Waldorf Competitive Cheer

By: Victoia Carra

The Waldorf cheerleading team will be competing for the first time in many years. Their first competition will be February 4, 2017.

This is a season of many changes for the team, starting with a new coach. They have had to learn to be flexible to make their dream of competing come true. The team started the season off with 15 girls and had big plans for this competition season. As the season continued they had lost girls to difficult circumstances. By the end of the fall semester, there were 10.

“It felt like everything was against us for a while, girls would get injured or quit because of the amount of time a competition routine takes up. But we knew we couldn’t give up,” said sophomore Danielle Waite. “After losing the chance to compete the year before, all off us returners knew we couldn’t do it again.”

In 2015, the team was prepared to compete as well, but they had lost a majority of their roster and could not make it work. The girls that returned this fall did not want that to happen again.

The team cut winter break off early to start practice. They practiced every week day, working closer and closer to perfecting their routine. But, there would be two more injuries before competition day. Sophomores Kirsten DeVary and Madison Stenerson would suffer concussions just a week before the team was supposed to head to Des Moines for a dual and Grand View University. This would leave the team with the minimum it takes to compete, eight.

“Finding out I can’t compete was heart breaking,” said Stenerson. “My team and I have worked extremely hard all year to get where we are. I know the girls will pull through and make the routine work with eight girls, but I wish I could be a part of it.”

The Waldorf Cheer Team will for-go the Grand View Dual, and they have their first competition on February 4, 2017.