They’re No. 1

Competitive cheer is fastest growing girls
sport; MHSAA adds district tournament

By Sue Teggart

C & G Sports Writer

Photo by Patricia O’Blenes

Rochester High junior Holly Vizzaccero takes
flight as her teammates prepare for a soft landing Dec. 29. The Rochester cheer team holds the MHSAA
record with 11 state championships.

Since 1994, the year
the Michigan High School Athletic Association began sanctioning competitive cheerleading, Rochester High has ruled the record book.

The Oakland Activities
Association powerhouse has won 11 times in 15 seasons; Grandville High is
second with four state crowns, including last season when it edged Rochester by just 2.5 points.

These two teams
represent the best of more than 300 prep squads that have joined the ranks in
the MHSAA.

And though Rochester
High rules the roost, the influx of more teams, more talented teams, has
stiffened the competition.

“The gap has
gotten narrower … it takes a lot more to set yourself apart,”
said Rochester High coach Susan Wood.

Time for a change

One
of the reasons for the increase of teams and talent was because the MHSAA
passed a rule in 2004 that mandated all member schools whose cheer teams
wished to compete at all must do so under MHSAA rules. The MHSAA gave teams
two years to make the switch.

Up until that time,
cheer teams were split between competing under the Michigan Cheer Coaches
Association — which focused mainly on difficult routines accompanied by
music — and the MHSAA, which requires more technical skills.

“Over the last
three years, the entire state is competing the same way,” Utica
Stevenson coach Brianna Lupu said. “The state
was split in half, with some competing under MHSAA style, like Rochester’s team, while
the MAC (Macomb Area Conference) schools competed under MCCA.”

“In the OAA,
this style (MHSAA) is so ingrained,” said Nicole Smith, Bloomfield
Hills Lahser’s coach and a former cheerleader
at Utica Ford II.  “In MCCA, it was really about the difficulty
and how well you performed that. But in MHSAA, it’s more about …
how tight it looks. We had to work really hard to switch over.”

Lupu said although it took
some time for her squad to adjust to the MHSAA’s
rules, the bigger challenge was selling the girls on it.

“We had to
convince the girls that (cheerleading) was moving in the right
direction,” Lupu said. “We just
embraced the change.”

Growing up

Since
2001, the number of MHSAA competitive cheer teams has more than doubled
— growing from 148 to 326 — and participation has soared from
4,063 to 7,381, making it the fastest growing girls sport.

“The growth of girls competitive cheer has been phenomenal,” MHSAA
Communications Director John Johnson said. “No other sport has shown
such explosive growth.”

Troy Athens coach
Stephanie Brosky, whose program has reached the
state finals three times (2008, 2004 and 1998), said she thinks the key to success
is incorporating high-point skills into routines.

“Even in the 13
years that I’ve been coaching at Athens, we’ve seen
tremendous growth,” Brosky said. “The
athletes keep getting better, and the skills keep getting more and more
difficult. Everyone keeps pushing the envelope.”

With the bar raised talentwise, squads also need to concentrate on clean
routines to gain ground.

“A lot of it has
to be done perfectly,” Wood said. “We take the time to look
better doing our performance. Your skills mean nothing if they’re not
synchronized.”

Tournament time

As a
result of the tremendous growth in cheerleading, the MHSAA has introduced a
district round to its state tournament.

“Every year, we
see more and more (schools) add competitive cheer teams, and this year has
been no exception,” Johnson said. “We’ve had to respond to
that growth this year.”

In districts, as in regionals, teams will compete in three rounds to
determine a champion.

The top four teams
from each district will qualify for regionals. With
only the top district teams advancing to regionals,
it means the number of teams in each region will be far fewer.

Adding a district
round also elevates the status of teams that make it to regionals,
just as it does for other girls teams, such as
basketball and volleyball.

“I think
it’s really good for the sport and shows that the sport is
growing,” Brosky said regarding adding
districts.

“You’re
really going to have your top eight teams at the state finals,” Lupu said. “It’s allowing the better teams to
thrive.”

Johnson said that no
other girls sport can top competitive cheer for attendance on championship
day. Last year, the cheer finals passed the girls basketball finals and took
over the top spot.