Past coach
cheerful again with Holland Christian

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

By
Steve Kaminski

The Grand Rapids Press

Holland Christian High School's competitive cheer team will
have a familiar face on the sidelines this year, though she does bring a new
twist.

Elizabeth Cunningham coached the Maroons to a Division 2 state championship
in 2007 before stepping down. She pursued a new challenge while staying in
the sport as a Michigan High School Athletic Association official.

Cunningham has returned to co-coach the Maroons this winter with Darlene Draisma, and she said the experience as an official will
pay off.

"Oh sure, I think it will make me a better coach," Cunningham said.
"I learned a lot and learned more about the score sheet and what judges
are looking for in choreograph material. It was a fun experience, but I'm
excited to be coaching again.

"I trained for it, and I got a lot of experience judging. Now that I'm
back coaching, it gives me a whole other way of looking at it. I can now
bring that to my coaching."

The Maroons will open the season Jan. 17 at Byron Center. Holland Christian, which
competes in the O-K Green Conference, introduced competitive cheer in 2003,
and the Maroons have won the league championship every season except their
inaugural year.

Holland Christian has had one of the state's premier programs throughout the
decade. The Maroons finished second in the state in 2004 and 2005 and third
in 2006 before winning it all in 2007. The Maroons feature 15 cheerleaders,
and one of the Maroons' goals is to make it back to state. They missed the
cut earlier this year.

"We are coaches with high expectations," Cunningham said. "We
will work hard and we will push them, and we are looking forward to a good
season. But we just want to try to do the best that we can."

The Maroons return three seniors who were members of Holland Christian's
state championship team two years ago -- Katelyn VerHage,
Brittani Slenk and Kelly Marsman.

"They are all going to play crucial roles," Cunningham said.

Holland Christian will compete in Division 3 this year, and Cunningham said
the rules have changed a bit.

"The score sheets will be different in round 1 and round 2," she
said. "Before, you could get 5s, 5.5s and 6s. But, now, they are all
scored to one-tenth of a point, and that means every meet is going to be a
little closer."

Holland Christian

Coaches: Elizabeth
Cunningham, fourth year; Darlene Draisma,
second year

Conference: O-K Green

2007-08: The Maroons won
their fifth consecutive conference championship and finished sixth at regionals.

Top returners: Seniors
Katelyn VerHage, Brittani Slenk
and Kelly Marsman competed on Holland
Christian's 2007 state championship team.

Outlook: The Maroons finished
in the top three at the state meet for four consecutive years before
missing the cut at the regional level last season. With three returners
from the 2007 team, Holland Christian is hopeful it can make it back to
the finals.

Coach's comment: "The
sport of competitive cheer is becoming more and more advanced. There are
a lot of great teams throughout the state, and there is a lot of great
competition," Cunningham said.

Key date: Jan. 24, Holland
Christian Invitational