Say WHAT!?!

Over the years ICE® has earned the reputation for being one of the most successful cheerleading programs in the country.  With that success however, has come the responsibility of setting a good example for other programs across the nation to imitate.  ICE® takes this responsibility very seriously and we pride ourselves on running a program of honesty and integrity.  BUT, despite our efforts, and amidst our successes, many negative rumors have arisen in regards to our program.  As hilarious as some of these rumors may be, we constantly find ourselves having to address them, so we decided to take the most straightforward approach possible... We're gunna address the rumors on our website for the whole world to see!  

Welcome to the ICE® Rumor Mill!

Oh yeah?  Well, I heard that...

ICE® Cheerleaders have to practice like every day and on weekends!

That would be FALSE...  ICE® only requires that competitive teams practice two nights per week and never on Fridays.  At the coaches discretion, an additional practice may be called the week of a competition to prepare the team for their performance, but these are rare and usually only happen during the early part of the season.   Cheertyme, our exhibition team only practices one day per week!  Where this rumor may have sprung from is our Senior Elite Level 5 team.  This team practices three times per week with additional practices before big competitions.  However, the members of this team are the most elite athletes at ICE® and fully accept and understand the commitment level for which they signed up.  There is only ONE Elite Level 5 Team at ICE®.

ICE® Level 5 cheerleaders are weighed at their practices.  

False.  An athlete's weight is their private business.  An ICE® Coach is NEVER permitted to require an athlete to divulge such private information unless a parent has specifically requested that their child's weight be checked for medical reasons or for a their personal safety.  This rumor may have arisen because there is a scale in the weigh room of the ICE® Athletic Center for it's Fitness Members.

You have to have a full to be on a team at ICE®, so you might as well not even try out.  

Appalling!  And once again, FALSE.  If you have ever been to a competition where ICE® performed your would find that we bring a large number of teams ranging everywhere from Mini teams to a Special Needs team.  If all athletes were required to have a full to compete with us, such a showing surely would not be possible!  A full is an elite tumbling skill that requires hard work and proper instruction.  At ICE® we provide the facilities and instruction needed to gain the elite tumbling skills and it is our hope that every athlete will achieve their tumbling goals.  Many athletes come to ICE® with no tumbling experience at all, but in time - and with the proper work ethic - we mold them into the cheerleaders you see hoisting the trophies and bringing home the banners at competition each weekend!

ICE® is no fun!  All they care about is winning.

FALSE.  While winning is important at ICE®, we believe that an athlete should enjoy their All Star cheerleading experience!  As you can see in the description of our All Star cheer program, we have systematically broken down each level of cheerleading to clearly define the infamous fine line between WINNING and FUN.  We have found in the past that too much emphasis on winning creates pressure on the athletes that prevents them from reaching their full potential.  So, NEW for the 2010-2011 season all competitive teams will have one practice per month dedicated primarily to FUN!  At these "fun practices" athletes will be encouraged to bring a friend, dress up for a theme, and just be silly!

Practices are SO HARD at ICE®!  They just make you condition all the time.

FALSE.  Our Elite Level 5 team practices on the same night as some of our Competitive teams at ICE®, so it is easy to get the impression that ALL ICE® practices are like their practice.  This is simply not true.  The Elite team at ICE® competes for a USASF World Championship each year and to do so requires an effort that would be impossible to ask of ALL of our cheerleaders.  ICE® firmly believes in developing well-conditioned physically fit athletes.  Cheerleading is a sport just like gymnastics or wrestling.  It requires that athletes be in shape so that they can perform their best that being said, competitive cheerleaders may be required to do push-ups, sit-ups, run laps (or stairs), and stretch out to maintain the level of fitness required of any athlete participating in a sport.

The ICE® teams practice at BOTH locations, so you will have to drive back and forth for practices all the time.  

FALSE.  In our first season with two gym locations some of our level 5 athletes were required to commute back and forth between our Ft. Wayne and Mishawaka gyms out of necessity.  This will NOT be required of athletes in the 2010-2011 season and will NEVER be required in the future.  Once again the exception to this rule is our Elite Level 5 team.