Cheerleaders hope to go far
Bartlett's new cheerleading team anxiously awaits the start of their next season, where they will boost school spirit and compete with their cheers.
April 26, 2010 • written by Ashley Fowler
Filed under Sports
With 18 anxious girls, and a full schedule ahead of them, head cheerleading coach Melissa Johnson and assistant coach Joy Bowser are happy to announce their plans for the 2010-2011 cheerleading squad.
Although they are excited about getting involved with competitions again, they plan to take everything slowly this year.
“We are not going to hit the ground running,” Johnson said. “We know that we must crawl before we walk with this team. We have every intention of competing this year, but we do not know how far we will go.”
At one point Bartlett went all the way every year and often brought home the gold.
“Not too long ago, Bartlett went to nationals every year,” Bowser said. “We always came home with a trophy, and we always had tons of fun. Hopefully the girls will be able to compete at some level this year and experience this.”
There is no clear reason why the girls stopped competing; however, some feel that funds and talent have a lot to do with it.
“Coaches have been changed quite a few times over the past few years and each of them had different expectations. This as well as many other reasons have played a role in Bartlett not being competitive,” Johnson said. “This year we have enough girls with tumbling experience so hopefully we can get this team back to where it use to be.”
At the team’s parent meeting on April 20, the girls expressed how excited they are to finally begin their season.
“I have been cheering and flipping ever since I was little,” freshman Joycelyn Bennett said. “I used to cheer for Dexter Middle School, and we had so much fun competing. If the Bartlett cheerleading team is able to compete this year, I would be on cloud nine.”
Bennett is not the only one excited about the cheerleading season; in fact, some of the parents are even more pumped about starting the season than the girls.
“I was able to watch the actual try-outs and I think that the coaches picked the right group of girls,” parent Vicki Nelson said. “I also like the fact that the prices are much more reasonable this year than in previous years.”
Although the girls have yet to start practicing, they will receive their uniforms before the end of the school year. Over the summer, they will attend a cheer camp at the University of Tennessee-Martin where they will learn cheers and dances that they will incorporate into their competition routines.
Sure, competition will cost extra money, but the coaches feel that the experiences that the girls will have will be priceless, and they are ready to start the season so that the team can see this for themselves.
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