HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – As the sun went down on the Hopkinsville High School practice football field, head cheerleading coach Kaleigh Stout was working with the squad to rearrange, perfect lifts, and figure out the logistics of creating choreography that will allow them to shine on the field and the competition mat.
“It is very physically demanding, running the football field, and doing a three-minute routine,” said Kenady Gray, and senior who just joined the team this year. “We always bond, and even if we go through tough times we always come back together,” added McKenzie Williamson also a senior on the squad.
Counts, cadences, screams, and cheers could be heard from the other side of the school as 18 smiling students pushed through a repetitive and physically demanding practice. Ahead of football season, they would practice a couple of times a week, but to really focus their skills for competition season, that is bumped up to three or four times.
“There’s not a lot of down time but it’s fun,” Stout told Christian County Now. This is her third season with the team, after briefly leaving to focus on her family. She is back, fully energized, and utilizing her prior experiences as an HHS cheerleader to inspire the squad. She highly praised the squad’s dedication to the team, and bonds they have created during practice.
Competition prep
When she first joined as coach, Stout helped bring back the competitive aspect of the sport at HHS which had not been part of the program since 2008. She shared that adding this element allows the students to really show off and be rewarded for their hard work saying, “The competition atmosphere is truly unmatched. You go to sporting events, and you see those fans, but cheerleading fans are even more fun because they are cheering on the cheerleaders.”
As of Nov. 18, the squad only had one competition under their belt for the season. Stout said they finished in the top half, and she is excited to see how they will continue to progress as they shake of the jitters and continue to excel.
“The adrenaline is definitely high, you’re only in your head and whenever you get out on that mat it’s like the whole world goes silent,” said senior Alyssa Meyer. “It’s really just something that nothing else can compare to.”
Stout clarified that they compete in the Game Day division, which she says really gets back to the roots of what cheerleading is. The squad does a band chant, offensive or defensive cheers, and crowd cheers and fight song. While it is not the crazy stunts portrayed in the media, it still requires an immense amount of physical ability and skill.
Kaylea Piercy, a senior on the squad that is mastering impressive lifts said, “It’s scary, but I just have to trust the people underneath me and know that if I was to fall, they would catch me.”
As competition season heats up, Stout is hoping they will have the opportunity to compete at Disney World in February. Amidst this hectic period, the squad is also transitioning into the busy basketball season. She encourages people to come out to local games to cheer on the team, so they can transfer that energy into competitions. Paws up!
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