The cheer team practices stunts for their routine.
On Jan. 30, the Cheer and Dance teams will be competing in their first competition, which is the Doane Invite. Coach Ashley Lyon’s primary goal for both teams is to have both teams feel confident and prepared.
“For cheer we are looking to focus on elite, or more difficult, skills in our students and pyramid,” Lyon said. “For dance we definitely want to bring the GPAC (Great Plains Athletic Conference) championship trophy back home.”
Senior Macie Sefrit, member of both the Cheer and Dance teams, believes that the challenges in Cheer are more towards their pyramid while for dance it is trying to find little breathers.
“For cheer, the pyramid I think is the most challenging stunt we’ve had to learn,” Sefrit said. “But it’s a really dynamic stunt sequence at the very beginning of the routine to be a wow factor. But for dance, finding those little pockets in it to get a little breather and talk to each other while we go is a challenge in itself.”
During the week, both teams have one strength training session, one technique session and three two-hour practices per week. In addition, they sometimes perform or cheer at home basketball games or travel to different competitions, all while maintaining classes and homework.
“Sometimes you have a bad turn day, sometimes you have a bad tumbling or stunting day,” Sefrit said. “However, these days don’t last forever. Similar to life, you grow the most when you fail but decide to persevere.”
One thing that both Coach Lyon and Sefrit are the most excited for is for everyone to go and see what both teams have been working on, and for Sefrit she is the most excited about competing at home one last time.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing an athlete finally nail a skill they’ve been working so hard on,” Lyon said. “There are always things to work on, we have high aspirations this year, but we are in a really good position for the first competition of the season.”
If you or someone you know would like to go and support the Cheer and Dance teams, the competition will be held in Haddix on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
