by Keegan Springer
March 5, 2024
Competitive Cheer at Hamilton High School rises as an unexpected hero in the sports world, often overlooked and unappreciated. Despite the lack of acknowledgement, the daily grind of these dedicated girls screams through the gymnasium. Throughout the extremely difficult routines of jumping, flipping and soaring, they strive to sketch their names into the recognition of all.
Embarking on the challenging start to their season, the girls faced a challenge that tested their abilities. However, as the weeks unfolded, a remarkable transformation occurred. The team’s new found skills and open spirits boosted them on a slow ascent, gradually turning the tides in their favor.
Navigating the rollercoaster of placements, ranging from 3rd to 9th. The girls were working. Working on new stunts, new flips, and new teammates. And yet throughout all these challenges, the girls managed to show a promising program for this team.
Reflecting on the season, Jennifer Lambers shared an important growth area for the team, stating “One of our most significant improvements was our commitment, as the season progressed, the team understood the importance of commitment.” This newfound dedication became an unbreakable bond, leading to the team’s success.
Addison Winsemius gave her thoughts on their season wrap up and their future as a program on the rise. She said “Our season this year seemed more like a reset for future years. We have new coaches this year and this whole season we just kept getting higher and higher scores as the team and coaches got more and more experienced and comfortable with working as a team together. I think one of the big things was how good our drive to do better got this year. The team gets overlooked by a lot of things constantly and one thing we are still trying to do and have gotten better at is putting ourselves into the community so that we can no longer be overlooked as a team and as a sport.”
As the season unfolded, the girls witnessed an outstanding uprising in their skills, as a dominant freshman team, they scavenged through the ups and downs of competitive cheerleading, adapting and thriving at this next level.