Merideth Van Auken
Wolfpack Coach
Fishhawk Wolfpack has been part of Pop Warner Little Scholars since its inaugural season in 2007. Pop Warner is the only youth football, cheerleading and dance organization that requires its participants to maintain academic standards in order to participate. Pop Warner’s commitment to academics is what separates the program from other youth sports around the world and is the reason Wolfpack chose to be part of its organization.
As Wolfpack’s program has grown in numbers for football and cheer, so has its success. For the past four years in a row, Wolfpack cheer has had the honor of having teams advance on to the Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Championships held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World. For a cheerleading or dance squad, the road to the national championship is a difficult one.
A spirit squad will first perform its best routine at a league championship. The top two squads in each division advance to regional competition. This season all three of Wolfpack’s competitive aged teams placed first at their local competition.
At the Southeast Regional Championships, teams from all of Florida, Georgia and Alabama compete for the chance to advance on to Nationals. All three Wolfpack teams were crowned Regional Champions this year and earned their spot at Nationals.
At Nationals, there are teams from 42 states vying for the honor of receiving a trophy. The top five teams in each division receive one. This season all three of Wolfpack’s teams earned second place nationally in their divisions.
“We are so incredibly proud of our girls and their coaches. To see how our program has grown and the success our cheer teams have had is wonderful. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for Wolfpack,” said Ingrid Velazquez, president of Wolfpack.
For more information, visit www.fishhawkwolfpack.com.
