History of the Spirit Stick We participate in the Spirit Stick Award Program where our athletes engage with eachother through friendly competition and challenges like "cheer offs", or "splits challenge".

In 1945, Lawrence Herkimer, the grandfather of cheerleading, created the first spirit stick at National Cheerleading Association (NCA). A number of teams of all levels participated in a cheer camp. They learned the routines and fitness tips of cheerleading. However, one cheerleading squad, which was not performing up to the mark stood out from the other teams. Since they were lagging behind, they came early and stayed back till late for practice. Their spirit and enthusiasm soon spread in the camp. Herkimer was highly impressed by their undying spirit and energy that he wanted to reward them with a token which represented the spirit that every cheerleader must have. He then cut a small branch of a tree, painted and decorated it, and awarded it to the team. Hence, began the tradition of awarding spirit sticks at camps.

It has become the most desired goal that all cheerleading squads crave for. They are not just judged on their dance routines and performances, but also the attitude and hard work that they have put in. It has even become popular in individual teams, wherein a single member of the team gets awarded for showing the best team spirit. 

If you drop the spirit stick, it brings bad luck to your team. The spirit stick signifies the spirit of the team, and you wouldn’t want your spirit to fall down (i.e. fall to the ground). So remember, never to drop your spirit stick! Call it superstition may be.

Spirit Sticks bring the team together and keep their morale high. Every cheerleader might know the honor of receiving a spirit stick. A spirit stick is awarded to a person or a cheering squad having the highest team spirit, or the one who performed the best and whose hard work was evident.

Be loud, be proud!