Cheer, we’ll see you again next season

Cheer season is coming to an end, after cheering in all the football and basketball games, and  putting a lot of effort into practices they have had since August 2021,the team had their last competition on March 26.

Melodie Brewer, the coach of the team, shared what the hardest part of this season was.

I have been trying to make up for what was lost over the past two years, due to Covid,” she said. “We would usually have athletes come in with more skills and less to learn over a season, which we had to work very hard to make up for.”

Senior Jamie Alstatt, who has been practicing cheer since she was little and who’s saying goodbye to cheer this year, also shared what the hardest part of this sport is to her.

“Maintaining my life outside of school and cheer and time and prioritizing and this year we had cheer almost everyday has been really hard,” she said.

“Other  than years before we had practice maybe only three or four times a week and it’s really pushed me to do better tho and appreciate the time I do have in the gym,” Alsatt said.

 

Brewer also added that they had a lot of misunderstanding because of all the effort the girls had to put in, especially this season. 

“ We had a lot of kids and parents who simply did not know what to expect from a “normal” season, which caused a lot of misunderstanding around how much commitment and hard work was required in order to be part of the team,” Brewer said.

Freshman Nevaeh Darley, is experiencing her first year in cheer.

“My favorite memory this season was the last day of practice,” she said. “We were all singing each other’s shirts and the seniors got to sign the mats and even though it was sad and most of the girls cried, it is a memory that I’ll always have.” 

This is also the last year for senior Izabelle Stanford, who is looking forward to studying for a degree in aerospace engineering, computer science and robotics.

“It is sad because I won’t have time to do cheerleading in college,” she said. “Also, I don’t think I would make it to a collegiate team, because I can’t tumble enough.”

Stanford also shared one of her favorite memories.

 

“My favorite memory is realizing that I really am a part of an amazing family,” Stanford said.  “Oh and winning all of our competitions so far has been pretty cool too.”

Darley had tough times in this sport too.

“When we were learning and setting up all the choreography for the competition, I felt like I couldn’t do it,” Darley said.

“It seems so simple and beautiful but people don’t really realize how much effort we have to put in.”

Even with those hard times, Coach Brewer is really proud of how far the team has come.

 “My favorite memory is just watching the team’s progress and improvement as the season went on,” Brewer said. “We had so many new cheerleaders who had never been on a team before and had no idea what they were supposed to do and they all learned so much and picked up several new skills throughout the season!”