Written by Cory Sparks, Sports Editor
Indian Trail High School & Academy’s cheer team delivered yet another year of success.
In past seasons, the team has shown a strong correlation between passion and overall achievement.
This year the team improved in both variety of team members and in skill.
This display of athletic ability doesn’t just come on the sidelines of football and basketball games. The cheer team participates in an abundance of competitions throughout the year to see how their performance lines up against other schools.
“This was our first year as a CoEd team. Our scores constantly and consistently went up all year long,” said Lucas Ade, cheer coach. “We had our highest score at the regional competition in LaCrosse, Wis., raising our score by 20 percent.”
One of the major reasons for this noticeable improvement was the motivation that each athlete gets from feeding off each other’s energy and passion.
“The most motivating aspect about cheer is seeing my peers and teammates work so hard on a skill and then finally get that skill,” said Jayda Grant, Kenosha Military Academy senior. “The shocked exciting look they have on their face pushed me to improve whatever I’m working on.”
Another component that justified this team’s success was the realization from everyone that each athlete mostly knows his or her role in the routine like the back of their hand.
“My position is a backspot,” said Brendan Jarvis, General Studies senior. “I am mainly responsible for assisting the main and secondary bases, and saving a stunt when it’s about to fall.”
In order to succeed, the performers need to have faith that their teammates will fulfill their responsibilities.
“Trust is probably the biggest factor in cheer,” said Emily Eppers, General Studies senior. “Whether it’s trusting yourself to throw tumbling or trusting your stunt group to throw safe stunts, if the team does not trust each other, then they probably will not get far. It’s a huge part of cheer.”
Win or lose, there is a high emphasis on pride and team spirit with this squad. The team leaves everything out on the mat regardless of the result.
“I live for the nervous energy of competitions. But most of all I love the excitement when a quad hits a new skill and the whole mat erupts!” said Ade.