by Sadahrie Mandujano, Staff Writer
The Indian Trail cheerleading team has experienced great success in their last few competitions. With increased intensity and more work put in than previous years, the cheer team has had an outstanding season. Their most recent win was not long ago after their junior varsity and varsity team placed first in the entire competition. Out of the eight teams they competed against, the Indian Trail team received the overall highest score.
Coach and teacher Kayla Estevez plays an important role in achieving these wins. She along with the rest of the cheer team go through intense hours of practice and training to ensure they can perform at their absolute best. Although they faced many challenges throughout the season, they have always bounced back and worked even harder.
“We want to be the best that we can be,” Estevez said. “We push ourselves so much, and we challenge ourselves and we stress ourselves out”.
This season has proven to be very different than previous ones, especially after winding down from a pandemic that affected the team. With many people getting sick at the time, there was no telling who and when someone from the team could fall sick and have to drop out of a routine.
“Last season we didn’t get many wins. It was a very hard year,” Estevez said. “Coaches got switched around, the team kept switching around, COVID was still around”.
Through all the pressure they face to do their absolute best and improve from the last season, they also have a passion for cheerleading and have created a dynamic with one another that has helped them in competitions. If something goes wrong in a routine, they work together to find a solution and come back stronger and better than before.
“We never blamed it on each other, instead we looked back at what happened and took it as a learning experience,” junior and JV cheerleader Jimena Ramirez Gonzalez said. “When we helped and encouraged each other, we were happier and prouder of our results.”
Along with vast skill improvements, the cheerleaders were able to build new friendships and meet new people who shared a common interest. They were able to make friends and build even stronger bonds with those that they already knew prior to joining the team.
“I thought that when coming into freshman year it would help me make new friends and that is exactly what had happened!” freshman and varsity cheerleader Bennett Scuglik said. “I love how the team is connected and how kind everyone is to each other.”
Cheerleading has allowed these students to express themselves through performances and routines. It helped them improve not only their skills but also themselves as students and athletes. Some enjoy it so much they even think of continuing cheer after high school.
“Cheer brought out the best in me and I was scared to join at first but people were really welcoming,” Ramirez says. “I love cheer and I’m even considering college cheer because of how much I love it. I have no regrets and I wish I would’ve done cheer for more of high school.”
The team has done better than ever and will continue to push themselves and prove to be a top competitor alongside other incredible teams. With JV and varsity improving greatly from last season, they continue to find great success at competitions.
“JV took home first place against the person they lost state to last year – and this year, varsity is up in the top three in the state every single competition,” Estevez said. “We’ve definitely risen to the occasion, and I’m just super excited to keep the wins going.”