Throughout the year, you will see cheerleaders at football games, basketball games, and pep rallies. The unseen things they do are competitions. The Greenwood High School (GHS) Cheer-leading team spends months preparing for their competitions like Regionals, state, and nationals. Currently, their eye is on Regionals. Regionals is an important part of cheer-leading because it starts off the season preparing a team for state if they make it top 3. Three girls on the team, Kylea Alvey, Nyla Smith, and Jayde Narruhn, gave some insight about cheer-leading and their plans for Regionals.

First, Kylea Alvey is on the GHS non-tumble and Game Day non-tumble team. She has done cheer her whole life but is pretty new to school cheer. Greenwood in 2022-2023 was ranked 3rd in the nation. Last year, 2023-2024, they were ranked 8th in the nation. Greenwood’s cheer team works very hard to get to where they want to be and currently they are working towards Regionals. For the past 8 years, they have placed 1st at Regionals and they plan to keep it that way. Alvey says that so far the season has been fun and she has grown to make connections and build bonds with her teammates, which is important for trust in a cheer routine. Alvey works very hard to keep her stunts up as a base. She says her favorite stunt to do in her routine is an inversion to extension which is a skill that they have been working on to perform at regionals. Alvey believes that their team will make it past Regionals because of their positive and uplifting attitude towards their teammates and they have good communication which is a big aspect in a routine in order for it to be successful.

Secondly, Nyla Smith is on the GHS non-tumbling cheer team for game day and traditional. Her goals for the season are to get a back handspring and keep opinions to herself as attitude is a big part of a routine and how you work with your teammates. Her favorite famous cheer team is the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. She looks up to Meredith Reagan because she is a good cheerleader, has a high skill level, and has been on the team for the past 5 years being a non-stop winner. One of Smith’s strengths in cheer is her voice and facials which is a main thing judges look for in a performance because it makes everything so much more exciting for the viewers. Smith shares her experience about one of her worst performances and how it affected her last year. “Last year at Cheerville Showcase, a flyer fell in every stunt. This was disappointing because I hit (did everything right) everything in the warm up room.” She plans to change that this year by working hard every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday so they can 100% hit at Regionals.

Lastly, Narruhn, a tumbler on the GHS varsity cheer team talked about her experiences. Some of her weaknesses are that she is not consistent in some of her skills. If she saw someone  struggling, like she did at one point, she would give tips and cheer them on. Some of the best advice she has ever gotten from a coach was, “If you think you are tired your body still has 60% energy left, no matter what.” Which was advice that she took with her throughout the whole season last year. The hardest skill she has ever learned was a standing tuck with poms. She strives to improve that this year for Regionals and in the future. Some short term goals of hers are to be able to stick and stand a tuck with poms in the cheer during a full out. A full out is where you run the whole 2:30 routine with no pauses. She believes the greatest challenge most athletes are facing today is breaking bad habits.. She was a captain in her 7th and 8th grade and has been doing cheer for 4-5 years now. She is excited for the season and can’t wait for what is to come.

All in all, prepping for Regionals is a hard and complicated process requiring a lot of commitment. Let’s go cheerleaders of the Swamp!