Gobles duo in cheerful mood

Wednesday,
January 5, 2007

By Leah
Soubly

[email-masked]
388-8400

Jaime Ehrmann
cheered for one season in eighth grade with best friend Lindsey Stinson by
her side.

When the pair entered Gobles High School, they went their separate
sporting ways. Ehrmann joined the basketball,
volleyball and track teams, while Stinson stuck to cheerleading and softball.

Now as seniors, Stinson, a
four-year varsity cheerleader, convinced Ehrmann to
try the sport again.

``This year, I was like,
`Why don't you just try it?' So, she came out and blew us away,'' said
Stinson, who began cheering in fourth grade. ``It was pretty cool.''

Their seven-year
friendship now extends onto the competitive cheer floor, where Stinson will
lead the Tigers' squad as captain and Ehrmann will
be the main flyer.

``(Ehrmann) is about 4-(foot)-9 and not afraid of
anything,'' Gobles competitive cheer coach Danielle Groth
said. ``At camp over the summer, she caught on to everything real quick.''

Stinson and Ehrmann met in the fifth grade and have remained close
since, pretty much doing everything together except playing sports.

``I love everything about
her -- her goofy personality and she's always there for me,'' Ehrmann said. ``I thought it would be fun to cheer with
her, because we have always played different sports.''

With the help of both
seniors, Gobles is hoping to improve in its second year as a Michigan High
School Athletic Association-sanctioned team. Last season, the Tigers finished
sixth at the Division 4 state finals after taking second at the regional
competition.

``When we switched from
MCCA (Michigan Cheerleading Coaches Association), we had a hard time
adjusting to the different rounds in MHSAA,'' Groth
said. ``There was a lot more tumbling involved in MHSAA and that was
something we weren't accustomed to.''

In MCCA, the teams only
compete in two rounds -- including a dancing phase -- while MHSAA competition
consists of three rounds without dancing.

``It was a bit tough, but
we definitely came out,'' Stinson said. ``We've always been good at stunting,
though.''

This year, the Tigers
welcomed 10 new faces, including Ehrmann. But Groth is familiar with many of them from former teams as
junior varsity coach last year and the middle school coach the previous two
years.

``A lot of them came from
JV, and they went to nine competitions and won seven of them last year,'' Groth said. ``We are looking forward to a good season.''