With fall sports up and running again, the cheerleading team looks to have one of their best seasons to date. Led by new head coach Evva Starr and senior captains Jamie Morris, Lizzy Jack, Yael Rosen and Nicole Wasserman the cheerleading team is ready for a successful year. 

Last year due to Covid-19, in-person sports were cancelled until late spring 2021. The varsity cheerleading team was not able to have a true in-person season last year and instead had an online virtual season. Since they were online, they were unable to compete in any competitions or perform at any sporting events. 

This year, with school back in-person, all fall sports are in full form. The cheerleading team is again on the sidelines for all varsity football games, along with all other varsity sports, to cheer them on. The first varsity football game was on Sept. 4 at home against Gaithersburg, and the cheerleaders encouraged the football team throughout the game. They also played a huge role in getting the crowd to cheer loudly and helping varsity football get their first win of the season. “The cheerleading team does a great job cheering during the football games no matter if we are winning or losing. They really give us motivation while we’re out on the field playing,” junior Devlin McCarthy said.

Before school and sports seasons had begun, the cheerleading team held summer clinics back in August to prepare for the upcoming season. This helped the team learn new cheers and dances that will be impactful during the season. “I am so happy about this season. This year we have a really talented team and we get to cheer for all the sports teams. I am thrilled to be back in person,” senior captain Lizzy Jack said. 

The cheerleading team also has bonding events to form chemistry with all the members of the team, as they need to be in sync during the cheers. They have practices in the fall four days a week and then perform at the football games on Friday, in addition to cheering at other home varsity games for boys’ and girls’ soccer, field hockey, girls’ volleyball and cross country. 

The last competition the cheerleading team competed in was back in November 2019, close to two years ago. For the seniors it will be their final year, so they want to make sure that the team will be ready for when the competitions happen again. “It’s been a while since I last competed in a cheer competition, so I can’t wait to get back out there and compete with this amazing team we have,” junior Josie Starr said.