The Fair Grove Cheer team competed at state on November 1st at University of Missouri. The team has worked and practiced hard to make their way to state, with the team placing 6th overall.
Getting to state for cheer takes a lot of work, dedication, and preparation. Olivia Broyles (9), a member of the Fair Grove Cheer team, stated, “In preparation for state we have worked very hard at practices and we have had to be comfortable with last minute changes.” Broyles continued, “We all have had the mentality that we need to do what we need to do to win, and everyone has had to be flexible. Even though it has been hard, we know it is worth it.”
Preparing for state can be difficult for many reasons including, school work, extracurriculars and multiple sport athletes. Avary Austin (11), another member of the Fair Grove cheer team, explained, “To prepare for state we have practiced almost every day and during the volleyball season we would also practice before school so we could have the volleyball players the whole practice.”
Getting to state has also contained many challenges along the way including the team’s physical and mental focus and health. Austin stated, “To get to state, everyday is a challenge, mostly on the team’s mental side. We have to come in and practice our stunts over and over just to hopefully be able to do our very best for the 3 minutes we have to compete.”
Broyles added, “The most challenging part of getting to state was knowing that we needed to focus on getting a good score at regionals. I think for all of the team we knew the ultimate goal was to go to state, but we had to work very hard and put a lot of time into our regional performance first.”
Along the way, the cheerleaders have made some unforgettable memories. Broyles described, “My favorite memory of our cheer season so far was the day we performed at regionals. I had such a great time getting ready together with my team in the hotel and the bus ride back to Fair Grove was so fun!”
The Fair Grove Cheer team will continue their cheer season cheering for the Fair Grove basketball games continuing forward.
