The cheerleading team is flipping its way into a new season with a new coach.
The team hopes new coach Rachel Dorn will help them get to a new level.
Cheerleader Jenna Shumin is optimistic about the new leadership.
“I think this season is going to be amazing,” Shumin said. “We are getting a new head coach, and I really like her, so I think she really has big plans for us to succeed…I think this season is going to be 10x better, and I think now that a lot of the girls got so close because of last season, communication will be so much better, and everything will just go a lot smoother.”
Junior Ella Schlegal looks forward to learning from Dorn’s expertise.
“…our new coach is amazing,” Schlegal I really love her, she’s so sweet and she really knows what she’s doing, I just think with her as the head coach she can really push me and the other girls to our full potential,” Shlegal said.
The sport of cheerleading has challenges that many do not understand.
“I think there’s a big stereotype…that we just wave and cheer and smile,” Shumin said.“I feel like that’s kind of ruining the image of all the hard work we do, and all the stunts and hard work we do is overlooked.”
Despite trials from last year’s season, the team is looking forward to showing off their skill in the upcoming basketball cheer season, according to Kylee Grim.
¨ Our new coach was last year’s assistant coach, and I think she driven to make everyone better,” Grim said. “She knows how to push people, and she really has a vision. I just think we are going to do really well; you know it’s basketball season, and that’s a lot less stressful in the fall season because we get to be on the bench with each other instead of being so far away from each other, but I hope we can do as good as last year if not better.¨
Basketball and football cheer are so different in terms of preparation and skill set.
“ In football, there is a lot more going on, and you can’t really see what’s happening,” Shumin said. “It’s so loud, and you can’t really hear, and with all the girls on the cheek pad so far apart, communication is so much harder. While basketball, we are all on a bench sitting together, and we can see the game better because we are at a higher angle… that’s probably the biggest difference between the two; although, the girls say they both take so much talent and hard work, they think that basketball cheer is easier than football cheer.”
The girls aim to flip and stunt their way into success.
