Rebecca Lee came to ELHS two years ago to coach cheer. She had one goal in mind: creating a joyful and uplifting atmosphere through football sideline cheer. She believes cheer should provide a sense of belonging in any environment. From the start, one question she kept hearing was, “When will we bring cheer to basketball games?”
Since then, Lee and members of the cheer team worked hard to write letters to school leadership. After months of planning, the club returned to the stands on Jan. 6.
Although many members of the ELHS cheer team cheer at basketball games, it is not technically a varsity sport, as the group doesn’t receive funding from the athletic department. Instead, it’s a club known as Stomp & Shake. The club is advised and coached by Lee.
K’Niah Cline (11) and Taliyah Andrews (11), captains of ELHS varsity cheer, played a major role in initiating the club this year. They co-wrote a petition outlining their goals to improve the atmosphere at games and uplift both the audience and players. After parents helped edit the proposal, it was sent to athletic director Nicole Norris and Superintendent Dori Leyko. After a meeting on Nov. 14 with Cline, Andrews, Principal Ashley Schwarzbek and Norris, the club was approved to move forward.
“I have seen students try to fight for different things at previous schools and it not work out, [so] seeing these girls fight for this to happen and [seeing] it work has truly been a blessing,” Lee said.
Lee has coached at schools where cheer was year-round, supporting multiple sports and school events. She hopes adding basketball cheer is just the start of expanding the program.
The team practices once a week, with cheerleaders expected to learn cheers ahead of time. Andrews and Cline find cheers online and adapt them to their abilities and to include the school mascot.
At every home game for boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball, players run through the cheerleaders before warmups. While the student section is often smaller at girls’ games, the cheerleaders’ support still makes a difference for varsity players like Peyton Ruttman (11).
“The student section is a little weak for the girls’ games, so I think the cheerleaders really come to cheer for us,” Ruttman said. “[They] brighten games up.”
