The Lake Orion varsity competitive cheerleading team returns 17 members from last year’s team, which finished fourth at the regional competition and failed to qualify for the state finals.
The team hopes to change that this year, welcoming 16 new faces to the varsity squad, and working since the end of the last season in March.
‘Last year we had a very young team,? said head coach Nancy DeAvila, who has a former Lake Orion varsity cheerleader, Nicole Perryman, as her assistant this year.
‘This year we are more experienced, and we finally have the elusive back tuck we’ve been working on for three years.?
DeAvila said the team now has enough athletes able to perform that move so that they can include it in competitions.
‘Last year in our second round, we had six kids who had never competed before,? she said. ‘This year we only have one freshman. Everyone else (performing in that round) has at least one year of varsity competition.?
Returning seniors for the team are team captains Calli Long, Rachel Suspeck and Erica Ramstead; as well as Amy Gregory, Jessyca Singleton, Jessica Sutton, Brooke Reichert, and Amy Pfister.
Also returning is junior Nicole Oakes.
DeAvila said her team this year has a lot of depth, and have taken tumbling class every week since the last season ended.
‘They never really had a break,? she said. ‘The tumbling coaches come (to LOHS), and that is for the kids up through the middle (school) level.
‘Competitive cheering has gotten to be a sport that demands high gymnastic skills,? she said.
Lake Orion’s goal is to return to the state finals this year, which will be held on March 12 at the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids.
‘Our biggest goal is to get back to that level,? DeAvila said. ‘We’ve increased the number of competitions to continue improving week to week.
‘We have no breaks in our schedule,? she said.
Oxford has left Lake Orion’s region this year, which will now consist of Lake Orion, Rochester, Stony Creek, Troy and Troy Athens.
‘We have to finish in first or second to advance,? said DeAvila.
‘The girls have great chemistry and strong motivation after finishing in fourth last year.
‘They want to get back to that tradition of excellence we have here at Lake Orion, especially the seniors,? she said.
DeAvila said past teams have had one great athlete, but not so this season.
‘Out of 33, only six are in all three rounds,? she said. ‘Several are only in one.
‘They are starting to specialize a bit more. We don’t have just one stand out.?