Cheering Through a Pandemic

Cheerleaders’ main job consists of entertaining and encouraging the home team at sports games, and this year’s Fair Grove cheerleaders have done exactly that.

Chloe Reynaud, a junior cheerleader, said, “I do cheer because I love the environment so much. I love all the girls on my squad as well as the coaches, and of course love supporting my classmates as they do a sport they love.”

Although the cheerleading season is a good time, this year’s cheerleading season has been disrupted due to COVID-19. In year’s past, the cheerleaders have traveled to away games to cheer on the sports teams. Unfortunately, the cheerleaders have missed out on that experience this year. 

Chloe Reynaud said, “One big thing we missed this year was cheering in all of the tournaments the basketball team had. It was upsetting not being able to attend tournaments like the Blue and Gold and the Sparta tournament.” 

Another one of the main things the cheerleaders do at games is stunting. Alongside not being able to travel to away games, the cheerleaders have not been allowed to stunt this year due to COVID-19. 

Chloe Reynaud also went on to say, “The cheerleading team looks forward to stunting at games, it’s one of the cheerleaders favorite things to do. We usually stunt a lot at the games and use them in performance as another way to encourage and entertain the crowd.”

This year the cheerleading team has focused on perfecting different things to showcase at games. Samantha Padgett, coach of the cheerleading team, stated, “This year the team has focused on learning their chants, quarter cheers, and half time routines and doing everything we can to perfect them.” 

With all the COVID-19 chaos going on, the cheerleaders have done a good job ignoring it and making the season as enjoyable as it can get. Samantha Padgett went on to say, “This year the cheerleading squad has been able to take the obstacles given to us and focus more on the basics of cheerleading. Although the team has not been able to stunt this year, we have picked up a new style of dancing to perform at halftime shows.”