Southeast of Saline has quite an intriguing cheer squad this year. With seven freshmen, one sophomore, and one junior, they have a lot to learn. Their coach, Ashley Long, is proud to see each of them grow and is excited for everyone to see how hard they have been working.
Coach Long has been coaching cheer for six years, and this year is her second year coaching at Southeast. She started coaching high school cheerleading because she had a passion for cheer and wanted to help improve school spirit. When she heard that they needed a high school coach, she stepped right up. Coach Long says, “My favorite part about cheer is getting to watch the crowd interact with the girls.” She also said, “The hardest parts of cheer are the number of games they have to attend, considering how busy they already are, remembering each motion of each cheer, and having a good understanding of the sport they’re cheering for.” So far, this cheer season has gone very well and the girls have learned a lot. Coach Long believes that this season will continue to be great and the girls will continue to grow.
One of the biggest things the cheerleaders struggle with is how young the majority of the squad is. With eight underclassmen and only one upperclassman, they don’t have a lot of experience. Regardless, the cheerleaders are quick learners and refuse to fall behind. Considering that so many cheerleaders made the jump from junior high to high school this year, there are some differences in the two squads that take some getting used to. One of which is the much larger crowds. Having a larger amount of people watching you can be very nerve-wracking. Another difference is how much higher the expectations are. The cheerleaders do so much for our school, especially now that they’re in high school. They plan and put together pep rallies, attend all the football and basketball games, as well as support all of the teams. They also create posters to put around the school which helps build school spirit.
The cheerleaders are currently planning some fun things for future games. One of which is the mini cheerleader clinic that took place Wednesday, September 20th. 90 mini cheerleaders will be joining the high school cheerleaders on Friday, September 22 to cheer during the game with them. The cheerleaders have also done lots of off-campus training to help improve. They went to UCA camp in June for four days, cheered a game with the McPherson Bulldog cheerleaders, went to a spirit spreader at Kansas Wesleyan, and practiced all summer.
Our cheerleaders put in so much work and effort for our school, and we are super excited to see what they have in store for this upcoming year. I encourage everyone to engage with them during games, and come support them and the players!
