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Moments of near perfection
After 10 months of practice and two major setbacks, it all came down to just 150 seconds of near perfection.
In the end, a team of 15 teens from Mountain Home proved they had the right level of motivational skills and athletic abilities to earn top scores at this year's district cheerleading championships at Meridan High School.
The team of 12 girls and three boys earned a first-place first for their sideshow performance -- a two-and-a-half minute routine that blended traditional cheering with tumbling, stunts and dance moves set to music.
"This is the big one teams use in hopes of getting to state," said Mountain Home coach Lucky Allison regarding the significance of winning this title for Mountain Home.
Their win in the sideshow event qualified the high school team to compete in the state finals March 20 at the Idaho Center. In addition, Mountain Home brought home a second-place finish in the 4A division for their sideline routine -- a 90 second performance typical of "being a regular cheerleader," Allison added.
The district-level event this year included more than 700 cheerleaders, toppling previous attendance records at this level of competition, she added.
"This was the first time we had ever performed in front of such a large audience," Allison said regarding the thousands of people watching the district finals.
With so many competitors vying for first-place, Mountain Home had one advantage this year. The squad moved up in proficiency to the advanced level, giving them more options on which of the more-intensive stunts the team could perform, giving them opportunities to earn more points from the judges, the coach said. Last year, the team was limited to a less-intensive intermediate proficiency level.
The team has just ten days to polish its skills to prepare for the state cheerleading championship March 20 at the Idaho Center. With their district title under their belt, the squad has its sights set on an even bigger prize -- earning grand champion standing.
"There's a lot of intensity and practice involved" to reach that goal, said Allison, who started coaching the high school team four years ago. To even reach the first level of competition, the team needed nearly a full year to learn and practice every step in the sideshow and sideline routines.
"(In addition) they attend every football game, every basketball game and every pep rally in addition to all the cheer clinics and practices," the coach added.
Over the past 10 months, the team faced two significant setbacks after one of the cheerleaders was injured while another was sidelined a week before the district championships due to a chronic medical condition. Despite these hurdles, the team pulled together "and made it all work," she said.
Contrary to popular belief, routines practiced by today's cheerleading squads are significantly more advanced than those that shook pom-poms, did an occasional cartwheel and led sideline cheers in year's past, Allison said. They need the same level of strength, flexibility and agility as other sports athletes -- sometimes more -- she added.
With their routines involving flips, tumbling and lifts along with throws putting members 15 to 20 feet in the air, cheerleading also sees its fair share of serious injuries, they type more typically seen in full-contact sports like football, the coach said.
Because of this inherent risk, states like Idaho set limits on the types of stunts teams like Mountain Home can perform. In comparison, states like California have less-stringent rules with high school teams often performing stunts normally reserved for college-level cheerleaders, she said.