Belding
competitive cheer, Stevens aim high

Tuesday,
December 11, 2007

By Chad Simcox

The Grand Rapids Press

Belding competitive cheerleader
Brianna Stevens is a flyer.

She is the one who gets tossed in
the air and hopes for a safe and soft landing. It's a position that requires
balance -- and trust in your bases.

"It's kind of scary, but it's
also a lot of fun," Stevens said. "You really have to trust your
teammates. I have two friends underneath me, and I'm really comfortable with
them."

Stevens, a 5-foot-2 junior, joined
the squad as a freshman. Two of her best friends, Amie Venneman
and Sheree Nieto, also signed up for the team that
year.

The trio, who is looking to lead
Belding out of the O-K Silver Conference's cellar, has been friends since
kindergarten.

"It's good because we're so
used to being together," Venneman said. "We
really help each other out."

Venneman, a junior, does stunting for the
team. Her job is to lift the flyer in the air.

Nieto also does stunting. Although
it might not be as glamorous as flying, she knows how important her role is
to the team.

"It's important for us to
stick together," Nieto said. "We encourage and motivate each other
to reach our goals."

One of those goals is to help make
Belding's competitive cheer team a force.

"I hope we do good," Nieto said. "We faded last year. We need
to keep the momentum up this year."

That, coach Stacy Venneman said, almost certainly will spell success for
next season, too.

"We'll potentially have seven
returning seniors," said Venneman, who has
guided the team the past two seasons and is Amie's mother. "We'll also
have a large group coming up. We're very excited about next year."

"I can't say enough about
Amie, Sheree and Brianna. They help everyone and do
a great job."

Stevens said she is excited about
the future and optimistic about the present.

"We'll do pretty good this year," she said. "We have experience
now. I know we can count on each other to get where we want to go."

Competitive cheer

Coach: Stacy Venneman

Conference: O-K Silver

2006-07: Last in the O-K Blue

Top returners: Juniors Amie Venneman, Sheree Nieto and
Brianna Stevens

Outlook: The program hopes
the conference switch helps it be more competitive.

Coach's comment: "We
have no seniors, but seven juniors and one freshman. Our JV team is also
very large. We're excited about the improving numbers and optimistic
we'll continue to get better."

Key date: Belding
invitational on Jan. 16