There are varying opinions about cheerleading: some people believe it’s a sport and others do not. At Blue Valley North, the varsity cheer team has been working throughout the year to support other BVN teams, maintain crowd positivity and eventually, compete in the state competition. So far this year, the team members have seen immense improvement and hope to continue growing. 

Game day captain Tilly Hopkins and freshman team member Marybeth Mathews have seen progression in the team’s bonding from the beginning of this season to now. Moreover, developing a stronger team bond was one of their main goals for this year.

“We’ve had a really good team bond this year, whereas last year I feel we definitely had a team bond, but this year, everyone’s involved in everything,” Hopkins said.

As a result of team bonding this season, they’ve gained more trust in one another which helps them perform stunts better. Having confidence in the bases that they’ll always catch the flyers is seen as the most important part of a performance.

“We have to trust each other before we go out into practice and make sure that the flyers trust their bases and that they’re always gonna catch them,” said Mathews. 

Junior cheerleader Abby Jehlik greatly values the amount of trust each teammate has in each other. 

“It’s a different level of trust because…their lives are in your hands,” Jehlik said. 

Although they share a common goal, teammates have different perspectives on the sport. For example, Jehlik believes that the team gets the recognition they deserve from the school.

“[We get the recognition we deserve] because at other schools…they don’t care about their cheer team,” Jehlik said. “But at Friday night games, the student section actually cheers along with us.”

On the other hand, Hopkins believes they deserve more praise for all the time and effort they put into cheerleading.

“…Honestly we do so much and…we go to every football game, we go to every basketball game…And I feel, a lot of times, we’re just not really appreciated for doing that,” Hopkins said. 

In a few weeks, the team will be competing at state, bringing a variety of emotions for the cheerleaders. Their closer bond has allowed them to practice more difficult stunts which they’re excited to perform at the competition. But along with the excitement, comes nerves that they won’t perform the way they hoped. 

“I’m excited to show off our routine…we’ve been working on it for months,” said Hopkins. “[And] you can’t control everything, but I’m nervous because…I want everything to go right.”

This is Hopkins’s last season at Blue Valley North and she’s proud to see how far the team has come over the years. Looking to the future, she has advice for her teammates to carry on the legacy in the next years. 

“…Enjoy every single moment, enjoy every game, enjoy every competition…because before you know it’s gonna be over,” Hopkins said.