Rocky Start For Waukees Competition Cheer Team

Cheering is always looked at as the sport where girls get all dressed up and shake their poms on the side of the court or field, but there is so much more than that, Competition Cheer. 9 girls have tried out and come together to do a combination of dancing, cheering, stunting, and tumbling. But this year, things started completely differently. 

3 weeks before the first practice starts, and 4 months away from State, the coach quits. The competition team is left alone, with no chores, no stunt groups, and no hope for a future in competition cheer 2023. As the weeks go on, Mr. Boyle starts to interview new coaches, and eventually, Mr. Boyle found 2 alumni coaches who have come to save the team. The only problem, there are now 2 months left until state, and the team is just now getting started. 

This is where the team started to kick in. As other teams were doing full run-throughs and cleaning their routines, the Waukee girls were just learning their routine. They had to do 6:00 early morning practices before school and practices till 5:30 after school. They had to do more than 2 practices a week and had to do everything twice as fast as the other teams around them. But they are determined to put in the hard work to become state champions, and they are having a fun time doing it! “Sometimes as competition cheerleaders, you only get 2 to 3 performances, sometimes even 1, it’s nice to see all the work we put in come together”, says Senior Kiya Barlow. Senior Clare Johnson says “Being on the team, you become so close because you have to put trust into everyone around you. It always feels so awesome hitting during performances.” Sophomore Lily Stairs says “It’s a lot of work and you have to put in a lot of time and effort to make it look good but once we hit it’s the best feeling.” 

Now that the Waukee Comp Team is back in full effect, there are about 3 weeks until state, and the girls are ready to go out there and show everyone what they have been working on. They have been through so much this season, and we can’t wait to see their hard work pay off.