Chantilly cheerleading program has a reputation for winning

The Chantilly Youth Association's competitive cheerleading program, Cheer Select, has developed a bit of a reputation.

"People will come up to us and say, 'Oh, Cheer Select -- you're the ones who win,' " said Nicole Dudas of Oakton, the group's assistant program director.

Cheer Select's four teams have indeed been winning.

The teams -- which are named Spirit, Energy, Power and Force -- have swept five competitions since January, with each taking first place in their respective divisions, earning them a trip earlier this month to the U.S. finals in Virginia Beach, a national cheer and dance competition.

Force, the 14-and-under team, and Spirit, the 8-and-under team, placed first in their divisions, earning national champion status. Power placed second and Energy fourth. About 1,350 recreational, high school and college dance and cheerleading teams competed in the event this year.

"Our secret is trying hard and loving cheerleading," said Emma Waugh, 15, an Oakton High School freshman who competed on Force this season.

Despite the "select" name, Cheer Select is open to any youths who want to compete, Dudas said.

"We just take everybody who comes," she said. "We don't only take girls who can do a certain thing."

The teams produced their winning routines without pushing the envelope on safety, Dudas said. Although the athletes are "fearless," the coaches emphasize proficiency before progression, she said, which sometimes means routines are based on the skill level of the least advanced girls on a team.

The five-year-old program is expanding. It went from about 50 girls in its first year to about 125 for the 2009-10 season, which just ended. This summer, the program is recruiting a high school level team, Shock, which Dudas will coach.

"Winter cheer has been cut out of most schools" because of to budget cuts in Fairfax County public schools, Dudas said. "We want to give these athletes a chance to keep competing. A lot of girls want more year-round exposure."

The high school cheerleaders will be able to cross-train and condition with Cheer Select over the summer, as well as work on tumbling skills in the organization's training facility in Chantilly. After cheering with their high school teams during football season, they can then compete with Shock in the winter and spring.

Teams practice two or three times a week, and individual athletes take tumbling lessons and cross-train to improve their skills.

"I think a lot of the [younger] girls are attracted to the fact that they can be glamorous," Dudas said. "A lot of the older girls just love how athletic and strong you get from doing this."

Waugh and Dudas's older daughter, Caroline, said spending time with friends is a major draw of the sport.

"It's a really great way to build teamwork skills and make friends, and it's a lot of fun," Caroline Dudas said.

The adult coaches and volunteers who support Cheer Select and the nonprofit Chantilly Youth Association also get more from the program than just supporting their children, Nicole Dudas said.

The association and Cheer Select are like a family, she said. "People get into it and just stay in it. Everyone does this because they love it."