On the second day of Trinity Lutheran’s cheerleading camp, they started out the day with a game of Simon Says.

It was a way to get the group of 60-plus campers engaged and warmed up, like the day before when they played freeze tag.

Andrea Foster has been the coach of the Cougars’ cheerleading squad for three years now, and she said the camp numbers this past week were really good.

“We actually had a really good turnout,” she said. “I think we had about 70 kids sign up, and almost that number came here to camp, as well, so that’s awesome.”

The camp has taken place every summer that Foster has been at the helm of the program, and it has been going on long before that.

“I remember when I was a little girl, I came to this camp, as well,” Foster said.

This year, Trinity decided to extend its camp age to as young as 3 years old, and the oldest campers were in eighth grade, so there was a wide range in the Bollinger Athletic Complex this week.

Each group required different levels of drills and skills.

“With the younger girls, we’re teaching them basic motions, basic jumps,” Foster said. “Middle age, we’re getting more advanced, we’re working our jump techniques, working on our motion techniques. Then for our advanced girls, we’re teaching them harder cheers that they can take back to their programs because those girls are all in middle school, so they can take them back to Sauers, Immanuel, wherever they are, and teach them to their program.”

Foster led the game of Simon Says to begin the two-hour camp Wednesday, but aside from that, she let it be an opportunity for the Trinity Lutheran High School cheerleaders to take charge and lead the camp.

The Cougars were spread out across the gym, assigned to different age groups and working with them on specific cheers and skills.

“This camp is really meant for them to be their own coaches,” Foster said. “Us coaches try to stay hands off as much as possible. This is a great opportunity for them to improve their skills and learn leadership skills.”

The youth cheerleading camp was the chance for Trinity’s squad to get together this summer. The Cougars won’t start practicing until school starts this fall, and since Trinity doesn’t have a football team, their season doesn’t begin until basketball season.

Foster said it was nice to see her team and how much they embraced leading the younger girls throughout the camp, which they hope ultimately helps grow the program.

“This is kind of our only thing in the summer,” Foster said. “We will start practicing at the beginning of the school year, and then the season officially starts after fall sports are over.”