New coaches, new discipline, and rebuilding that’s the foundation behind the squad that cheers on the Wildcats this year. The cheerleading squad has two new coaches, Rachel Eichler and Jill Dulaban. These new coaches have decided to take on a smaller squad, one of only ten girls.
“I want everyone to enjoy cheering, and for it to be a 100 percent committed sport. I want other people to know that it is a sport and it should be just as competitive as anything else. I want us to compete,” junior Cora Rodgers said.
Dulaban and Eichler have decided that the squad is not going to compete this year, instead focus on strengthening the team in their moves and getting them into better shape, as well as making sure they are well disciplined.
“They have us conditioning, they don’t want any drama, they’re getting rid of all the talking during practice, they actually want to get things done,” senior Johna Newman said.
The squad runs laps, does exercises, and even does yoga at practice now, to work on getting in better shape. Then, they go over cheers, motions, and stunting.
“I want us to be at the top. I want us to be a really good squad. I want us to be a family,” Senior Johna Newman said.
Newman and junior Emily Stantorf are the squad’s captains this year.
“This year is kind of about rebuilding. We just kind of walked into it, Coach Dulaban and myself. We are just trying to get the program the way it used to be when we were in high school,” Eichler said.
When Eichler and Dulaban were in high school, there was a JV and a varsity squad. The JV would cheer for JV sports, just as varsity would cheer for varsity sports.
“Well, I want cheerleading to be a coveted spot. I want more girls to come out and be interested in it and I want it to be an exciting thing for the entire school,” Eichler said.