Behind Cheer Camp: Jayden and the Unwritten Rules of Cheerleading

What do lucky socks, runaway marshmallows and the words “one more time” have in common?

They all make an appearance in Cheer Camp, Book 2 in the Cheer Diaries series—and they all come to us through Jayden’s wonderfully chaotic diary.

After Team Tryouts introduces readers to Infinity Cheer Academy and the Comets, the team begins settling into the new season. They know their team name, they’ve started learning the basics and they’ve discovered who is in their stunt group.

Now it’s time for cheer camp.

Meet Jayden

Jayden is funny, confident, welcoming and always ready to make somebody laugh.

He also works incredibly hard for his tumbling skills, although he is very humble about what he can do. He might be confident, but he isn’t somebody who needs to tell everyone how talented he is.

There’s another side of Jayden that he doesn’t show quite as easily: he secretly wants to become a leader and try a different role on the team.

The problem is that he sometimes uses humour to avoid being placed in those more serious positions—even when part of him desperately wants the opportunity.

That contrast makes him such an interesting character to write. He’s naturally funny and loves messing around, but there is much more going on underneath the jokes.

A Diary That Looks Like It Survived Cheer Camp

Every book in the Cheer Diaries series is designed to feel like it genuinely belongs to the character writing it.

Elodie’s diary reflects her personality. Jayden’s diary looks as though it has been thrown into a bag, carried through cheer camp and possibly forgotten under a bed.

It has food marks, dirt, folded pages and even a squashed fly inside it. Jayden isn’t entirely sure why he is writing a diary in the first place, and he definitely isn’t going to keep it looking perfectly neat.

Alongside the full-page illustrations, readers will also find Jayden’s own doodles and funny notes throughout the book. These little details bring his personality into every part of the reading experience—not only the main story.

The Unwritten Rules of Cheerleading

At the end of Cheer Camp, Jayden records some of the important things he has learned.

Naturally, these aren’t presented as serious, perfectly organised lessons. They are Jayden’s observations about the strange, funny and surprisingly important rules of cheer camp.

For example:

• Never say that something looks easy. The moment you do, something will wobble.
• Lucky socks are absolutely real.
• Teams always seem to follow the same warm-up order.
• When a coach says “one more time,” they rarely mean one.
• If you hear somebody yell “squeeze,” you had better be ready.
• Marshmallows somehow get everywhere.

There’s also Jayden’s cheer camp survival guide, including what you actually need to bring—shoes, snacks, tape, a water bottle and deodorant—and what you probably don’t need, such as six hoodies.

They’re funny details, but they also reflect the traditions, language and shared experiences that help turn a group of athletes into a team.

More Than Skills and Stunts

Cheer camp might include tumbling, stunts and plenty of training, but Cheer Camp is really about the relationships developing within the team.

Readers get to know Jayden’s family and discover more about his life away from the gym. They also continue following the other characters introduced in Team Tryouts, this time seeing them through Jayden’s eyes.

That is one of my favourite parts of writing the Cheer Diaries series.

Every book follows the same team through one all-star cheerleading season, but each story is told from a different athlete’s perspective. The characters notice different things, misunderstand each other and have their own private worries, goals and opinions.

Jayden’s version just happens to include more jokes, mess and mischief.

The Person Behind the Jokes

Jayden’s humour is one of the most memorable things about him, but it doesn’t tell his entire story.

Sometimes, being the funny person can feel safer than admitting you really want something. Jayden wants to make people laugh, but he also wants to challenge himself, support his teammates and discover whether he could be a leader.

His journey shows young readers that leadership doesn’t have to belong to the loudest or most serious person in the room. A great leader can be funny, welcoming and humble too.

They simply have to be brave enough to step forward.

Enter the World of Cheer Camp

Cheer Camp is a funny cheerleading book for children who love team stories, sporting adventures and characters who don’t always get everything right.

Existing cheerleaders will recognise the language, superstitions and camp chaos. Readers who are new to cheerleading can experience it all alongside the Comets as their season continues.

If you have read Cheer Camp, I would love to know your favourite Jayden moment. I’d also love to hear whether your team has any strange competition-day traditions or “completely serious” superstitions of its own.

You can discover Cheer Camp and the rest of the Cheer Diaries series at The Cheerleader Book Club.

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Allison xx