Starting last year, Shadow Ridge’s Cheer Teams have been preparing to take on other teams at local competitions and even Nationals at The Orleans on February 11-12. Varsity ended their season in 4th and JV ended in 2nd. With countless hours of practice, blood, sweat, injuries, and tears, the girls ended their season on a high note.

JV is led by Coach Pezone, who has been the JV coach for 7 years. With 17 girls on the team, all of whom are so young, their willingness to learn and grow as  individual athletes and as a team is inspiring. With 2 returners from the 19-20 season, one on the freshman team and one on the JV team, having to start from scratch and teach the girls how to properly stunt was challenging, but worth it in the long run. 

“It was a slow process to grow. We struggled being able to perform at our first exhibition, PCS, so that was hard because we couldn’t even perform the whole routine because they weren’t ready. Of course, with Covid and injuries, we had a concussion, an ankle, and elbow, but these are all growing pains of cheerleading. It’s been amazing to watch them succeed to what they did this weekend,” explains Pezone.

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Photo Courtesy of: shadowridgecheer

This is JV at JAMZ Nationals 2022!

Varsity is led by Coach Jordan, who has been the Varsity coach for 4 years. Jordan enjoyed getting to know the girls on a personal level and rebuilding the program. Similar to JV, Varsity had their ups and downs this season. The week of nationals, they went from 13 girls to 11 due to injuries, and had to change their routine 3 times, the last time being the morning of the competition. With all the hardships aside, Coach Jordan is very proud of her girls and all that they accomplished this past season. 

“I am extremely proud of my girls this year, especially for a new team and a new program. I think they did an amazing job! I’m going to miss my seniors, my babies, that I actually started with when they were freshman, and I’m ready for another season, the comeback year. Ready to win!” states Jordan. 

As this season comes to an end, the next one is right around the corner. For anyone who wants to try out, there is a mandatory informational meeting on March 1, 2022 at 6:00pm in the cafeteria. There will be intramurals held March 15-17, 3:00-4:30pm, Tryout Practice held March 22-24, 3:30-5:30, and Tryouts are on March 25th from 3:30-until the last person. To get more information check out @shadowridgecheer on Instagram or email Coach Jordan @[email protected]. 

“Contact Coach Jordan if you’re interested, make sure you know what the requirements are for the team you want. If you’re wanting to cheer, and it’s something you’re interested in and you have no cheerleading experience, don’t be afraid to try out! We had several girls on JV this year, who had zero cheerleading experience, and now they’re phenomenal athletes. Don’t be afraid to not try out, just because you don’t have prior experience, ” said Pezone.