FT. DEFIANCE, Ariz. – The Sand Devils cheerleaders had a very successful regional Spirit Line Showcase last weekend, bringing home first place trophies for three out of the four categories. They were the champion of the Performance Halftime Routine, champion of School Spirit Chant, and they won for Overall Best Performance in the 3A North Region. The only category they didn’t win was Situational Chant.

    The wins were particularly impressive, given that this was the first year most of the girls have been cheerleaders.

    “They were pretty nervous,” said cheer coach Brittany Hansen. “For most of our girls, it was their first time competing at a regional level and they weren’t sure what to expect.

    Any athlete who has competed on a big stage in front of a large crowd can tell you that nerves can be a factor when it’s performance time.

    “I just reminded the girls that they practiced and performed these moves over and over for months,” said cheer coach Kelly Hansen. “I told them to just do what they have performed and practiced since November and to trust their muscle memory. That was my pep talk.” 

    In the weeks leading up to the region competition the cheer coaches and cheerleaders got into the details of the cheers. This included videoing the girls’ performances, then watching the video together and dissecting the actions and movements.  “With the video we could show them where their arms or legs are bent, we could see their jumps, kicks, formations and transitions,” said Kelly. “We spent a lot of time working on very minor details to help them work on detail after detail.”

    The night before the regional competition the team sat down on the floor and visualized the moves, the transitions and the changes.

    The repetition, the muscle memory, the video review and the visualization practice certainly worked.

    “Once they got into the actual competition, they settled down and did a tremendous job,” said Brittany.

    The most difficult part of the entire season was selecting which cheerleaders to take to the region competition. Under competition rules, a team can bring only 14 players, but Page High School has 29 cheerleaders.

    “We had to really discuss that as coaches and narrow it down,” said Kelly. “We went over formation after formation. Choosing the final 14 was very hard. We cried when we announced the team, and a lot of the girls cried too.”

    The season comes to an end this week. One of this year’s first-year cheerleaders, Grace Barney, a senior, is so happy that she got to be a cheerleader. “I’m so glad I did it!” she said. “It’s one of my best high school experiences ever. It has been so much fun bringing spirit and energy to the games.”

    This was also Allie Hansen’s first time as a cheerleader. “I am obsessed,” said the sophomore. “I really loved that we could bring our skills to the games. It was a great year to be a Sand Devil. It has been so much fun!
    Kelly and Brittany Hansen say they will both be back as cheer coaches next year, to build upon what they and their 29 talented cheerleaders started this year.

    “It’s been incredible to watch the progress they made this year,” said Kelly.

    “They have all improved tremendously,” said Brittany. “We are so proud of them.”