Confidence
marks Squires' second season

Thursday,
January 26, 2006

By Dean
Holzwarth

The Grand Rapids Press

The building of the Calvin
Christian competitive cheer team began last season as a first-year program
with no prior experience on the mat.

But with a season under their
belts, a new-found sense of poise has been noticed by coach Lisa Sandee.

"They are incredibly more
confident than last year, especially with the returning girls," Sandee said.

"They've
become leaders this year and have been asked to set an example for the
underclassmen.

"They've upped their skills in
rounds two and three and we've included choreography points that we didn't
have last year. It's been a big change."

While the Squires remain optimistic
in their second season, a challenge has been presented in the form of nine
incoming freshmen with no competitive experience.

New to competitive cheer

"It's hard when girls come in
here because not one of them had ever cheered before -- they are brand
new," Sandee said. "Some cheered sideline
in the fall, which helped, but it's hard when you
have a group of girls on the mat for the first time."

Sandee is hoping the introduction of an
eighth- grade squad will make it easier in the future.

"We have an eighth-grade team
for the first time and that's good because next year they'll be coming in
with some experience," Sandee said. "But
this year's freshmen are doing an excellent job and they're stepping up and
filling the varsity roles.

"Some of them are in all three
rounds and others are understanding that this is
learning year."

Worked during offseason

An improvement over last season has
been made in terms of tumbling and several have made an effort in the offseason to fine-tune their skills.

"I think the biggest change
has been these girls know the importance of gymnastics in the offseason and a lot of them worked hard on their own over
the summer," Sandee said.

The Squires debuted last month at
the Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan Scholarship
Invitational at Allegan
High School.

"We wanted to get them out
early and get them some experience on the mat," she said.
"Considering it was early in the season I was very happy with their
performance. We didn't have our round three finished yet, but we were
competitive with the teams in the our
division."

Four seniors and juniors

Besides the nine freshmen, the
Squires' roster consists of four seniors, four juniors and one sophomore.

Returning are seniors Carley Canan, Sarah Hollebeek, Denise De Young and Kelli Rozeboom
and juniors Tricia De Graas, Lauren Hollebeek, Sarah Ross and Bethany Vander Laan.

Sandee is assisted this season by former
Squires cheerleaders Laura Smearman and Annette Leestma.

Calvin Christian returned to
competition Saturday after a month off and placed third in Class C at the
Holland Invitational with a three-round score of 552.7.