It’s not often that a group of radically different students have the opportunity to come together as a team, but this is exactly the case of the HR varsity cheer squad. This remarkably diverse group has come together to perform at every Falcon football game.
So far, the Varsity cheer squad has performed at three games.
The squad has to put in a lot of work to pull off those complicated moves they show off at games, as stated by sophomore squad member Alyssa Giorgi, “We have to work really hard and practice a lot so we can be organized and perform well.”
Junior member Mya Zucker agrees, “At practices we work on somersaults and cartwheels, whatever our skill level allows. We all try really hard to improve.”
Brooke Montano, varsity cheer coach, is quite happy with her team: “They’ve really impressed me. The team as a whole has improved a lot since the years past.”
Varsity cheer also needs a good team dynamic to perform. “We work together as a team, but outside of cheer we have different friend groups. It’s nice to see how some of us who are so different can work together,” said Giorgi. Her teammate Zucker agrees, “We’re all a little different, especially in skill level, but we’re all rooting for each other. We all work well together and cheer each other on when we’re tumbling and stuff.”
Among this close-knit team are some unique cheerleaders; three Unified girls have joined the Varsity team this year and have started performing at games.
When asked what it felt like to work with the Unified girls, Giorgi said, “I love them all! They’re so funny and nice. They’ve really become a part of the team; they’re so involved. It’s nice to see them all so happy.”
“The Unified girls are such hard workers,” said Coach Montano, “They come in to practice for thirty minutes and work on cheers.”
Junior Unified member Aly Landauer has similar feelings toward her teammates. When asked what she thought of working with them, she said, “I like them. They’re nice. It’s so fun to be on the cheer team with them.”
Next month, competition season starts for the cheer team. “I hope that the student body supports us in our competitions. The more support we get, the better we’ll do,” said Coach Montano.
Mikayla Rust, Editor in Chief
