For senior Morgan Mitchell, lots of sleep and Emergen-C are necessities this winter season. She is not alone as the cheer teams bundle up and prepare to transition from fall to winter sports.                                 

As the football season ends, coaches Ashley Meier and Taryn Frank prepare their cheer student-athletes for the upcoming basketball season after competing at state a few weeks before. The team had learned the cheers previously over the course of the summer.

“In the summer, we prepare them for what’s going to happen at camp,” senior Vivian Redmond said. “We can’t teach stunts, but we teach them cheers.”

Spending hours in the summer retaining these cheers, the students can finally show their spirit during the upcoming basketball games. 

Their hard work and dedication paid off after placing sixth at cheer state, especially after the football team’s victory at the state championship. After all of this, the cheer teams are ready to dive into a new season. 

“To prepare we just go over the routines, practice and change,” Mitchell said. “We have practice every day and sometimes even in the morning.”

Competing at cheer state is not something new, as the team has made it to state competitions for the last six years.

Meier and Frank have continued to enforce stability on each team and advance through competitions. Having a tight connection with the girls is a huge priority to them.

 “I really just get to make sure the girls are ready and bond with them and make sure they have everything that they need to be successful,” Frank said.

Male yell leaders are something that has completely shifted Miege’s cheer teams as the yell leaders are being reintroduced after 31 years.

“It really showed us new opportunities that we can do with stunting, yelling and just doing more things in general,” Redmond said. “They gave us a new step in the direction of cheering.”

According to Frank, keeping up mental health is a main priority for the cheer program. 

Between midterms, finals and year-round school work, high school athletes must maintain their grades while balancing their sports and personal lives. 

“Since I’m a senior it’s my last year, so I’m not going to want to get burnt out or tired,” Mitchell said. “I try to motivate myself to keep pushing through the seasons as long as I get tired.”

Like many sports, cheer is both physically and mentally demanding. The importance of this is introduced early in high school as underclassmen bond with juniors and seniors.

 “Building a relationship with the girls on JV and the sophomores that are on varsity is very important,” Mitchell said. “Even when we’re gone, cheer continues. We want that same tight knit kind of situation.”

With football season coming to a close, cheer teams prepare during this time to transition into basketball season. This preparation includes lots of practice time and making improvements and corrections to cheers. 

“When everyone knows the routines, you can add fun things like facials to the routine, not just the motions,” Mitchell said. 

However, it has become a time of the year that Redmond looks forward to as she competes. 

“It’s just an amazing feeling just to know that you’re in it,” Redmond said.