Bulldog Cheer Squad Shows Spirit at UCA Camp

Bulldog Cheer Squad took home the Spirit Banana at the UCA Camp held at Drury University.

June 14, 2026

The Bulldog Cheerleaders used this summer to grow their skills and create greater team chemistry as they recently attended the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) Camp held at Drury University. The Cheer Squad finished with two 2nd place trophies, five Cheerleaders make the All-American team, and brought home the coveted St. Jude’s Spirit Banana!

The UCA Camp - a Summer Tradition

The Bulldog Cheerleading team have spend numerous summers attending the UCA Cheer camp and this summer it was held at Drury University in Springfield. Both JV and Varsity teams participated in this 4-day camp. What made this special is both teams participated in the camp as a single unit. No separation. Everyone works on the same skills, the same routines, hearing the same message. 

Two squads, one team.

Universal Cheerleaders Association is the largest Cheer Camp in the U.S. with over 180,000 cheerleaders coming through their camps throughout the summer. Founded in the mid-70’s, their purpose was to transform the traditional crowd leading to a dynamic, athletic combination of high energy entertainment and school leadership that you see today.

Coach Holly Myers was excited for the opportunity of the two teams to perform together in the final day of competition after spending the previous three days working alongside each other. “It allows us to work together, develop new skills and stunts, and we are able to build a bigger pyramid for the dance routine,” said Myers.

Honing their Skills

The format of the camp includes instruction from both professional cheer coaches as well as current college cheerleaders. As the teams work on individual skills they also participate in sideline routines, crowd cheer and dance routines.

As they learn and improve the various skills, they are evaluated on those areas and given areas to improve and reinforcement on areas where they are having success before heading into the final competition. 

Receiving this feedback prior to the final day of competition is critical for the cheerleaders and coaches. “This allows teams to work on anything that is underdeveloped or anything that needs to be changed to make it more of a “wow” moment.”

The Cheer squad received a blue ribbon for both the Game Day sideline and the Dance routine which verifies that they are “game day” ready with what they performed. Coach Myers was pleased with the effort by her team. “The girls worked so hard to learn material and make it game day ready in a short amount of time. We were all so very excited.”

Competition Day

The final day of camp is known as “Competition Day.” This is the culmination of the camp and an opportunity to showcase what they have learned and come together as a team to perform against the other school cheer programs attending the camp.

The Bulldog Cheer team was ready. Combining the junior varsity squad with the experienced varsity squad might prove challenging for some teams, but they used those prior camp days to come together as one team.

How did Coach Myers feel about their performance? “The girls went out there and performed like they have been doing this together for years!” The team received 2nd place trophies for the Game Day sideline, crowd cheer, and band chant competition as well as for the Dance Routine and Pyramid portion.

UCA All-Americans

The UCA Camp offers an opportunity for seniors and juniors to try out for the All-American team for UCA. Tryouts were held on day 3 of the camp and they were evaluated on the following four areas: a choreographed dance, tumbling, crowd cheer, and their jump of choice.

Five Bulldog Cheerleaders made the All-American team. They are seniors Katie Clayton and Sophia Grijalva, and juniors Annie Wiles, Saylor Harrison, and Katrina Farris. 

Being named to the All-American team, they are now invited to perform at special events across the country. I’m very proud of these girls for working so hard and representing Rolla!

Channeling Your Spirit Banana

When I first heard the term “Spirit Banana” two things came to mind: more recently the Savannah Bananas baseball entertainment team and from my past (aging myself here) the famous line from Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, “Look man, I’m not going to fall for no banana in the tail pipe!”... you are welcome for that… (Note: language warning in that movie clip)

But when it comes to the UCA Cheer Camp the Spirit Banana is a very big deal. It is the ultimate daily spirit award. This large inflatable banana represents the very well known coveted “spirit stick”.

At the end of each camp day, the banana is awarded to the team displaying elite energy, leadership, and positive attitudes and they take the bragging rights and possession until the end of the next day where a new team could be awarded the banana. 

The goal is to be the team to be awarded the Spirit Banana on Competition Day and take it home. The team who goes home with it has shown the energy, enthusiasm, and leadership all four days of camp. 

This summer, the Bulldog Cheerleaders represented Bulldog Pride and were awarded the Spirit Banana. Myers was excited for the team and their growth during those four days. “They stood out in a positive way by leading other teams in chants, dances, and many girls walked away with new friendships. I’m very proud of these girls and this team. I’m looking forward to an amazing year!”