When the cheerleading season is over in February, most girls aren’t ready to see it end, says Mattapoisett Pop Warner Youth Cheerleading coach Sarah Holick.

To keep the cheers going Holick, along with the Mattapoisett Recreation Committee, created “Cheerleading boot camp,” where on Saturdays girls ages 7-13 meet in the Old Rochester Regional High School gym for two hours of one-on-one coaching.

Now in their second season of boot camp, Holick, along with fellow Pop Warner cheer coaches, Janessa Conceicao and Michelle Saltmarsh, focus on flexibility, tumbling, forward rolls, arm motions and stunts.

“It’s only one day a week but it’s enough for the girls that they can come and do cartwheels, rolls, tumbles…all of it,” Holick said.

The boot camp only runs from February to mid-May, but Holick said what the coaches are able to practice with the girls is crucial in the fall when they want to advance to the Regional competition.

Practicing for Regionals then, she said, can be tricky when they have new cheers to learn as well.

“Tumbling and stunting are important for fall, but we have to teach them all their sideline cheers for the football games,” she said. “Between learning the cheers and new girls joining in, it’s like starting fresh every year. So we can teach them stuff now that we don’t have time to teach in the fall.”

Having the extra time to practice stunts, Holick said has greatly improved the girls’ performance during their regular Pop Warner season.

“It’s been great,” Holick said. “You can really see the difference from doing it last year in the Pop Warner season. We had two squads go to Regionals.”

Holick said the coaches receive a lot of help from Old Rochester Regional High School freshman and junior varsity cheerleader, Taylor Glavin.

“She comes here every single Saturday just to help coach the girls,” Holick said. “She’s a huge asset to the program.

Having been a cheerleader since she was their age, Glavin said she enjoys coaching the younger girls.

“I like to be with the kids and I like to coach,” Glavin said. “They usually focus really well and bring it together fast.”

Glavin said she plans on continuing her work with the younger girls for as long as they’ll have her.

Besides time to work on their stunts, Holick said the camp gives the younger girls from the three towns - Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester - a chance to get to know one another a little better.

“Just getting new girls involved so they can see how much fun it is and form tight bonds with each other is great,” she said. “I definitely want to keep this going.”