*Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader Sara D. is blogging her experiences this weekend during the annual Falcons Cheerleader Retreat. During the retreat, the ladies will learn some routines and, more importantly, all that goes into being an Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader *
Hey there, Falcons Fans! Saturday was our second, and final, day of the AFC Retreat. The morning kicked off with incredibly important and relevant seminars. Our first seminar of the day was presented by our coach and coordinator, Chato Waters. She spoke about the importance of appearances and always putting our best foot forward.
Charity appearances make up the bulk of what we do as cheerleaders for the Atlanta Falcons. They are integral to our program and so important to us. It's vital to walk into each and every promotional appearance doing our very best and representing the Falcons in the most professional way possible. We love to do appearances — and if you'd like the AFC girls at one of yours, make sure to check out more information about how to book us!
Our next seminar was with the lovely Paula, one of the best makeup artists in the biz. She showed us how to do our makeup and bring the glam to everything we do as an AFC. It's incredibly helpful to get pointers from a pro when it comes to makeup, especially for girls like me who need help in the glamazon department.
I've always had a hard time doing my makeup by myself, and her tips are absolutely invaluable. Paula was followed by Marc, one of the owners of our fitness sponsor, Quick Fitness Solutions. We discussed healthy habits, working out and nutrition to keep us at peak performance. These things are an important part of being on the field, but even more so when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle.
These seminars broke for lunch, and when we returned, we got the presentation of ALL presentations from the man himself, AtlantaFalcons.com managing editor Jay Adams. He went over every detail about social media and how to leverage it to reach you, the fans!
He also detailed the do's and don'ts when it comes to being on Twitter and Facebook, all while being incredibly witty. I must admit, his slides were pretty epic. I think it's safe to say all the girls really understand the uses of social media a lot better, so keep an eye out for more girls from AFC on both Twitter and Facebook in the near future.
We had a great choreography session where we got into our lines with our captains, learned a few fillers and got to dance together for the first time! That feeling is amazing, the excitement is palpable and everyone is eager to learn and jump right in.
We had some free time and moved into the evening's events. We had a lovely dinner, and were so excited to see some AFC Alumni come in! The alums each gave their advice to the rookies about how to approach their first year on the team, and how to enjoy every single moment. We then started a new tradition — The Captain Board.
Each AFC alum that was a captain spoke to the 2011 captains and gave their advice about how to be a great leader and really shine! The captains then signed the Board and officially kicked off the year!
We shot straight into skits — we had everything from Snooki and J-WOWW at auditions to a parody of Black Swan! It was absolutely hilarious and really showcased the personalities and senses of humor that the girls on this team have. Did we have team bonding this weekend? You bet we did!
I write this as I head to bed Saturday night — it's been a fun and exhausting weekend! We had a few more events Sunday morning and then we say sayonara to the 2011 AFC Retreat. If this was any sign of the fun, hard work, and excitement to come this year, then we've got great things headed our way.
I know I say it often, but thanks for sticking with me! Get ready for some new great things coming your way from the Cheer Blog!
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @AFCSara or find me on Facebook. .
Cheers!
Sara
