October 27, 2017 at 4:39 p.m.
Taking the mat
Cheerleaders compete Saturday
Taking the mat
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
When the Patriots were working month after month last season, they didn’t know quite what it would take to earn a trip to nationals or what to expect once they got there.
As they prepare for their first competition of the year en route to what they hope will be another trip to Orlando, Florida, much has been different.
The Jay County High School cheerleaders will begin to see the results of those changes when their 2017-18 competition season opens Saturday with the preliminary round of the Indiana Cheer Championship at Greenfield-Central.
“This group, there’s something special about them,” said Abby Champ, who shares co-coaching duties for the JCHS competition squad with Ashley Loucks. “A majority of it is because a lot of them were here last year and know how hard they worked … how far they were able to come and how much fun that could be. They’re willing to put that work in.”
That work started much differently than in previous years, with the Patriots choosing to not take part in the Indiana State Fair competition.
So, instead of hitting the mat hard during the summer in an effort to have a routine worthy of one of the top spots at the state fair but that would not be very helpful for ICC and Universal Cheerleaders Association competitions because of different scoring criteria, they were able to focus on other things. Meeting just once or twice a week, with the exception of a three-day UCA clinic in June, they targeted skill building with their eyes on improving their tumbling and stunts.
The result is a routine that the coaches call the most difficult in school history, with two-man stunts in the air at the open, more synchronized tumbling skills than in the past and a final pyramid that combines more challenging stunts at a faster pace than the Patriots have put together in the past.
“We definitely had more time to focus on every single skill and master them more than just putting a routine together really fast and then do it,” said Chelsey Blalock, a sophomore.
“We really had time to think about what we’re going to put into nationals.”
The mindset is different too.
A year ago, nationals were somewhat of a mystery. This year, with the bulk of the squad returning — only 2017 graduate Alexus Liette was lost to graduation — the competition slated for February in Orlando is a known quantity.
That’s true not only of the type of routine that would be expected to score well, but also in the level of commitment and precision it will take to be successful
The Patriots, both coaches said, have been able to focus a critical eye on their performances in an effort to improve.
That attitude was on display after their exhibition performance Oct. 14 at Bishop Dwenger. They scored well enough to win the Varsity B division and finish second overall, had they been competing.
But they looked at the routine as one that was far from their best.
“It was pretty good, but there was a lot of things we could have done better on,” said sophomore Americus Milthaler. “I think it was more nerves because of all the people that were watching us.”
In addition to the different practice schedule and different mindset, the Patriots will also take the mat Saturday with a different lineup than expected.
They will be without senior Breea Liette, who suffered an ankle injury in practice last week.
Without her, they’ll eliminate or modify some of their stunts. The beginning of the routine will involve four stunt groups instead of five. The end will feature a pyramid with three girls in the air instead of four.
Saturday’s competition begins at 10 a.m., but the Varsity B division squads won’t begin taking the mat until 5:15 p.m. Jay County is scheduled to perform its routine at 6:09 p.m., with the awards ceremony slated for 8:45 p.m.
The Patriots are looking to be one of eight schools in the division to earn a trip to New Castle for the ICC state finals Nov. 4, when they hope to have Liette back in the lineup.
But the ultimate goal remains a return trip to nationals — the Hoosier Championship qualifying competition will be Nov. 19 at Pendleton Heights — and a chance to improve on last season’s seventh-place finish there.
“Last year we went down to nationals expecting to get through maybe to semifinals and we got seventh in the nation,” said senior Nina McShane. “I think it opened everyone’s eyes to see that we could get top five if we really wanted to — if we just put our minds to it, we work hard, become really dedicated, which we have been, it’s definitely a possibility.”
All Rights Reserved
When the Patriots were working month after month last season, they didn’t know quite what it would take to earn a trip to nationals or what to expect once they got there.
As they prepare for their first competition of the year en route to what they hope will be another trip to Orlando, Florida, much has been different.
The Jay County High School cheerleaders will begin to see the results of those changes when their 2017-18 competition season opens Saturday with the preliminary round of the Indiana Cheer Championship at Greenfield-Central.
“This group, there’s something special about them,” said Abby Champ, who shares co-coaching duties for the JCHS competition squad with Ashley Loucks. “A majority of it is because a lot of them were here last year and know how hard they worked … how far they were able to come and how much fun that could be. They’re willing to put that work in.”
That work started much differently than in previous years, with the Patriots choosing to not take part in the Indiana State Fair competition.
So, instead of hitting the mat hard during the summer in an effort to have a routine worthy of one of the top spots at the state fair but that would not be very helpful for ICC and Universal Cheerleaders Association competitions because of different scoring criteria, they were able to focus on other things. Meeting just once or twice a week, with the exception of a three-day UCA clinic in June, they targeted skill building with their eyes on improving their tumbling and stunts.
The result is a routine that the coaches call the most difficult in school history, with two-man stunts in the air at the open, more synchronized tumbling skills than in the past and a final pyramid that combines more challenging stunts at a faster pace than the Patriots have put together in the past.
“We definitely had more time to focus on every single skill and master them more than just putting a routine together really fast and then do it,” said Chelsey Blalock, a sophomore.
“We really had time to think about what we’re going to put into nationals.”
The mindset is different too.
A year ago, nationals were somewhat of a mystery. This year, with the bulk of the squad returning — only 2017 graduate Alexus Liette was lost to graduation — the competition slated for February in Orlando is a known quantity.
That’s true not only of the type of routine that would be expected to score well, but also in the level of commitment and precision it will take to be successful
The Patriots, both coaches said, have been able to focus a critical eye on their performances in an effort to improve.
That attitude was on display after their exhibition performance Oct. 14 at Bishop Dwenger. They scored well enough to win the Varsity B division and finish second overall, had they been competing.
But they looked at the routine as one that was far from their best.
“It was pretty good, but there was a lot of things we could have done better on,” said sophomore Americus Milthaler. “I think it was more nerves because of all the people that were watching us.”
In addition to the different practice schedule and different mindset, the Patriots will also take the mat Saturday with a different lineup than expected.
They will be without senior Breea Liette, who suffered an ankle injury in practice last week.
Without her, they’ll eliminate or modify some of their stunts. The beginning of the routine will involve four stunt groups instead of five. The end will feature a pyramid with three girls in the air instead of four.
Saturday’s competition begins at 10 a.m., but the Varsity B division squads won’t begin taking the mat until 5:15 p.m. Jay County is scheduled to perform its routine at 6:09 p.m., with the awards ceremony slated for 8:45 p.m.
The Patriots are looking to be one of eight schools in the division to earn a trip to New Castle for the ICC state finals Nov. 4, when they hope to have Liette back in the lineup.
But the ultimate goal remains a return trip to nationals — the Hoosier Championship qualifying competition will be Nov. 19 at Pendleton Heights — and a chance to improve on last season’s seventh-place finish there.
“Last year we went down to nationals expecting to get through maybe to semifinals and we got seventh in the nation,” said senior Nina McShane. “I think it opened everyone’s eyes to see that we could get top five if we really wanted to — if we just put our minds to it, we work hard, become really dedicated, which we have been, it’s definitely a possibility.”
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