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published: Wednesday, February 01, 2012

APMS cheerleaders headed to nationals

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

AVON PARK -- Cheerleaders are athletes. Not only do they execute runs of forward flips and back flips, lift, spin and catch one another high in the air, they have to have the stamina to complete the two rounds of a non-stop 21/2-minute routine.

Degree of difficulty, as well as execution, is part of the score.

Cheerleaders are teams, their work based on trust, communication and practice, practice, practice.

To rise to the top tiers in competition, cheerleader teams have to be synchronized, precise, tight and clean in all their movements, both as individuals and a group.

It is rare to get this kind of discipline and attention to detail at the middle school level -- particularly because so many of the young athletes are still beginners.

This is why the cheer team at Avon Park Middle School is newsworthy. It is headed to the nationals competition in Orlando.

The team earned its way to the nationals by winning the Central Florida Regionals. They followed that by a win at the "Showdown at 'O' Town" (Orlando) in December.

Their coach, physical education teacher Erin Goudge, explained that a team has to accumulate a certain score to earn a bid to compete.

Last year the team accomplished that, but decided not to perform at the national level until they were better prepared and had a real chance to win. Nine of this year's 14-girl team were a part of that group, and they were determined to raise their level of performance in order to win this year.

"They set a goal last year," Goudge said. "They had it in their minds. It was a group decision. The five (new) girls stepped up."

Goudge watched the team warm up. "These are good kids," she said. "They are very good about really, really working. They eat, breath and sleep cheerleading, working 10 to 15 hours a week after school."

In addition they attend open gym at the Edge Cheer Center in Sebring twice a week, summer camps and practice at home.

Erica Douberley, whose daughter is a member of the team, has respect for the way Goudge works with the girls. "She's strict. When they get tired, she keeps them going," Douberley said. The girls, she added, have to maintain their grade point average and have no referrals. "It keeps them out of trouble."

Out on the mats, Goudge was critiquing the team's movements as the young athletes practiced their routine.

"Legs have to be together all the time," she called out. "No slop, nice and tight. Pop your motions clean and hard. Don't you dare move until the count of two, possibly three. When in the cradle, use your abs to keep her up. Be cleaner, sharper. Do it again, do it again."

Taking a short break, the girls spoke with a visitor.

"We were friends before cheer," said Mequela Bogle,14, who has been cheering for about a year. "Now this is my second family. Coach works us hard. It can frustrating, and sometimes we think we can't do it, but she always convinces us to do the impossible."

"We're feisty," said Ri'coby Jefferson, 14. "Boys can't do what we do."

"The stunting (creating pyramids) is risky, because you can get hit in the face," added Alyssa Cloud, 14. "It's intense."

Alley McSorley,14, one of the veteran team members, broke her arm doing a back hand spring shortly before the team's Showdown competition. The freak accident shook the girls. "It looked like she had two elbows," said one.

"We only had 10 days to change our routines and regain our trust," Alyssa said.

"But it brought us closer together as a team," Ri'coby said. The surrounding team mates nodding in agreement. In fact, they went on to win the competition.

They seemed calm about going to nationals.

Kaitlyn Whitman, 14, said the key was "not getting overwhelmed when we see the other teams, not being intimidated."

"We're going to do what we have to do," said Jaden Hancock, 13, as the team formed up once more.

"It's time for toe touches," Goudge called out to a chorus of groans, and the girls began leaping off the mat, fingers reaching to their toes in mid-air.

SHS still dominates

The Avon Park Middle School cheer team is not the only Highlands County group going to the Universal Cheerleading Association's national competition in February.

Sebring High School's co-ed, 26-member team is going too.

This will not be a new experience for the SHS members, however. Sebring cheerleaders have won the state competition the last four years in a row, and they've been finishing in the top 10 nationally for as many years.