We've Got Spirit...Yes We Do!

For more than 30 years, Hammond's Varsity Cheerleaders have hosted cheerleaders in training at Little Hawks Camp over the summer. During this special week summer,  Little Hawks ranging in age from two to ten years old work with the Varsity Cheerleaders to learn dances, cheers, jumps and chants and make special memories to last a lifetime.

Fran Stevenson '72 was a Varsity Cheerleader throughout her high school career although Hammond did not have a football team until her senior year. "Both of my daughters enjoyed cheerleading, and I'm thrilled to now see my granddaughters, Lila and Olivia, enjoying this activity and camp that enhances school spirit."

Fran's daughter, Brittany, who is now a Hammond parent, attended Little Hawks Camp in the early 1990's and remembers getting very excited about the spirit award given to the camper with the most spirit. "Now my daughter, Olivia, gets to experience some of the same things that I did, and I love reliving my memories with her and doing cheers together."

Another camp veteran and alum is Margaret Deans Fawcett Grantz '09. In addition to attending camp from preschool until 5th grade, Margaret Deans was a Varsity Cheerleader camp counselor, and for the past five years she has coached competition cheerleading and instructed Little Hawks Camp. In total, she has been involved with Little Hawks for 16 years!

 "As a cheerleader, I loved being able to teach younger campers, and as the coach, it's been amazing to see Little Hawks come full circle. My senior cheerleaders who I coach now were preschool Little Hawks when I was a Varsity Cheerleader," said Margaret Deans.

One of those preschoolers with Eliza Brantley, who is now a senior Varsity Cheerleader. "Being a counselor is truly an honor," she said. "My counselors inspired me to become a cheerleader, and I hope that I am doing the same. The bond that we form with Little Hawks is unbreakable and I wouldn't change those relationships for the world."