This years Salida High School cheerleading team has grown exponentially, nearly doubling the size of last year’s team. This growth has caused monumental changes in the team’s approach and attitude, as they have focused more on encouraging school spirit and less of competition.

“This season has been super fun,” said senior Macy Mazzeo. “It’s been great cheering for the boys and girls basketball teams as they’ve been doing so well.”

From foreign exchange students becoming part of the cheer family, to the team deciding not to competite this year, this season looks very different from last. With an expanded team, the cheerleaders’ enthusiasm and team spirit have soared. The cheer team takes a lot of pride in doing what they love. They bring support and school spirit to every event and every game. More students are finding themselves involved in cheer and loving every minute of it. The team currently stands at fourteen members who have been working hard to bolster the high school spirit. 

In the past, many have hesitations about joining the cheer program and have never experienced the thrill of being on the team surrounded by joyful, talented cheerleaders. However, the addition of new cheerleaders has made more people want to give it a shot and tryout for the team. 

“If I could change one thing I would change how others see cheerleading. There are a lot of misleading stereotypes about cheer that I think scare people away from trying it,” said assistant cheer team coach Jayanah Berry.

Fortunately, this year the cheer team has been able to welcome several new cheerleaders from freshmen students all the way to seniors. Cheerleading has been a great way for students to step out of their comfort zone and learn new skills. The excitement from the cheerleaders on the sidelines certainly brings intensity for the athletes and students at SHS. This program has encouraged many students to join extracurricular activities outside of their academic schedule. Building friendships and bonds is what the cheer team does best. 

Not only do the team get to do what they love most, but they also get to have an awesome experience cheering for their local high school with the classmates they grew up with.

New member, sophomore Kate Young stated, “It’s nerve-wracking but exciting, we all get along pretty well and we have a lot of fun.”

Cheer brings a fun and positive environment to Salida and allows many of the girls to enjoy their high school years and create a lifelong experience. For the cheerleaders, the season goes by fast. 

Jayanah Berry said, “I think the cheer team grows every year as new people come in and others leave, we get so many new ideas and perspectives on what cheers we do or our overall appearance and involvement throughout the schools and community.”

New members this year have helped improve the team in several ways including increasing school spirit and skill. Cheer truly brings out the high school spirit in all students involved, and SHS wouldn’t be the same without the support and cheering from the sidelines.