It is that time of year again. Almost a year has past since the amazing Mints did their thing at The Summit. If you are not familiar with Summit it is where the top 10% of the best (Level 1-5 non-worlds) Allstar Cheerleading teams from around the country are invited to the ESPN Wide World of Sports to compete in one of the most prestigious and competitive events in Allstar Cheerleading. It is an exciting time, and a time where lifetime memories will be made. The amazing event was one of the inspirations for writing the book Welcome to MintLand

Our family is very fortunate to be attending Summit once again this year with a new team The Stingray Allstars Red. It will be a very emotional time for many of us who had such an incredible time last year. I wanted to take this opportunity to address a few topics that have come up since I have written the book. Those outside of the Cheerleading world always ask me two questions about the book before they read it.

1. What does “Welcome to Mintland” mean?

2. What is the significance of the cover?

Of course, I always reply, “Well you will just have to read it and find out.” but I have thought a bit about that response and wanted to share a bit more to help people understand the significance.

Welcome to Mintland was the opening voice over in the Peppermint music. As many Allstar Cheerleaders will tell you, the team music will become your anthem. You remember each team you were on, every single motion and 8 count, your teammates and the significance of the season all by your music. Most will remember the music for the rest of their lives. It defines you, the team and the team persona.

In the book, I attempted to describe Welcome to Mintland as a culture that developed over an entire season. It began with the team formation and the bonding process of the kids. It took shape in the form of a cheer routine and overflowed with love and belief from the coaches and parents. Welcome to Mintland is indeed a state of mind. It is a living and breathing thing. Welcome to Mintland is not exclusive to Peppermint or The Stingray Allstars. This state of mind comes from the passion and love that develops over the course of the year. It was built by hours upon hours of hard work and solidified by faith in one another, and some would say fate.

As the voice over continues “The greatest place on earth has blue and green turf.” The culture was built upon everything magical about our special program. It probably has another name or significance in other gyms or other sports. Some would like to call it similar to “being in the zone.” Either way, that will give a little more insight into the significance of the book title.

 

As far as the book cover is concerned, many in the Cheerleading world will understand the significance at first sight. I will break down the significance of the cover for others to understand.

Hopefully, I explained the significance of the title of the book. We will move on to the bow. The cover photo of the bow is the exact bow that the team wore to Summit. It was made especially for them, for this competition. The new bow signified a new attitude and a bond with the new Mints added for Summit.

Just below the photo is the red mountains. Of course, this has many symbolic references. Since the team colors were red and white, I wanted to capture the theme of the team on the cover. The mountains also capture the maturation and growth of the team along with the long journey and challenge of the season. Finally, the mountains represent the Summit competition and the celebration of how far the team went in that competition. As you can see below, the logo for the competition is represented by mountains as well.

 

I thought long and hard about the cover. The obvious choice was to put the team on the front cover to easily explain what the book is about. That would have been a simple choice, but as I explained in The Dad who wrote a book about Allstar Cheerleading I wanted to share a bit more and hopefully explain what Allstar cheer is about. The term “never judge a book by its cover” played a big role in why I changed the cover so many times before deciding on this one. You see at Summit last year Peppermint competed as a YOUTH level team.

When you judge a book by its cover you can be in for some big surprises. Similar to what is inside the book Welcome to Mintland. If you know anything about Cheer you know that Peppermint is known as a Mini age level team. You also know that at Summit, the youngest age group allowed is a Youth level. How did a Mini team end up in one of the most prestigious competitions in the nation competing as a Youth team? You will just have to read and find out! I hope to see many of you soon at ESPN Wide World of Sports for Summit. If you can dream it…. you can do it ..and Welcome to Mintland proves it!