Competitive cheer gets ready to hit the mat

As Milford cheerleaders put away their poms and say goodbye to Friday Night Lights, out come the mats and the long practices. With sideline cheer coming to an end, it’s time for Milford High School cheerleaders to take it to the floor and give it their all.

After three days of tryouts, competitive cheer is getting started right away. For three days, coaches observed the girls as they showcased their best tumbling, splits, and jumps. In addition to skills, the girls also learned and tried out with a 10-count of motions. This season, there will be only one team consisting of 16 girls which is different from the previous year of a varsity and JV team.

For the next four months, Milford cheer will be perfecting three routines, or rounds, to compete with. Round one is a complicated flat-cheer that involves sharp motions and different formations that focus the team’s precision. Round two, however, includes the 10-count of motions from tryouts and is a uniform cheer that every cheerleader does the same so judges can evaluate team cohesion. During round two, different skills, such as jumps, tumbling, and splits are executed. Round three includes just a little bit of everything and is heavy on stunting and tumbling.

Last year, Milford cheer finished 5th in the West Division Lakes Conference; however, team members expect that to change. “This year, we’re the best we have been. Ever!” revealed senior Bre Marsh.

In previous years, Milford cheer’s most complicated skill implemented into their round two was team back-handsprings, but this year they’re stepping up their game and challenging themselves. Senior Riley Simlar, who’s been a varsity cheerleader since her freshmen year, explained that all the hard work over the past three years is finally starting to pay off.

“Our team’s more talented than ever and we’re really excited to finally put team tucks into round two,” said Simlar. “After going to gymnastics once a week for three years, we’re finally getting stronger and building up more stamina to be physically capable of the routines now.”

The idea of having team tucks is exhilarating to just about everyone on the team. “Having team tucks is something Milford cheer has never had and it’s exciting that we’re finally there,” explained Marsh.

When it comes to competitions, Milford cheer hopes to see scores better than ever this year. “Although you’re competing against other schools, at the end of the day our biggest competitor is ourselves,” admitted sophomore Grace Hasley. “Ultimately, it’s just about getting better scores after each competition.”

A majority of the competitions Milford attends are quad meets, which means there’s three other teams to compete against. Marsh predicts to see better performances at quad meets and maybe even a few wins overall.

Luckily, Marsh’s teammates agree that they think they’re going to score better. “I have confidence that this is the year Milford cheer shows what they’ve got.” Simlar said.

Even after the season ends, the legacy of Milford cheer will continue on and get even stronger. “We’ve improved so much since my sophomore year and that was only two years ago,” said Marsh. “It can only get better.”

When it comes to talent on the team, a majority of it consists of underclassmen who will help lay down the foundation for Milford cheer. “Our freshmen are amazing,” Simlar stated. For the freshmen and sophomores on the team, their time as a Milford cheerleader is just beginning. Sophomore Mattie Sakalian is excited to see the program grow as she goes through high school.

“Last year, I only had a backwalkover and now I already have my backhandspring and I’m getting closer to my tuck,” explained Sakalian. “It’s crazy to think of how good we’ll be by the time I’m a senior.”

Milford cheer takes the mat for the first time this season on Dec 17 and ends the season at the KLAA competition in February. Excitingly, Milford cheer will be holding its very own invitational meet on Jan. 7 with hopes to see Mavericks there showing support and seeing what Milford competitive cheer is all about.