Heeding an ancient call, little girls learn to cheer.

Two lines of little girls in matching purple and gold T-shirts are jumping, wiggling and punching their way through dance rehearsal early on a Friday morning.

"One, two, three, look! Five, six, seven, whip!" yells coach Angela Boyd, her back to the mini-cheerleaders as they follow her lead through air punches, hip shakes, and arm movements that make up the dance routine.

"Now jump, dip, scoot-scoot-scoot," instructs Boyd, a real cheerleader at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz. The little girls eye her cheerleading uniform enviously. After the drill, a tiny girl with a head full of long, brown curls collapses into a bin full of shiny purple and gold poms.

"I''m too lazy to practice," says Aviana Bushnell.

"Cheerleaders are never lazy," answers coach Jenelle Oldham. That simple answer is enough to send Aviana scurrying back into line to practice more.

Forget everything you think you think you know about cheerleaders--the stereotypes, the teen movies and the bronzed belly buttons at Dallas Cowboys games that never break a sweat. Cheerleading is a sport.

And anybody who tells you otherwise obviously never picked up a set of poms (never call them pom-poms), jumped, kicked and bounced for an entire playoff game. Or, for that matter, broke a bone tumbling doing a round-off back handspring or practicing a multi-level pyramid with one girl balancing on one leg on top. It''s essentially gymnastics, dance and an aerobic workout all rolled into a short skirt and a perky smile.

These are Monterey''s future cheerleaders, some getting their first taste of dance routines, basic stunts, chants and cheers at Monterey Sports Center''s week-long Cheerleading Camp. At ages seven to 11, they all take their newfound avocation very seriously and vow to be captains of their high school squads one day.

"I''ve always wanted to be a cheerleader," says Richelle Snyder, a serious-looking 10-year-old with a long blond pony tail. "I''ve been doing jumps since I was little because my step sister was a cheerleader for Monterey High School."

At nine years old, Aviana Bushnell of the pom bin is already a seasoned cheerleading camp veteran. This camp is her fourth.

"I like the way cheerleaders dance, I like the uniforms, I like everything about them," she swoons. She''s ready to sign up for a fifth time this spring or summer.

Eleven-year-old Arianna Spung explains that this is her second week at camp.

"Last summer I saw the movie Bring It On 18 times, and I was always doing the cheers that they do in the movie, so my mom signed me up," she says, flipping through a cheerleading supply magazine, eyeing megaphone-shaped necklaces and "cheer" pajama pants.

This makes me quake for the parents of young Arianna. But I admit, I understand her obsession, because I was a high school cheerleader. In grade school, I was the little girl who dressed up like a cheerleader on dress-up-like-what-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up day--until my mom, a teacher with an advanced degree in mathematics, made me wear a judge''s robe instead. So I understand the excitement as the girls stand behind a screen in the gym, ready to perform.

I also understand the criticisms: that cheerleaders are merely eye candy and that jumping around in short skirts and midriff-baring outfits is degrading to women. But of the girls on my squad, most graduated from college, and several now have important-sounding titles after their names: vice president of marketing, boutique owner, hotel manager, editor''s assistant at a New York magazine.

So I don''t worry too much about these girls'' futures as they prepare for the big performance. The audience sits in bleachers, armed with camcorders and bouquets of balloons. The girls are all wearing their matching T-shirts and black leggings, some with faint hints of purple eye shadow. They are anxiously hopping up and down, peeking around the translucent screen, waving to Mom and Dad.

"We''ve really enjoyed your girls this week," says Boyd, speaking into a microphone in front of the parents.

"They really caught on faster than any of the girls I''ve seen," adds Oldham.

And without any further ado, the cheerleaders run out from the other side of the screen, yelling "Go MSC!" They breeze through two short chants, only occasionally looking for guidance from Boyd and Oldham. And then it''s time for the dance, the part of the routine that all the girls say was their favorite part of camp.

Fifteen pony-tailed heads bob in time to the music, arms whip through the air, hips shake and feet march in place to a fast mix of ''80s rap songs like "Wild Thing," "Shake It," and "Tricky." The girls shimmy and roll their shoulders before assuming an ending pose. The parents go wild.

After the coaches have handed out certificates of completion and hugged all of the girls, I ask Richelle Snyder how she felt on center stage.

"At first I was scared because there were a lot of people out there," she says. "But once I started, it was good. I was cool."

In other words, like the big girls in the movie, she brought it on.

Monterey Sports Center Cheerleading camp for kids grades three to six will be held March 25-29. For more information, call 646-3866.