The victory comes in just the second season Glynn has fielded a co-ed competition cheer team, and despite extraordinary circumstances that saw the program’s inaugural season stretched over eight months due to the global pandemic.
Cheer season normally begins Aug. 1 and runs through October with competitions held at various schools. Teams generally compete in three to six competitions over the season in preparation of the sectional and state meets in November.
But last season, the state championships were delayed until Feb. 15-16, requiring teams to remain in midseason form for an extra four months. It a testament to the dedication of Glynn Academy’s team that it continued its hard work.
The Terrors ended the season with a ninth-place finish among co-ed teams at state, and six months later, they’re looking for more.
“The majority of the team that we have right now practiced for over eight months last year, and every single one of them came back and did not quit, which just shows the type of tenacity,” said Terrors cheer coach Autumn Roberts. “No young adult should have to go through eight months of staying on the same team and being ridden by the same coaches — nor should any adult go eight months with the same children.
“We did not end until February, turned around, had a parent meeting the next month, then tryouts, then choreography. We are all gassed because we did not get our traditional break, but at the same time, their doing so good, and they just have really good focus, determination, and they’ve really bought into what we’re selling them in terms of what it means to be a dedicated team member.”
While Glynn’s cheerleaders are relatively inexperienced as a competitive team, their coaches are not. Roberts and coach Stacy Oliver have a combined 30 years of competition experience at other schools between them.
The two coaches have helped foster an atmosphere where sacrifice and commitment are universally understood and accepted qualities. The cheer team members are required to pull double duty, showing up on Friday nights to cheer for football before getting up early Saturday to get on a bus and take part in their own competition to little fanfare.
The ultimate team sport, there’s little margin of error on the mat as 16 moving pieces come together in a coordinated routine.
“There’s no room for them to be upset with each other, there’s no room to bring anything onto the mat,” Robert said. “We have 16 people on the floor that compete, and we have a team larger than 16, so not only is there that mental support of one another, we have people that are alternates that learn the routine. To be a young woman or man in high school and not be on that mat, but still have to give 100 percent in the event of an injury or something, is another dynamic some people don’t understand.”
Glynn Academy’s team, which is made up of: Ella Blaschke, Avery Brantley, Tyler Brashear, Naomi Browning, Ciré Bryant, Jakalie Burns, Ansley Childs, Kasey Davis, Ella-Kate Edgy, Katie Hickson, Merritt Hornbuckle, TK Kirksey, Chelsea Lemmond, Rylee Martin, Rebekah McKinnon, Amiya Mosley, Charli Reens, Kylie Sims, Lexi Veal, Sara Jane Veal, Za’Naria Williams, Chelsea Yates, and Miles Young, showed the fruits of their labor last Thursday.
Lowndes and Valdosta were among the four co-ed programs competing with Glynn, but it was the Terrors who came out on top for a crucial win for the program.
“Beating Lowndes was a big deal because they have a very experienced coach as well, and a very strong program, and we match up against them neck-and-neck in terms of our skills and their skills,” Roberts said. “I’m very proud of them for winning.”
The next time Glynn Academy cheer will hit the mat is when it travels to Statesboro for competitions on Oct. 16 and Oct. 23.