John I. Burton's cheer squad selected for the 2014-15 Citrus Bowl!

Over the past summer, the John I. Burton cheerleaders went to several camps all over southwest Virginia. Little did they know, their most important camp would happen right here in their own gym just three days before the beginning of the school year. An amazing opportunity was about to unfold.

A choreographer for AmeriCheer, named Heather Williams, came to teach the cheerleaders a pre-show dance for football season expecting to meet a normal, high school level, cheer squad. However, she found something else entirely. Williams was so impressed with their determination, passion, and skill that she submitted the squad to go All-American and perform at the Capitol One Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. After a few weeks of waiting, the squad finally got the news that they had been selected!

Soon after they received the news, they started planning how they would reveal this news to the community and finally decided to do it at the Central game. They knew this would be a big game so they wanted to go all out. They choreographed a pre-show dance and accepted their All-American cups on their home field during half-time. Though the actual football game was rough, these events kept the cheerleaders spirits high and their cheers sharp.




If you are not completely clear on what the Citrus Bowl is or what it means to be an All-American cheerleader, here are the answers.

First, the Capitol One Citrus Bowl is an annual college football game held at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. John I. Burton cheerleaders will be performing at the bowl's half-time show with hundreds of other All-American cheerleaders and a famous singer or performer. Secondly, if you do not understand what becoming an All-American cheer squad means, know that it is a very big deal. Most of the time, one or two cheerleaders from a squad will be selected but having an entire squad go All-American is a once in a lifetime opportunity that most cheerleaders can only dream of.

Burton's cheerleaders are very much looking forward to attending the bowl in December and performing on New Years Day. You can watch the Citrus Bowl on January first on ESPN. The cheerleaders are currently selling wreaths to fund the trip. To buy one of these, contact any of the Burton cheerleaders or their coach Melissa Wharton.


Photos courtesy of Sammy Belcher photography, www.belcherimages.com