Titans keep to themselves

Friday, March 6, 2009

By Jim Evans, Journal Register
News Service

The Cone of Silence.

Can you buy that device in bulk? You know, the one made famous by Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart of "Get Smart" movie
fame a couple of years ago.

Stevenson cheerleading coach Brianna Lupu
definitely has a use for those sensory deprivation items.

It is important for Lupu to keep her athletes
sequestered until it is time for them to perform.

"We
do not watch anyone else's routines. We do not know what anyone else's scores
are. I want the girls to focus totally on our team and what we do. I do not
want them worrying about other teams."

The Titans typically arrive at a competition, get
briefly acclimated to the venue, politely stay put for the team introductions
and the national anthem and then immediately exit stage right. They go to a waiting
area, be it a room or an adjacent

hallway.

"A lot of coaches allow their teams to watch. For us, we spend that time
focusing on what we need to do," said Lupu.

There is nothing typical about this weekend. The Stevenson squad will be
competing in its second Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1
Competitive Cheer Finals at the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids.

Only eight Division 1 teams in the state make it to the Finals. Joining the
Titans are East
Kentwood,
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, Holland West Ottawa, Southgate Anderson,
Grandville, Lake Orion and Rochester.

Grandville is the reigning Division 1 champion. Rochester, however, remains the dominant
presence in the division. Rochester has won 11 times since the
championship was instituted 1n 1994. Grandville, the only other team that has
taken the title, has won it four times.

Stevenson finished ninth last year.

"Last year our goal was just getting to the state finals," said Lupu. "When we walked into the arena, they were like
little kids in a candy store. They could not believe we had made it there.
This year, the older girls know what to expect. They have prepared their
younger teammates. They also know they deserve to be there. They all have
worked hard to make it."

Competitive cheerleaders practice just as hard as most other athletes, and
harder than many.

Most of the Stevenson girls were also involved in sideline cheering during
the football season. That means there have been no breaks for them since
August.

Once the competitive cheer season gets under way in November, practice is
held five or six days a week for up to three hours per session.

In December, it slows only slightly to four or five days a week. Those
practices include a gymnastics session once a week.

Coach Lupu knows all about the hard work involved
in excelling at her sport. She was a cheerleader at Ford, where she was also
involved in a multitude of clubs like Student Council and National Honor
Society.

She went to the University of Michigan, where she was a cheerleader all
four years. She captained the squad her junior and senior years.

Lupu is now a physical education instructor at Schwarzkoff Elementary School.

"It's the best job ever," said Lupu.
"I love it."

She was not just referring to her role as a teacher, either. She really
enjoys coaching the competitive cheer team. Her four captains are seniors
Danielle Crosse, Sara Cornelli and Rachel Galecki; and junior Brianna Hogan.

The Stevenson squad will board at bus at 10 a.m., today. The state finals get under
way at 9 a.m., Saturday.

"I just want the girls to walk off the mat on Saturday knowing they did
their very best," said the coach. "Whatever place we take, if they
can look at each other and say we did everything we could, then I'll be
satisfied."

Perfectly choreographed exuberance emerging from the Cone of Silence. Even
Agent 99 would be impressed.