Believe

Extremely talented and bright North Middle School students gather in Central Academy gymnasium to practice. Some are injured with stubbed toes, mashed fingers, and bruised muscles, but they push through and practice anyway. They refuse to let anything get in the way of achieving their goals.

North Nation has 36 cheerleaders and 25 will take the mat. So far this year, they have competed for Universal Cheer Association (UCA), and won at Kentucky Association of Pep Organization Sponsors (KAPOS) regionals. At state, they competed against 16 other teams and placed 4th. The top four teams’ scores were very close, and now it is time for them to focus on the UCA National Competition in February at Disney. They will be the first Henderson middle school to ever attend, and the only team to go since 2012.

“UCA is the most pristine competition there is, and we will be going against over 30 teams. It is very hard to make the finals. That’s why we really need to get the stunts and routine perfect,” Erin Williams, North Middle School Head Cheer Coach explains.

Haven Schwartz, the newest member to the team adds, “It’s hard at times, but a good experience. The second day of tryouts I fractured my hip, but I pushed through tryouts and made it. We’ve got a good chance at winning, we just need to practice more and become more confident about our abilities.”

Erin states she treats the kids as if they were her own. Many stay with her if their parents are out of town. They often get together on the weekends to have pizza and watch cheer videos when they’re not practicing. “We do practice a lot, probably more than other teams, but we also focus on homework. We do homework before and after games and practices. I also keep a close eye on them and monitor their social media to make sure everyone is where they need to be.”

Kendall Ralph has practiced gymnastics, dance, and tumbling, but she enjoys cheer the most because of the social aspect. “I’ve been in cheer for three years now and cheerleading is just more fun. I like coming together as a group and being a team,” she adds.

Journey McElroy and Peggy Shultz have both been in cheer since the fourth grade, and they also like hanging out with the team and getting to learn new things like back handspring tucks and standing tucks. They both agree a positive attitude during practices will help alleviate some of the stress and pressure they’re under at the moment. Peggy adds, “If you want to achieve your dreams, work hard and never give up.”

It is very expensive to send the cheerleaders to competitions. Fundraising is done throughout the year to help offset the cost, but it still requires each parent to pay a great deal of money to send their child.

“Some parents have more than one child on the team, and the average cost is over $800 for each child to go. So, if anyone would like to donate or help sponsor North Nation, please contact North Middle School. We welcome community partners,” explains Cindy Williams, Henderson County Schools Public Relations Officer and North Middle School Assistant Cheer Coach.