Captains share what made the team more prepared for regionals this year
Alex Montes, Staff Reporter
Originally published November 27th, 2019
Cheer is heading to nationals for the third year in a row, after winning regionals on Nov. 2. “A lot of preparation goes into the two minutes and 30 seconds we spend on the met,” senior Mclaren Hadley said. (Courtesy of Samantha Burnstead)
The cheer team is “just like any other sports team,” senior captain Mclaren Hadley said. “A lot of preparation goes into the two minutes and 30 seconds we spend on the mat.”
This year, the team is headed to nationals in Orlando, Florida for the third year in a row. Before nationals, the team goes to regionals where they perform their routine. At nationals, the team goes through preliminaries, semifinals and finals. The team needs to get a certain amount of points to qualify.
State and nationals are on Feb. 4 and 10 this season, which created a difficult decision for the team to make as they choose between the two competitions, ultimately though, choosing to go to nationals.
“At nationals, we get to do competitions, we get to go to Disney World Park (but that’s not the most important part), we get to practice on a football field, where all the other elite teams practice and we go to an all star gym called Top Gun and practice there, which is super fun,” Hadley said.
The cheer team has made some new changes to give them an upper hand at competitions. They practice four to five times a week, depending on when they have a competition, and occasionally host “exhibitions” where they perform their routines in front of parents.
This year, the team has made great progress in preparation for their season.
“Last year we were kind of nervous as a team and we didn’t have a good mentality about going into a competition and staying calm. This year we have been practicing [our routines] in front of parents, in front of the football team, we actually did an exhibition for dance team,” Hadley said. “It has really prepared us mentally so that we can hit our stunts in tumbling and perform in front of people, where we will be really solid.”
Senior Sienna Brockway who has been on the team for three years has seen the team grow closer as a community.
“This year especially, our team is closer than ever. With only 12 girls on our tumbling team, we have been able to create a strong bond, which has really helped prepare us this season,” Brockway said. “Knowing that we can count on each other no matter what, whether it be on or off the mat.”
This will be the last year competing at high school nationals for the seniors. “I can’t wait to go out on the mat with this amazing team one more time and be able to accomplish our goals that we have worked so hard for all season,” Brockway said.
Through hard work, diligence and a positive mentality, the cheer team has hit the mat, and this season, with a strong start.