In the week proceeding the 2023 Minnesota State High School League Football semi-finals, there was clear excitement in the air among LSHS students. Many students are aware of the journey our football team has gone on to get to this point but let’s dive into the equally interesting journey of our cheerleading team!
Our cheer team started off the year strong cheering for the football team and performing at the homecoming pepfest. One of the Cheerleaders, Erica Owusu Ansah, found the pepfest to be her highlight so far and loved getting the crowd to cheer along.
When we asked Erica if she was nervous about the State Tournament it became apparent she was quite the opposite: “I’m not really nervous for state, I’m actually very excited!” All of their confidence comes from hard work, Coach Haley says, adding that to be in cheer you need to be prepared to try new things and have a good attitude. It also takes a big time commitment to be in cheer, Victory Rabanus states that “with cheer, I can be extremely busy especially when we have a game and competition in the same week” but both Victory and Erica assured us that they still get plenty of free time. Cheer isn’t just about the performances though, Coach Haley explains that the support of families and communities is one of her favorite parts of cheer along with the growth of the cheerleaders.
The cheer team is always looking for people to join and help cheer on our school. When we asked the cheerleaders if they had advice for anyone new to cheer Erica said, “Some advice I would give new cheerleaders is to stay focused but have fun. Cheer loud and socialize!” Victory said, “Some advice I would give new cheerleaders is to just try your best and don’t get mad if you mess up just keep going!” Let’s support our cheerleaders and football team as they continue to impress and show our Cougar pride! Go Cougars!
