When senior Azora Parks got ready for the winter season, she never expected to be part of the competitive cheer team. However, through convincing from both the team leader Olyvia Hoard, and competitive cheer coach Sarah Steinkraus, she became part of a team she would grow to love and cherish for the rest of her school year.

The competitive cheer tryouts were on November 6th and many girls tried out including Parks. 

This is her first season trying out competitive cheer and she’s already doing better than she initially expected.         

“I went into cheerleading because I wanted to try something new and I’m glad I did,” Parks said.                                                                                                                                                                                             

This year’s competitive cheer coach, Sara Steinkraus, has coached competitive varsity cheer for six years. She has 13 girls on her team, two new, nine returning, and two with no prior experience.  

Coach Sara Steinkraus expressed her excitement and curiosity about this year’s competitive cheer season. 

“Our season started Nov 6th and we are off to a great start. Within the first week we have achieved multiple new stunts and new tumbles which will definitely impact this season with higher scores, ” Steinkraus said. 

Along with getting off with a great start, the girls put in a significant amount of dedication and hard work. 

“My goal this season is to see this team bond together and bring in some high scores. We continue to grow every year but this year the growth is coming at the beginning of the season, which is very encouraging that they will accomplish great things throughout the season,” Steinkraus said. 

Some of the girls on the team are returning from last year’s season. One of those girls is junior Alayna Adkins. Alayna has done competitive cheer since freshman grade and is delighted for this upcoming season. 

“I am really excited to see all the growth of all the girls this year,” Adkins said. 

Alayna will not be cheering with the team this year and instead will be helping her coach, Sara Steinkraus, with all the responsibilities of the team. 

“I am hoping that we can get all 13 of our girls on the mat this season. I think that this season will be the best season that we’ve had since I’ve been on the team,” Adkins said. 

This year’s season looks positive, as they have many girls on the team who work hard and put in their best effort to make the team a great place to cheer. 

The competitive cheer team’s second competition will take place on Saturday, December 16th. This competition will take place at Onsted High School where there will be 12 other schools competing along with Stockbridge.