With high energy and school spirit, the Game Day cheer team is ready to take the spotlight as they compete at Heard County. Going head-to-head with six other teams from our region, the team will bring its best routines, crowd-leading chants, and sideline spirit in hopes of claiming the top spot.
“This year, our team has improved so much,” junior Gizelle Segura said. “I feel like we are doing really well as a whole. Everyone is really close, and we all get along pretty well. Last year, it was much harder, and we got hurt a lot more. With our hard work and close team, we should do very good in this next competition.”
Since this summer, the team has been working together to learn new cheers and stunts. Every Monday, the girls practice at Hotshots to learn how to tumble and stunt properly; each has a specific role they have to fill to have the best outcome.
“In my position, I am the back spot, and I also run the flags,” sophomore Ari Waters said. “Each is important because when we are chanting the cheers, it looks visually better to have the flag. Back spot is also very important because we stabilize the flyer and make sure that they don’t fall, which they shouldn’t.”
While having many seniors on the competition cheer team last year, this year we have included many new freshmen with lots of different talents. The team has learned tumbling and the importance of each person’s position on the team. While we do not have a competition cheer team this year, their alternative is having a game day team to gain confidence in their routines and dances, along with their stunts.
“I have been cheering since kindergarten, and since then I have learned many kinds of flips like handsprings, tucks, and whales. I have been doing competition cheer for a while now,” freshman Sage Smith said. “I am on the Hotshots senior dream team. My position on our Game Day cheer team is a base, in my opinion, the base position is very important because without a base we wouldn’t be able to stunt.”
The importance of each Monday practicing at Hotshots is that the team can learn to tumble and jump to become prepared for next year and be able to have a competition team.
“Incorporating the freshmen that are adding a lot of extra spots, bases, and flyers is really beneficial to our team, also our team bonding is a big part, without this, we wouldn’t be able to perform to the best of our ability and with spirit,” Waters said.