Lakeland
cheer team builds confidence through competitions

Originally published January 18, 2007

By Patrick Pinter

SPORTS WRITER

For Lakeland senior Jordan Reagan, cheerleading
has always been a lot of fun, but at the same time it is also something that
has not been viewed as much of a serious sport by her peers at school.

During the last two
years, though, her and a group of 17 other girls
have done as much possible to erase that preconceived notion at Lakeland High School.

"Now
people are excited to see us perform," said Reagan. "The community
and school have shown a lot of support."

This year the
Eagles have fielded their first varsity competitive cheer team and so far it
is safe to say that they have been fairly successful in accomplishing their
goal.

"Before
we started this team the girls were almost afraid to get up in front of the
bleachers at events," said head cheerleading coach Sheila Sizen. "Now the girls have so much more confidence
along with having a lot more support from the school."

Two years ago
when Sizen took over the program, the team
consisted of 12 girls who cheered at school sporting events. Getting girls to
attend practices and events was a daily battle. Many treated the team with a
'come when you feel like it attitude'.

"The
hardest thing was breaking the mindset of the girls," said Sizen. "It was hard to get the girls to take it
seriously. "In the past I was a volleyball
coach, and I was use to having my athletes being serious."

In just two
years Sizen has seen a complete turnaround in how
the girls approach cheerleading. She no longer has to take attendance at
practices or check on girls to make sure they are working hard outside of the
gym.

"I don't
even have to take attendance anymore. These girls really want to
improve," said Sizen. "They are super
dedicated."

How serious
the sports is treated at Lakeland is evident in how many girls tried
out for this years squad.

"Two
years ago when I started we had 12 girls," said Sizen.
"This year we had over 78 girls come to tryouts. I told them at the
beginning that to be a competitive team they had to be serious. Since then
the girls have worked really hard and they have been great to work
with."

The idea of
having a competitive cheer team at Lakeland
took shape almost two years ago when Sizen took
over the program. Before the beginning of the season the team sat down in
order to make a decision about stepping up to the competitive level.

"We all
sat down at the beginning of the season and decided that we didn't want to
blow off our senior year," said Reagan. "We wanted to work hard,
represent our school and be a great competitive cheer team."

Sizen admits that the decision to be become a competitive cheer
team would never been possible without the help and support of athletic
director Scott Rolando and the Lakeland
community.

"There is
no way this would have been possible without all the support we have
received," said Sizen. "You go to all
these competitions and hear other coaches complain about their athletic
directors and the lack of support they have, for us it is the completely
opposite."

Sizen, who up until taking over the Lakeland team had never
been a cheerleading coach or involved in cheerleading, wanted to be a role
model for young girls. What better way she though then taking over the head
coaching spot for the Eagles cheer team.

"I really
have a passion for helping young kids," said Sizen.
"Especially for teenage girls. This is a hard stage in life, and I want
to be a role model for them in which they can come to with their problems
even outside of sports."

Lakeland is competing in the
Kensington Valley Conference and just last week hosted its first ever
competition.

"I really
didn't know what to expect. I was a little nervous because of the pressure on
us to get everything ready, and I think the girls were a little bit
also," said Sizen. "During the
competition though the girls were very poised and confident. They hit all their stunts."