State competition for cheerleading has passed, and the competition cheer team for North Forsyth High School take fifth place. Cheerleading is not an easy process, and it takes practice and determination to attempt doing this as a sport. Coach Wood, the coach for competition cheer at North, provided some insight on how exactly they practiced to partake in state.

The cheerleaders began practice in the summer. They practiced four days a week as well as competed in seven  invitationals across metro-Atlanta. Though lots of practice can help with lots of the stress of competition, there were some concerns that caused a few issues for the team during the state competition.

One cheerleader had broken her nose, which would usually make most people sit out. However, this cheerleader was given a face mask and decided to push on.

Another problem had been a death a coach’s family, which caused the team to feel down. One of the other coaches had a death in the family and was not able to attend the final days of the competition. Coach Wood stated that “Anytime one of your team members–whether a coach or an athlete–is hurting, it is always tough. Our kids rallied around him and really wanted to perform for him.”

This just goes to show how much of a family the competition cheer team is and how much that they all rely on each other to succeed. Although they came up 0.33 points short of their goal, there is no diminishment in their improvement, and they are ready to get back to work to “prove themselves in the region and the state competition in 2019,” as Coach Wood said.