While pep rallies may be coming to an end, Kilgore cheer is still busy as ever. The whole team is getting ready to start working for their UIL competition. With competition being on January 16, the cheerleaders will waste no time preparing. Due to the large team they have this year, tryouts were held to see who could get mat for competition day. Only 20 girls are allowed to participate causing a lot of the girls to really work hard to get a spot for mat. Last year, Kilgore cheer came in place 21. Top 20 get to go to finals meaning that they were super close.

“The girls worked so hard last year,” Nikki Offerding, cheer coach, says. “We had the smallest squad that competed and we were only one away from making Finals. Being that close makes us want to make Finals even more.  This year we plan to have the max amount of girls competing, which is 20, and the girls are very excited about competing as a squad. There is already more unity as a team and desire to succeed.” 

Like other organizations right now, COVID-19 has greatly affected the cheer team as a whole. Ever since March, they’ve had to cancel camps, modify practices, and cheerleaders have had to be quarantined. 

“It makes it very difficult to prepare for performances and to work on stunts when we are missing girls,” Offerding said.

Through this, the cheerleaders have learned how to push on and to take nothing for granted. They have learned a lot from last year’s competition and are ready for the challenge ahead.

 “I think the girls have improved on knowing what to expect. It’s a different type of competition than most of them are used to. Having members with experience and knowing what the judges look for will help.” Offerding said.