Their time spent in the spotlight has ended. Pom-poms glittering in the light as they finish their routine, breathless and waiting for the final notes of the music to fade away. The Spartan 2019 cheer season has come to a close. 

“We cheer at all the football games. Since the football team went to the playoffs this year, we cheered at 12 games. At the end of October, we began cheer competitions. This year we competed in the Midsouth Regional Competition and placed second,” Jillian Maxwell (11) said. 

The 2019 Season brought one large change for the Spartan Cheerteam: the addition of Chelsea Snell as the new head coach. Snell also coaches at White Station Middle School and has pushed the high school girls to perform a more challenging routine than ever before. 

“Our new coach is definitely more experienced in cheerleading and coaching in general. So our skill sets have gone way up and our stunts一which means when we lift the girl up一has improved. Having a coach who really knows cheerleading is a big improvement,” Maxwell said. 

The cheer team is now entering their off season before tryouts in April. They plan to spend their time celebrating the five seniors and preparing for the new additions. 

 “In competitive cheer, it is very important that you are bonded and connected with your teammates because when people are literally in your hands, it doesn’t work without communication. So the dynamics completely change when new people are on the team or old members don’t return,” Maxwell said. 

In addition to hyping up the student section and performing at competitions, the cheerleaders have learned a valuable lesson from their demanding sport. 

“Cheerleading has made me a more well rounded. It has helped me improve my social skills, communication skills and time management skills,” Gabby Harrison (11) said.