Grand Blanc cheerleaders get competitive

GRAND
BLANC

THE
GRAND BLANC NEWS

Sunday,
January 30, 2005By Dean Howe

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• 810.766.6392

Like their counterparts
in football, basketball and other sports, cheerleaders are competitors.
Graceful and synchronized, yes, but fierce competitors.

"We have four
competitions to reach the state finals," said Grand Blanc
High School
cheerleading coach Anne Cox. "We've created some new routines this year.
We try to change everything every year. What works best should help us in the
future."

On Saturday, the Bobcats
will compete in their own Bobcat Cheer Classic against 28 other area squads.

The event is being
coordinated by Bonnie Koenig, who for 17 years was Bobcats cheerleading
coach. It will be the first of four competitions to qualify for the state
finals at Saginaw
Valley State
University the first
weekend in March.

Grand Blanc's varsity
cheerleading squad includes 16 girls. They are seniors Natalie Archambault, Brittany Fitch, Rachel LaHaie
and Katie Wagner; juniors Valerie Connor, Jill Hayes, Deanna Kossaras, Allison Middleton, Jacqui Odegard,
Tiffany Pillow, Shevera Smith, Liz Sopha, Lauren South and Cassie Wightman and sophomores
Helena Hunt and Autumn Moses.

Jennie Gould, a former
cheerleader at Grand Blanc, is assistant varsity coach.

Grand Blanc also has
cheerleading squads at the junior varsity and middle school levels.

"I think we've
definitely helped inspire the crowds at our games with these girls,"
said Cox, herself a former Grand Blanc cheerleader who's in her first season
as coach. "We've had a good response. We make that one of our top goals
to get the fans involved. It helps to have good football and basketball
teams, and we've had that this year, too."

The veteran cheerleaders
are involved in their sport all year.

"We go to camps in the
summertime to get ready for football," said LaHaie.
"It definitely helps. We want to get better because we want to qualify
for the state meet."

Grand Blanc reached that
goal last year and finished 27th out of 30 teams in the Michigan Cheerleading
Coaches Association tournament at Saginaw
Valley State.

That is one of two state
titles cheerleaders can compete for. It's called the sideline portion. The
Michigan High School Athletic Association hosts a state
finals in Grand Rapids.

"We'd like to do
better this year," said Archambault. "I
think we're better this season. Gradually, each year, you get better. But we
want to impress the (four) judges. We have two routines, at six minutes
each."

With many twisting,
turning athletic moves, there's a possibility of injury.

"We meet with the
parents before the season begins and tell them that (injury) is a
possibility," said Cox. "But we are very safety conscious. We won't
make unnecessary or dangerous movements."

Some moves, such as
piling bodies on top of each other in pyramid form, have been made illegal.

"Almost everybody on
the team will hurt an ankle or wrist at one time or another but nothing real
serious," said Archambault. "A lot of
people seem to think cheerleading isn't a sport.

"But we're
athletes.''

"We work out all
year and try to be in the best shape we can be."

© 2005 Flint Journal. Used
with permission

Copyright 2005 Michigan Live. All
Rights Reserved.