If you have spirit, now is the time to show it.
The Edwin Parr Composite senior high cheerleading squad has reunited at the school for another year of fun and competition. Their first priority is to increase school spirit and get everyone behind the local football team. Then, as the year progresses, they’ll begin their meticulous preparations for cheer competitions all over Alberta, including their own, EPC Cheerfest, held every year in February.
Unfortunately, the team (which placed third at provincials last year) lost quite a few members over the summer. As a result, coaches Vanessa Olson and Heidi Shopland are looking for more girls in grades ten and up to come out and be part of the squad.
Olson knows that joining a new team can be intimidating, but while having a dance or gymnastics background is an asset, no prior experience is required.
What is required, though, is a strong work ethic. Months of hard work go into creating the short but challenging routines that the team performs at competitions.
“It looks fairly easy, but the counts and choreography behind it takes precision and timing; a lot goes into it,” said the coach. “By the time you perform, you’ve been practicing it for six months.”
That’s why it’s important that new members join up as soon as possible. Competitions may not begin until the new year, but the work of crafting a routine starts now.
The team isn’t starting from scratch, however. There is a strong core of girls (as well as a boy or two) with experience and skill who played a key role in the team’s success last year. What’s more, they are relatively young, so they’ll hopefully be a part of the team for another couple of years.
“We have a lot of talent and potential on this team,” said Olson. “We’re still a young team and we’ll continue to grow and get stronger.”
The focus of the cheerleading team, aside from simply have fun, is to build school and community spirit and get some energy coursing through the halls of Edwin Parr Composite. The process may be hard work, but Olson, Shopland and the team members can attest that the payoff is always worth it.
The team practices Mondays and Wednesday nights (as well as the occasional Friday night) from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Girls who are interested in joining the team are encouraged to come out to practice and give it a try.
