The Clarke Central High School cheerleaders perform a cheer while practicing social distance on the Death Valley sidelines on Oct. 9. According to CCHS sophomore Makenna Mincey, the team is not letting the pandemic prevent them from doing what they love. “It’s really hard for me to dedicate myself to doing something and to really not give up. Cheerleading is one of those things that I have found that I’m just really drawn to and that it doesn’t make me wanna drop it,” Mincey said. “It’s one of those things that really just makes my life more enjoyable honestly.” Photo by Dalila Tejada
Since the start of Aug., the Clarke Central High School cheerleading team has been taking precautions due to COVID-19 to cheer on the Gladiators.
“The cheer squad returned to in-person practice in August and were expected to abide to the new way of doing things. Cheerleaders have to answer a daily questionnaire, have their temperature checked, wear masks, and socially distance from one another,” CCHS head football cheerleading coach Krystian Edwards said. “There are procedures in place for sanitizing restrooms and equipment after use.”
While experiencing many changes with COVID-19, varsity cheerleader Makenna Mincey, a CCHS sophomore, has faced many challenges with the team.
“As cheerleaders, you know, our whole job is to really be interactive with the crowd and it’s kind of, it’s harder to do that because we have to stay distant of course and some of the interaction has definitely been taken out of it and also just the way that we interact with each other has changed as you could expect so just in terms of interaction, we are limited,” Mincey said.
“It brings me great joy to support these athletes in all that they do to better themselves.”
— Krystian Edwards,
CCHS head football cheerleading coach
While the team works to overcome challenges in executing their mission, Edwards has enjoyed mentoring the growth of her team members.
“My favorite part about being a CCHS cheer coach is being able to work with young female adults and being a positive role model for them. This season I have enjoyed working with some of our senior cheerleaders with college applications,” Edwards said. “It brings me great joy to support these athletes in all that they do to better themselves.”
