5 Best High School Cheer Teams in California You Must Know

In California, cheerleading is almost as popular as any other form of sport. Like most US states, California takes cheerleading quite seriously, and the high school cheer teams are undoubtedly some of the best in the country.

What are the 5 best high school cheer teams in California? After in-depth research and feedback from various stakeholders, the 5 best high school cheer teams in California are Oak Ridge High School, Galt’s Liberty Ranch High School, Granite Hills High School, San Rafael High School, Buchanan High School. For details about why they are the best, read the full article.

High school cheerleading allows bright young talents to show their skills to the world, compete with the toughest teams, challenge their capabilities, and shine brighter than before. It is as challenging as all other tough sports and requires intense workout and physical skills as soccer. A high school cheer team boosts the morale of the school’s sports teams, builds school team spirit, and brings fame and reputation.

Let us look at some of these high school cheerleading teams of young students who brought name and fame to their schools by their team efforts. Their skills, techniques, choreography, and overall performance are honestly commendable.

Oak Ridge High School, California

Perseverance is what defines the Oak Ridge High School cheer team. True commitment to perfecting the techniques and building a rock-hard team spirit made them the National Champions.

In 2020, Oak Ridge High School cheer team got a standing ovation from the audience for their outstanding performance. They also bagged the National High School Cheerleading Championship award in the super varsity tumbling division, securing the first position. This Northern Californian team is a spirit to reckon with, showcasing invincible young talents of America. 

Training for the Oak Ridge High School team started in the summer camps of June for six days a week. The commendable performance at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Florida, had a history of months of intense practice and dedication. The road to being the champions was definitely not a cakewalk. Hours of physically draining workouts helped them master the stunts, perfect the flying and tumbling skills, and smoothly execute the choreography. It was hours of strenuous hard work that paved the way for this historical success.

ORHS has been securing a place in the top three for the last six years at the national level competition. Every year, the aim is to evolve the skills, make them more perfect and stunning, and push the bar like never before. During the last five entries into the national level championships, the team missed the first position by a whisker. It sparked the fire within to push themselves further and settle for nothing less than the winners’ trophy. Finally, 2020 was the culmination of all their efforts, making them the deserving winner of the UCA Super Varsity Division I.

Read Do You Have To Be A Gymnast To Be A Cheerleader? Demystified

Galt’s Liberty Ranch High School

California saw two national champions in 2020 in cheerleading. In this extremely competitive cheerleading era, it is not a mere feat to have two national champions from the same state. Galt’s Liberty Ranch High School secured the first position in the super varsity non-tumbling division in the UCA finals.

Out of 950 teams at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in Florida, Liberty Ranch High School competed in two divisions. In the finals, they gave a sure shot winning performance in the Super Varsity Non-Tumbling division. This victory should go down in history as young girls from a small town making it big at the nationals. Liberty Ranch has always endeavored to shine as the country’s best cheerleading team, and winning the title was indeed a fascinating moment.

The team practiced vigorously every week for 10 to 12 hours, training themselves for competitions, while also cheering for the school basketball and football matches. The aim was always to make it to the Nationals from day one. It was all about hard work and dedication from the first day. They were determined to improve their skills and techniques to be the best in their game.

Liberty Ranch High School cheer team had previously won the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Champs, went to the finals, and finally, they are now the national champions. This incredible accomplishment brought the fame of a lifetime to the school, making the institution extremely proud of these young girls.

Granite Hills High School

Granite Hills High School is another most praiseworthy cheerleading team in California, winning the California Interscholastic Federation’s San Diego Section Championship in 2019. The team competed with 50 other high schools in Division I Large section and became the highlight of the season.

Granite Hills High School Cheerleaders are known both locally and at the national level for their outstanding choreography and athletic skills, making them superb performers. They have marvelously cheered for their school games events, displaying magnificent athletic performance on the field, and also outshone in competitive cheerleading time and again. Granite Hills has always persevered to make it to the Nationals with their unbeatable team spirit and dedication.  In 2013, they won the Varsity Advanced Division at the 25th Annual Grossmont Union High School District Cheer Competition. The cheer team won the title of the District Grand Champions. They won the 3rd position in the National Championships by the UCA in 2012, made it to the finals in the Super Varsity division in 2018. In 2020, they secured the 12th position once again in the Super Varsity division.

San Rafael High School

San Rafael High School is one of the top Coed High School Cheerleading teams in California. The school offers traditional as well as competitive cheerleading programs to students, offering all levels of competition. The team aims to evolve each year, becoming stronger and more efficient in competitive cheerleading, improving their athleticism and choreographic skills. San Rafael High School Cheerleaders are a name to reckon with locally and nationally, bagging state championship titles while also making it to the National Championships.

Strong team spirit, positive attitude, and steadfast dedication to the sport are what define the team. The team challenges to outshine their own benchmark to aim for the best. The Varsity Coed team has been national champions twice. In 2017, the San Rafael High School Varsity Coed Competition Team brought home the National Champions title after being undefeated in the United Spirit Association National High School Cheerleading Championships. They remained unbeatable for two seasons back to back, winning the National Champions title once again. The school couldn’t have been prouder to boast of such an invincible team and their superb accomplishments.

In 2018-19, the team bagged the 2nd place out of 21 teams in the United Spirit Association High School Spirit National’s Intermediate Coed Division. Since the team was formed, it has consistently improved itself to become the top coed competitive cheerleaders in California. Success has always crowned the team for their extraordinarily brilliant efforts at both the local and national levels.

In 2019-20, the team again emerged as the USA High School Spirit National Champions winner. At the regional level, they have been consistently holding on to the first position. The Varsity Coed Advanced team won the USA High School Spirit Regional in the Merrill West High School, Vista Del Lago High School, Deer Valley High School, and James Logan High School.

Buchanan High School Cheerleading Squad

Buchanan High School, California, is highly recognized as one of the country’s best teams, winning championships one after the other and adding more feathers in their cap. The team is quite popular all along the West Coast for their commendable performance in local, regional, as well as national level cheerleading competitions. 

Buchanan High School Cheerleading team competed in the Small Advanced Division at the Nationals in 2016. In 2017, they competed again in the same division and became the champions. They have been the CIF Valley Champions five times and the National Champions thrice. In 2020, they secured the 5th position in the Super Varsity Division in the UCA National Cheerleading Championship finals. Their superb performance and consistent success make Buchanan High School proud of such an excellent team every time. 

Final Words

The UCA National Championships get tougher each time, with the best of high school cheerleading teams performing with even more stamina and gusto than before. The High School Cheerleading Championship celebrates these young talents, welcoming over 25,000 super talented cheerleaders from the top high schools all over the states. California has led the toppers’ chart, boasting of some of the USA’s best high schools, giving rise to the best cheerleaders in the country.

These were five of the most praise-worthy high school cheerleading teams in the state, who brought immense respect and fame to their institutions with their successive records. Over the years, these teams have pushed their limits and kept bagging victories to set new records in competitive cheerleading. Their incredible athleticism and school team spirit deserve warm applause.

Get Ready with Your Basic Cheerleading Kit

A basic cheerleading kit consists of the minimum requirements that a beginner cheerleader needs for his/her practice and events. Proper uniform and comfortable shoes are a must and they help the cheerleader for his/her overall well-being and safety. This section will help you choose the uniform and shoes as per your requirements.

Cheerleading Uniform: Uniforms form an important part as you can well understand. Choose the proper uniform as per your school/event specifications. However, do take care to choose a fabric that is breathable and helps you stay comfortable during the performance. Relevant helpful resources:

1. What Fabric Is Used For Cheer Uniforms? A Common Question
2. Best Cheerleading Uniforms For Toddlers: Too Cute To Avoid – If you need an awesome cheerleading uniform for Halloween!
3. What Do Cheerleaders Wear Under Their Spankies? Demystified – Innerwear is important in this sport.
4. Check out Amazon’s Webpage for Cheerleading Uniforms – They have a good collection

Cheer Shoes: If you want to perform confidently as a cheerleader, you need comfortable shoes. Just as any other field sport, wearing proper shoes can make or break your performance. Choose the best fitting shoes as per your requirement. Some helpful resources for you:

1. Best Nike Cheerleading Shoes That Are Comfortable And Cheap – Comfortable and cheap cheerleading shoes from the best brand in this domain.
2. Best Cheer Shoes For Wide Feet That Fit The Way You Want – There are shoes specially designed for wide feet. This article helps you choose the proper one.
3. Check out Amazon’s Webpage for Cheerleading Shoes – They have shoes fitting everyone’s needs.
4. Check out the 7 Best Shoes For High School Cheer that are cheap yet comfortable.

Cheer Backpacks: Arranging things every time before your practice can be tedious. Keeping everything organized neatly in a backpack can be the key and help you save time and effort. I have made an exhaustive guide for you to choose the right cheer backpack for yourself at various price points. Do check it out if you need help.

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