Competitive Cheer Hits Zero on the Mat
After success at CCS the traditional competitive cheer team will compete at Nationals.
By Katie Scripoch
After success at CCS the traditional competitive cheer team will compete at Nationals.
By Katie Scripoch
In 2019, traditional competitive cheer was recognized as an official sport. After that, Pioneer’s first traditional competitive cheer team was made. Last month, the team won the Central Coast Section tournament title and moved on to the California Interscholastic Federation’s Northern Regional Championship.
On Jan. 14 at Independence High School, the traditional competitive cheer team placed first in the novice non-tumbling large division against Silver Creek High School.
The team moved on to compete in the CIF Northern Regional Championship on Jan. 28 at El Camino High School in Sacramento, CA and will also participate in the USA High School Spirit Nationals which will be held in Anaheim, CA from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26.
“They have a really good drive and they wanted it. Unfortunately we took a loss prior to that and I think that made them more hungry to want to win CCS,” said Coach Kenzie Horn.
Veteran cheerleader Aly Rock, 12, believes that the final portion of their routine is what seals the win for the team because of the energy that they bring to the mat.
“During this competition and time of performance it really comes down to your mentality and as soon as you hit the mat, you have to hype yourself, the crowd and your teammates up just reminding each other to breathe and keep pushing all the way to the end,” said Rock.
Being sharp and loud is important for any cheer team and with a late start to the season, the team had some difficulty completing their routine in time.
Coach Carolina Lopez thinks that the uniqueness of their routine is what keeps them apart from their opponents.
“It wasn’t even a surprise when they called us, just because I saw how they performed and there was no way that after seeing them perform like that, that we weren’t going to get it,” said Lopez.
However, by CCS, the team worked hard to perfect their routine in time for the tournament.
“The team did face obstacles, some of our teammates got hurt and had to sit out which changed a lot of things in our routine. We had one week to perfect our routine for CCS which felt stressful at first but it was all worth it in the end,” said Oscar Vences, 11.
The team had two people quit near the start of the season and it was difficult for the coaches to alter the plans that they originally had for the team, along with other challenges.
“We’ve had numerous injuries so that’s what makes it hard is we have people that are out because they’re hurt and we have to change the routine or stunt groups,” said Lopez.
With goals in mind for the team to compete in tumbling divisions in the future, Lopez says that it will take some time for the team to gain the experience that they need to compete against other schools.
“I think right now, what kind of sucks for Pioneer is that our feeder schools don’t have a cheer team,” said Lopez. “It’s harder to get girls or boys that tumble because they don’t have that experience coming from middle school, where other schools in our area like Union and Dartmouth (Middle Schools), all have cheer teams so they pick up on that easier, where we don’t.”
After all of the hard work that the team had put in, Hailey Perry, 9, is proud of how far they have come over the course of the season.
“My favorite memory was definitely winning CCS. It was truly such a euphoric feeling,” said Perry.
On Jan. 14 at Independence High School, the traditional competitive cheer team placed first in the novice non-tumbling large division against Silver Creek High School.
The team moved on to compete in the CIF Northern Regional Championship on Jan. 28 at El Camino High School in Sacramento, CA and will also participate in the USA High School Spirit Nationals which will be held in Anaheim, CA from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26.
“They have a really good drive and they wanted it. Unfortunately we took a loss prior to that and I think that made them more hungry to want to win CCS,” said Coach Kenzie Horn.
Veteran cheerleader Aly Rock, 12, believes that the final portion of their routine is what seals the win for the team because of the energy that they bring to the mat.
“During this competition and time of performance it really comes down to your mentality and as soon as you hit the mat, you have to hype yourself, the crowd and your teammates up just reminding each other to breathe and keep pushing all the way to the end,” said Rock.
Being sharp and loud is important for any cheer team and with a late start to the season, the team had some difficulty completing their routine in time.
Coach Carolina Lopez thinks that the uniqueness of their routine is what keeps them apart from their opponents.
“It wasn’t even a surprise when they called us, just because I saw how they performed and there was no way that after seeing them perform like that, that we weren’t going to get it,” said Lopez.
However, by CCS, the team worked hard to perfect their routine in time for the tournament.
“The team did face obstacles, some of our teammates got hurt and had to sit out which changed a lot of things in our routine. We had one week to perfect our routine for CCS which felt stressful at first but it was all worth it in the end,” said Oscar Vences, 11.
The team had two people quit near the start of the season and it was difficult for the coaches to alter the plans that they originally had for the team, along with other challenges.
“We’ve had numerous injuries so that’s what makes it hard is we have people that are out because they’re hurt and we have to change the routine or stunt groups,” said Lopez.
With goals in mind for the team to compete in tumbling divisions in the future, Lopez says that it will take some time for the team to gain the experience that they need to compete against other schools.
“I think right now, what kind of sucks for Pioneer is that our feeder schools don’t have a cheer team,” said Lopez. “It’s harder to get girls or boys that tumble because they don’t have that experience coming from middle school, where other schools in our area like Union and Dartmouth (Middle Schools), all have cheer teams so they pick up on that easier, where we don’t.”
After all of the hard work that the team had put in, Hailey Perry, 9, is proud of how far they have come over the course of the season.
“My favorite memory was definitely winning CCS. It was truly such a euphoric feeling,” said Perry.