The North Forsyth High School Competition Cheer team kicked off their season on Sept. 14 at Walton High School in Marietta, GA. They started the season off strong at their first competition where they placed second. They then kept up the good work and placed third at their second competition. The team has a total of 22 girls that will be competing this season, with seven of those girls being freshman.

Their new routine features a stunt that they have never been able to do in previous years: a side semi. “The new stunt we get to do in the pyramid is really fun and exciting,” senior Caitie Mullikin stated. The team has had quite a rough start to their season with 7 injuries. “I didn’t feel like we were prepared for our first competition because of the 7 injuries. We were all a little freaked out but we did better than we expected” Caitie Mullikin stated later on. One of the most important parts of cheerleading is teamwork and perseverance. Caitie Mullikin also explained “If we wouldn’t have come together we wouldn’t have done good at all”. A strong team bond is crucial to achieving your goals as a team. “A lot of us already know the freshmen so it easier to have a good bond with them because we are already great friends,” says senior Macy Roberson.

At their first competition they competed against 5 other teams, one of which has had eight undefeated seasons in a row. “Going up against Lambert we knew we weren’t going to win, but we went in with a positive mindset and placed second” Roberson stated. The team set out to hit all their skills, especially their stunts, at their first competition. “Our first competition we just wanted to go out and hit all our stunts in our elite section, opening section and our pyramid and that’s what we did,” says cheerleading Head Coach Wood. The team had a lot of difficulty starting out with their new skills, but they were ready in the end. “I think physically they were ready for their skills, and I just tell them every practice they have to get mentally tough because right now, we need to be mentally ready for it,” Wood stated.

The team has a lot of new very talented girls that hopefully will bring them even closer to their goal of winning state. Roberson explained “We have a lot more talent than we have had in the past, and I think it’s going to shock people when we go to state”. In the end, they accomplished their goal for their first competition. “Other than the injuries, I don’t think anything else could have prevented us from keeping everything up” says Mullikin. The 2019-2020 competition cheer team is on the path to great success in their new season.