Aug. 17, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF cheerleading squad has been selected by WE tv to be featured in the second season of Cheerleader U, a six-episode reality series that follows the journey of the Knights as they prepare to defend their 2007 UCA National Championship title. The six-episode series will begin airing in late March and early April.
"We feel very privileged that WE tv selected UCF for the Cheerleader U program," head coach Linda Gooch said. "It is a great opportunity not just for our cheer program, but for the University of Central Florida as well. We have the opportunity to show the country what it is like to be a student-athlete here at UCF and I feel like we do a great job. We are going to make sure that we put our best foot forward every step of the way and take advantage of the opportunity that has been given to us."
WE tv crews will make the trip to campus once a month and film a segment of the program over a week-long period, centering the trips around major events throughout the year.
Crews first came to Orlando in May to tape tryouts and the process the coaches and athletes go through in order to select and make the squad. In June, the cameras continued to roll as the cheerleaders were on campus for a long weekend of team orientation, before traveling with the Knights to college cheerleading camp at the University of Alabama in July.
This month, the production crew is concentrating on the cheerleaders' personal stories as they are preparing for a new school year and another shot at the national championship. Crystal Hendrix, one of the student-athletes that will be featured in the program, had crews tape her at work as well as on her first solo plane ride.
"They taped me at work where I teach four, five and six year-olds gymnastics. To prepare the kids for the cameras I got there early and just had them go over what they would be doing later in the day," Hendrix said. "Luckily they were well behaved. They are normally well-behaved, but today they were extra well-behaved because they knew what was going on."
Freshman Katie Cross will also be followed by the cameras this month. While most UCF newcomers struggle to find their classes, Cross will be experiencing it with cameras rolling. Not only will she be looking for her classes, but she will also be shown moving into her new dorm room.
"I think they are trying to give people a feel for what it is like for college students when they are moving on campus," Gooch said. "For freshmen, it is very exciting having your own place, your own dorm room and that kind of thing. That's what they are really trying to show, as well as us preparing for the upcoming season."
So what is it really like being on a reality show and having cameras follow your every move?
"At first it is nerve-racking, but then you kind of get used to it," Hendrix said. "You just have to think that they are not there. It can get aggravating at times, especially when you get frustrated. I guess you just have to focus them out and know that you are here to practice and that the main focus is not the Cheerleader U thing. We are here to get a job done and that is what we need to focus on."
Junior Brian White, who spent the summer on the set of the movie Bring It On: In It to Win It, agreed with Hendrix. "When the cameras are on, I think it adds a little more pressure because you do not want to be messing up in front of the camera all of the time, but I think that it will be good in the end," White said. "At first I thought they were going to get in the way a lot, but they are very good about making sure we have our space."
Most reality shows focus on gossip and drama, but do not expect to see that on Cheerleader U.
"They are not looking for any gossip or anything like that," senior Tyson Walters, one of the main cheerleaders featured on the show, said. "They are really just documenting how the UCF cheerleaders prepare for Nationals."
Along the journey to Nationals, the cameras will make numerous stops back on campus. Crews will return for the Bright House Networks Stadium opening and football home-opener against Texas on Sept. 15. The Cheerleader U crew will then return three times in October to focus on Gooch shooting footage of her squad for its submission tape to Nationals, as well as Spirit Splash and other homecoming events.
In December, the team will be training hard to prepare for Nationals, with the production crew in tow. The reality show will conclude with the Knights competing at the National Championship in hopes of defending their 2007 title.
"It has really been an experience," said Walters. "You get to see what reality television is like. We are trying not to change anything in practices, we are trying to keep everything the same and show the true UCF cheerleading story."
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