The countdown is on for the Generals’ Competition Cheer team to take the mat for the first time this season. After unexpected losses at both state and regional championships, the team is preparing to come back better than ever.
Senior cheerleader, Jada Shockley, said, “I’m excited for the feeling of being at competitions, it’s so much fun, like getting on the floor and just being with all my friends, and hopefully winning.”
This excitement doesn’t come without its fair share of practice. The team has been working hard on their skills and choreography since May. So for the Lady Generals, the stakes are starting to feel very high.
Senior cheerleader, Hannah Daniel, said, “We want wins, and more wins, but also good memories for our last season.”
The scores of competition cheer are based on how difficult skills are and how well they are performed. In order to increase a score, a team has to perform harder skills and make them more difficult, sharper, and cleaner.
To accomplish this, the team has added many new skills in the competition routine. Shockley said, “I would say four solid high to highs. We definitely have very solid stunts compared to last season, especially like this early on… I think that we have cooler skills, and our pyramid is really good, like really good. We just got to getting it down.”
Daniel said, “We [also] have the same skills as last season, but we’ve just, like, learned to work around the difficulties of them. So, it’s a lot better. They look a lot better than they did last year… We’ve had a big upgrade.”
After the hard losses last year, the team is ready to take on a fresh start.
Daniel added, “Well, we lost at Regions, and at state. But I think since we were so good last season, we understand that we have the potential to win this season. I think we kind of realize that we can win. So, we are definitely very motivated.”
Cheerleading at the competitive level involves constant routine improvements. Shockley and Daniel said that the goal this season is to hit “solid” and “very clean.” “We want to be flawless and not have any doubts,” said Daniel. Shockley agreed. “We don’t want the judges to pick apart our routine and take away any unnecessary points,” she said.
Competition Cheer is starting this season with high hopes and a challenging routine.
