This week on Cheerleader Nation it is time for the girls to compete in the National Finals.
Amanda is having her hair curled by a teammate and realizes that this is the first time her mom hasn't done it. Amanda thinks that her mom isn't sad, but is realizing that she is growing up and not needing her mom, as much. Just wait Amanda! You will always need your mom! Megan has her mom do her hair as they reflect how far Megan has come from her first Nationals!
Then we find that a storm is headed their way and with the rain there is no place for Dunbar to practice. Chelsea's mom and dad show up. She is so happy to see her dad as they don't get to spend much time together. Dad realizes that it's hard to get Chelsea to show her emotions. Only 1 hour left and we check in with Katie to see how she feels about her first nationals. Everyone seems a bit nervous because it's raining so hard and the extra practice isn't going to happen.
The girls get on the bus to head to preliminaries. If they place in the top 2, they will get a bye to the finals. Otherwise, they will have to compete at semi-finals. When they arrive Saleem gives them the last bit of encouragement he has before they begin their warm up. Now the girls have 9 minutes until it's their turn. Everyone works on their tumbling as we hear New Rochelle take the floor. While good, we see a few bobbles out of their team-definitely leaving room for our girls. The girls huddle and give each other a pep talk to bring it on!
As you hear Dunbar called to the mat the parents go wild! I think they are as nervous as the girls! The routine starts and energy is flying, but Megan doesn't make her full. No problem for these girls! Megan picks it up and then you see the girls stick it, hit it, fly with it…you name it and they looked HOT. They finish and while they did great, Saleem knows that there is still room to be better. Donna is handed a sheet of paper that shows that someone went out of bounds. They look at their formation and realize it was Ryan. Not only does Ryan's foot hurt sooooo badly, now she went out of bounds? Donna tries to reassure her that it's no big deal, but Ryan is ticked off and walks away. Ryan tells us that she knows it wasn't her that she was watching her feet, but her mom is assured it was Ryan. While Ryan is walking across the parking lot did you notice that Dunbar is reversed on her pullover?
Donna talks to the parents about who stepped out of bounds and no one is sure. Chelsea's sister tells them that her mom has it on tape and they can watch it. I am not sure who but someone tells Donna that she shouldn't have said anything. Donna says she did have to speak so they can correct it before finals. They watch the video and realize that it was Kaitlin, not Ryan. Ryan is crying because her mom is accusing her of stepping out, Megan is crying because she didn't make her full and emotions are running high. Saleem gathers up the girls and let's them know they made it straight to the finals! The girls go wild; no, not like the video!
Amanda stops in to talk to her mom, Terri. They just go over what happened, who did what, what it looked like and so forth. It is nice to know that kids still can have good relationships with their parents, and it surely shows through here. Ayrica is another example of a child who really values her family and the support she gets from them. She is so happy to see her family and it shows!! Then we flash to Ryan on the phone and Donna doesn't just come out and tell Ryan how sorry she is for making her feel like she goofed up, she first explains why she thought it was Ryan who stepped out of bounds and then shoots in a real quick, "sorry." Ryan could tell she didn't really want to apologize and I think most of us out 'here' could tell the same thing.
Back in Saleem's room, he is watching the routine on tape. He is trying to decide whether or not to let Megan do her full. One of the hardest decisions he will ever have to make.
The next day we have nine hours until their final performance. They go into the cafeteria and find that the Jell-O is red. If the Jell-O is red, Dunbar will win says past experiences. Some of the girls are superstitions and knock on wood, although they chose their forehead to knock upon! Teresa, Kaitlin's mom lets us know that she needs to get seats so all Dunbar parent's can sit together so their cheering can be maximized. She meets with the parents to go over the plans. You can tell she is really serious about her job as Cheer mom!! While she organizes the parents, Saleem talks to Megan and lets her know he is going to keep the full in the program if after warm-ups they feel really good about it. If not, she can throw a layout and no one would really know the difference. I think, by the look on her face, Megan feels a bit relieved. New Rochelle has been runners-up to Dunbar for the last two years in a row. At New Rochelle's pep meeting their choreographer tells them they are there to fight for all those girls in the world that have placed second. This is their year. Flash back to Saleem who tells our girls, "If they're going to watch, give them something to watch." With that, the practice begins.
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