High Stunts and High Hopes

Varsity cheerleaders perform their competition routine at Sparkman High School on Sunday, February 1st.

Theresa Andrzejewski

Theresa Andrzejewski, Writer, Photographer

Back in November, the Bob Jones competition cheerleaders swept away their competitors to steal the spotlight—and the prize—at the state competition. Now, in less than a week, both the junior varsity and varsity teams will be heading down to Florida to compete in yet another national competition.

According to cheerleading sponsor Zoe Williams, Bob Jones has already won a total of six national cheerleading competitions: five for varsity and one for junior varsity. Another win, she says, “would really complete the year.”

Complete the year for whom, exactly? Not just Williams and the coaching staff, but the twenty-six cheerleaders that will soon be on their way to Florida. “There are twelve girls and one boy on junior varsity, because it’s a co-ed team,” Williams explains, “and then there are twelve girls and an alternate on varsity.”

With the rapidly approaching competition date, there’s definitely no doubt about the hard work that all the team members have put into the preparation for nationals.

“Lately, we’ve been practicing a whole lot, on weekdays and on weekends,” says varsity cheerleader Karla Hildebrand, a freshman.

Hannah Williams, a sophomore on the J.V. team, adds that, “we started practicing more often about three weeks ago. The closer we get to nationals, the more and more we practice.”

As always, practice sessions aren’t the only things that have increased as the competition draws near. Hildebrand and Williams explain that as the clock continues to tick, a general fear begins to surface.

The worst part about training for nationals, according to Williams, is the overall “fear of defeat” that seems to linger somewhere in the back of every competitor’s mind. Hildebrand says that she worries that something will go wrong, despite all the practice and hard work that the teams have put in.

And yet, both girls are confident about their competition routines; Williams strongly believes that both teams’ hard work will pay off.

At the varsity level, Hildebrand definitely sees winning potential. “I think we have a good chance of winning,” she says, “if we can just keep our heads on straight.”

Should that be the case, Bob Jones will rack in another win, which, according to sponsor Zoe Williams, would be “very pleasing.”

“It would mean,” she says, “that Bob Jones is back.”

May Bob Jones indeed make a comeback, and may both the varsity and junior varsity competition cheerleaders have the best of luck in Florida later this week.