Getting 33 athletes to work as one on the same mat at the same time is no easy task, but the Bullitt East competitive cheerleading team has done it again and again and again.
“It’s difficult to build a family, if you will, but we practice really hard and preach to them that, if we can become a family, great things will happen to us,” Bullitt East coach Jeff Schaber said.
The Bullitt East competitive cheerleading team celebrates its third consecutive state championship on Dec. 10. The squad has been named The Courier-Journal Competitive Cheerleading Team of the Year.
Indeed, great things have come to the Bullitt East cheer squad in droves as the team won its third consecutive KHSAA state championship on Dec. 10 with a score of 84.7 in the All-Girls Super classification. For that success, the Bullitt East cheer team has been named The Courier-Journal Competitive Cheerleading Team of the Year and will be honored at this June’s Courier-Journal Sports Awards Ceremony presented by Norton Sports Health.
The ceremony is part of the Courier-Journal Sports Awards program, which will recognize the best in Kentuckiana high school athletics throughout the year by naming Metro Louisville and Southern Indiana all-area teams for fall, winter and spring sports with players of the year and other special award winners to be named at the event in June.
The ceremony date, location and celebrity guest speaker will be announced soon, and you can visit courier-journal.com/sportsawards to stay up to date and to learn how to nominate and vote for The Courier-Journal Metro Louisville and Southern Indiana Athlete of the Week Awards. Each athlete of the week winner and all-area team selection, along with a guest, will be invited to the awards ceremony.
Between now and June, Schaber’s team may have more accolades to celebrate. The team is headed to the UCA Nationals in February at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex hoping to improve upon last year’s fourth-place finish.
Schaber said he credits his team’s consistency to strong senior leadership from Haley Snyder, Brooke Stivers, Alyssa Huen, Alex Nadeau, Savannah Flaherty, Kaitlyn Minogue, Morgan Gentry and Rissa Sageser, as well as a strong coaching staff that includes Kristen Stobaugh, Nate Fulghum and Amy Edwards.
And, he said, when everyone buys into the same goal, it always seems to work – year after year after year.
“We practice three days a week, and when we come to practice, they’re focused because we all have the same vision,” Schaber said. “We talk with the parents and the cheerleaders right off the bat about the vision for the year and keeping everybody on the same page each practice. And we reiterate it each practice, and it has worked for us.”
COURIER-JOURNAL FALL SPORT S ALL-AREA TEAMS SCHEDULE
Dec. 19: Golf
Dec. 20: Tennis
Dec. 21: Field hockey
Dec. 22: Cross country
Dec. 23: Soccer
Dec. 24: Volleyball
Dec. 25: Football