Yorkville youth cheer celebrated for winning second in national cheer competition in Orlando

Shouts of “F – O – X – E – S, Foxes are the very best” rang out at City Hall, as the Yorkville Youth Foxes Cheer Team were honored for all three squads qualifying for Nationals in Orlando and one taking home second in the nation.

At the Jan.14 city council meeting, Mayor John Purcell was amazed with the size of the second-place trophy the Tiny Mites team, ages 6-8, earned for Yorkville. Squads from all over the country competed in the National Pop Warner Cheer Competition in Orlando, Florida from Dec. 7-14.

“Thank you for recognizing the girls, they worked very hard for everything they did,” Shay Remus, Yorkville Superintendent of Recreation and coach of the Mites-level team, said during the meeting. “As you can tell, we have a lot of spirt on and off the mat.”

Purcell joked that Remus should now be recruited by professional cheer programs.

The cheer squads are part of the Yorkville Youth Football and Cheerleading program, a Pop Warner-affiliated program. The squad begins the year by cheering on the football players during their games. During the later part of the season, the squads hone their routines for competitions.

In 2024, the squads competed in two local competitions, before excelling at Regionals in Indiana to qualify for Nationals.

At Nationals, the squads were graded on their precision and execution while performing two-and-a-half minute routines.

Kayla Djidic, vice president of the youth program, said all the girls need to maintain good grades to participate in the program.

“It was huge because this was our first year ever bidding to go to Nationals, and to have all three teams make it is phenomenal,” Djidic said during the meeting.

Next season’s registration begins in March.

You can see their award-winning performance on their Facebook page.