The Reedy cheerleaders went to their UIL Spirit state championships at the Fort Worth Convention Center January 15 to 17, where they performed in front of judges.
Since the beginning of the school year, the cheerleaders have been performing their cheer routines in front of the school during prep rallies and at football games. However, recently the cheerleaders have been preparing their cheer routines for UIL and have been working hard to perfect them.Being a successful cheerleader involves lots of practice and overcoming challenges everyday as a team.
“Some challenges I have faced while preparing for the UIL season is definitely the effort it takes to put into the routine and is a lot of hard work,” senior cheerleader Hailey Shin said. “It has a lot to do with building up your endurance, stamina, and just making sure that everyone on the team is doing their job correctly.”
Being in cheer requires dedication and a desire to practice and improve the routine as a team.
“I’m looking forward to watching the girls on how they improve and perform,” cheer coach Sara Scheffler said. “I’m excited to see how the whole routine looks from where we started and to where we will be.”
An important part of cheer is the ability to collaborate and come together as a team to support one another.
“I love how supportive and positive they all are. [The best part is] getting closer with my teammates and becoming more as a team,” freshman cheerleader Annabelle Skooglund said.
While practicing, cheerleaders have to keep a positive mindset and set goals they would like to achieve for UIL.
“The goal is at the UIL competition in January, we will make it to finals and hopefully place higher than last year,” Scheffler said.
Even though going to UIL and prep rally practice can be stressful and hard at times, the memories and fun cheerleaders make and have are worth it.
“[The best part about cheer is] definitely like the memories and friends I’ve made along the way like the high school friends I’ve made whether it be like football games or competition season,” Shin said. “They will definitely last forever and something I will miss.”
