Last year, our competitive cheer team was pretty successful. However, they sadly lost in districts and fell short of their goal, but they tried their hardest. This year’s tryouts are coming to an end, and they are trying to flip the script. They are on a mission and trying to accomplish their goal of getting past districts, regionals, states, and, finally, nationals.

The whole team has been working as hard as they can in the offseason to accomplish their goal. They want to change the narrative that they can’t get past districts and want to be something to remember at Lake Shore.

“I hope we make it past districts,” said Ella Mainhardt, junior and Competitive Cheer member at Lake Shore High School.  The disappointment of not making it past districts is one of their main goals to focus on.

For the team to make it past districts, they need to be focused and work as hard as they can as a team.

Mainhardt said, “I think we can improve as a team by everyone putting their top effort in and like making sure they’re reliable, especially because we work as a team, not individuals.”

Hannah Houth, sophomore and Competitive Cheer member at Lake Shore High School said, “Yeah, everyone has their own important spots to work on.” Houth supports and has trust in her teammates.

Last year, some key players on the cheer team were seniors, which can really make a team struggle when they graduate and can’t play anymore. 

“Even though we lost a lot of good people, there are some new people on the team, and everyone on the team is working really hard and gaining new skills every day,” said Houth. This shows how much Houth truly trusts and respects her teammates.

The cheer team is determined to finally make it past districts. They want to go even further than that. But to do that, they need to get more team-oriented and that’s one of their goals. They are working every day towards that and are on a mission this season. They want to be remembered by their peers for what they have been able to accomplish.