Starting off the new semester means the Rock Island Competition Cheer Team starts to compete! This team is different from just the traditional sideline cheer that everyone sees at basketball and football games here at Rock Island High School. This team travels to competitions every Saturday in January, with one competition in February. Sometimes, they even have to compete back to back on Saturday and Sunday. The competition routine includes a cheer following a hard jump sequence, while then going into extreme stunts visitors wouldn’t see at games. After the stunts and pyramids, they do a dance sequence that ends the routine strong. All of this the team choreographs by themselves with the coaches, along with the help of a choreographer.
Athletes Isaac Perez and Emma Tollefson have been on the Competition Team their whole Rock Island Cheer career. This is Isaac’s fourth and Emma’s third year. Isaac Perez talked about her senior year, and how it is going to be the end of a chapter. She explained that “Going into my senior season, it felt very full circle to be a leader on the team. It’s very bittersweet, leaving my teammates behind.” Although Emma is not a senior, she also shared her feelings on how sad she is knowing next year is her last year, saying how sad she is, and how unreal it feels.
Both of the girls described someone on the team, or a cheerleader, in general, they look up to that helps them keep going. Emma shared she was inspired by Franny, stating, “Franny is an amazing flyer and is good at what she does.” Isaac went into detail on how she doesn’t have an exact person, but looks up to those in college, stating, “I don’t look up to anyone specifically, but when I see college teams doing these skills and trying their hardest, it makes me want to go into practice with a new mindset every single practice and try my best.”
It is noticeable how much both of them enjoy this sport, and how much competing means to them. After comps are the best part. The hard part is done, and now it’s all about hanging out with your team and awards! Once awards are called, the team packs up and heads on the road. Then, most of the time, since the distance is decently far, they stop for food. Both of them talked about how much fun it is to go to a food place with the team, and eat with them after working hard. Emma says, “I love going to Chik-Fil-A because it is my favorite and most of the team likes it, so there is no fighting.”
The team is so welcoming and hard working, no matter the place they get. They still continue to try harder and harder, aiming for that first place gold trophy. Not only Isaac and Emma, but the whole team shows how much they all care about each other and want to continue to get better. This team is an amazing example to show what a team should look like. They share that although they have been practicing for months, it is just getting started and would not be possible without their coaches.
