getting to go. Saving up won't hurt but it would suck to look forward to it and then not make it. Idk, to each their own I guess.


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[BuegeSmalls]

But then you risk not making it and not getting to go. Saving up won't hurt but it would suck to look forward to it and then not make it. Idk, to each their own I guess.


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True but you might not make it even if you did tryout all four years (which would be horrible and hopefully doesn't happen to anyone lol)

 

[ilikebigbows]

I've only ever been to UCA. We were at IU for three of the years and my sophomore year we had a "home" camp at my school to save money. I hated it freshman and sophomore year...freshman year mainly because we were not very cohesive as a team and argued more than we actually tried to get things done. Our senior leadership was awful as well.

Sophomore year the home camp was just boring. We were not a very advanced squad and did not compete, but some of the stunts they taught were just super weird and not exactly usable at a game. The staffers who came to us were super nice but I couldn't wait to leave after each day. Something about being in your own high school gym learning mostly useless things and ugly dances was just a complete bore.

Junior and senior year we went back to IU and it was a complete blast. I think a lot of it had to do in part with the fact that our team got along for the most part very well and had strong leadership both years. Yes we still got tired and sweaty and frustrated (what's an extreme routine without wanting to rip your hair out?!) but I think because of the bonding we already had, it was a lot more fun and a lot easier to push through.

I just got hired onto the Midwest staff in February and it's definitely going to be my goal to make each camp I teach at a positive, productive and FUN experience, whether we're at Great Wolf Lodge or someone's high school gymnasium. If your team is going to a camp this year I would highly highly highly consider team bonding activities beforehand, because I guarantee there will be a time when everyone is tired and hungry and frustrated and this bonding will help ease some of that tenseness and camp will be a lot more productive and FUN for everybody!

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

From a coaching standpoint, wanting to rip your hair out is just part of cheer camp.

I've done tons of camps as an athlete and coach, home camp, away, college, high school, all star, middle.

With that said, I love the away camp experience for kids.

I've never been to an away camp where the kids were not ready to rip out hair. I consider it a rite of passage.

That's when the team comes together. Ha.

In the "oh my god Coach I want to go home."

"My stunt group sucks!"

"It's sooo hot. "

"If I have to do that sideline one more time."

A team is born.

I've had kids stand up at senior year banquet with their best friend and laugh/cry about "remember when we went to camp and I wanted to punch you all in the throat?"

 

[omgitssydthekid]

As an NCA staffer member, I love the way we run our camps. We have extremely flashy stunts, as well as the basic versions of those stunts. We still teach tick ups, tick tocks, and full ups as well as the more basic core stunts. Our cheers are separated into levels which helps the teams have a more customized camp experience. And I love buddy time because we get the one on one experience with each team and it really helps prepare them for the evaluations.
My high school was, and still is, UCA. I enjoyed UCA camps in high school because I liked getting to stunt a lot and I only had to worry about learning one cheer and one dance since I didn't pick up on the material very quickly.
In my own camp experience, NCA is more game day oriented with the exception of the flashy stunts and extra dances. UCA seemed more performance based to me because we were evaluated on our "Extreme Routine" and not any cheers.


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[blyndreamalum]

I do know that on the topic of trips, UCA camp determines ( or used to determine) who got Macy's invites simply based on being a captain or leader on the team. My sisters's senior year one of her captains was throwing a fit and didn't want to go to the morning captains meeting, so her coach sent the rest of the seniors and they all got invites. She was the only one from her school that went and she was lucky enough that her best friend from another school also got an invite. She said that it was a good ending to her hs cheer career (she only cheered football that year) and wouldn't want to have done it any earlier.


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[Maddie_99]

I went to Uca camp last year and I had tons of fun. The trainers were soo nice and they just made it fun. I loved it


~*If it's in your heart,then it's in your spirit~*

 

[GForce]

For the people that didn't enjoy their camp experiences (either UCA or NCA), what things do you think would have made them better?

 

[AScheer]

For the people that didn't enjoy their camp experiences (either UCA or NCA), what things do you think would have made them better?

Good question. Prefacing this with a note that this is from my experience and doesn't mean every camp/experience is this way. Also want to add there are lots of positives and things I did like, don't want to seem as if I'm being all negative Nancy over here!

NCA Camp -
1) Didn't like that the only material we walked away knowing was the 5 second cheer that is virtually the exact same EVERY year. They teach you other things, but lots of material, very quickly, with no focus on really retaining it = a waste of time and energy. If you're going to teach them a dance, TEACH THEM A DANCE! We did go back and use the DVD later in the year to learn it on our own for a basketball halftime. I don't feel we should have to learn from the DVD though when we spent 4 days and lots of money to learn it in the summer!
2) Stunt classes. There was no testing to see if you are in an appropriate class. Girls could go to whichever group they wanted, wether they should physically be there or not. At UCA for example when the groups split up, the elite stunt class made you show your straight up lib before they showed or taught anything! If you couldn't hit it solid, you were sent to the other groups.
3) Already mentioned the All American situation. IMO it would make it better if either NCA staff stays out of the choosing or if the coaches stay out of the choosing.
4) Coaches classes. I felt like I spent the majority of camp locked away in a coaches room. I had a schedule that told me what my girls were doing but I didn't see any of it. We were away from the team during the day more than we were with them. I also did not feel like I benefited any from these classes. One thing I like about UCA is that every morning there is a coaches meeting. Lasts anywhere from 30 min - 1 hr depending on the day and the camp, then you're done. After that you are out coaching or watching your team.

UCA Camp -
1) Game Day. I just don't care for it. Our camp didn't focus on it much either until the end of the last night. The girls were majorly confused and rattled that they had to compete it the next day.
2) Final day of elite camp. If you go to a camp that is joint elite and regular, your final day is pretty unproductive. The elites do not participate in game day. The elite teams compete once. The regular camp teams compete 3 times.

Problem with both companies - Price. And the fact that it continually raises about $20 - $30 a girl EVERY year. That is a huge amount when you add it up. Shouldn't need to keep raising so much, at what point does it stop?