The cheer team entered their season strong after working hard this summer and already clinching a chance to compete at the state MCCA Performance Cheer competition this November.
This summer, the cheer team attended UCA team camp in Maryville.
“I think the camp was helpful and we were taught new skills,” sophomore varsity cheerleader Elizabeth Phillips said.
There are 16 Varsity and JV cheerleaders entertaining on the sidelines this season.
Coach Brooklyn Hetherington is a new addition to the high school cheer team this year after coming from the middle school. Many of the cheerleaders have said that coach Hetherington has been a great help to the team and has pushed the girls to be at their highest performance level.
“With our new coach this year, our team has been putting in extra work to truly be the best we can be. We have become really close and I think that is important as a cheerleader to represent the school to the best of our abilities,” senior Tatum Bohl said.
This summer, the cheerleaders had mandatory practices every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, which helped them prepare for the season. It was also mandatory that they go to summer weights.
“I think by having these mandatory activities during the summer it helped push us and get us ready for the season,” freshman Alyssa Boyd said.
Bohl has taken on the head cheer captain role. Many of the cheerleaders stated that Bohl has been a great leader while motivating the girls to be the best they can.
“Someone that I feel has truly taken on a leadership role would be my head captain, Tatum Bohl. Tatum takes in everyone’s opinions, has respect for her teammates, and loves her sport,” coach Hetherington said.
The team has started competing again, after several years of not seeing the competition mat. They attended the St. Louis MCCA Regional Performance Cheer competition in mid-September and came away with fifth place and a qualification for the state contest in November.
The team starts preparing for these competitions in the summer starting with basic things and then thinking about how to progress from there. Coach Hetherington states that when it comes to competition, the team discusses all their ideas and figures out how and where they will fit into the final product. “We had a lot of injuries, but we pushed through and qualified for state,” freshman Addison Hill said.
With the cheer team consisting of many freshmen, many have said they have stepped to play their part. Many of the upperclassmen have said that the freshmen do a great job playing the role they need to play to help their team and have a great drive to learn new cheers and stunts.
“I feel like the role from middle school to high school is different because at high school you are set to a higher standard and you have to work harder to achieve your accomplishments,” freshman varsity cheerleader Abigail Burnhamn said.
The cheer team hopes to keep expanding and grow the program and the appreciation for the sport. Hetherington has talked to many coaches across the state about what they do within their programs and has gotten many ideas from them.
“I have so many ideas for the future of our program. I am working on getting a few things put together that would involve the cheer teams within our conference,” coach Hetherington said.
