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杏吧原创 Cheer Builds Up Champions
Written By: Dr. Judith Hansen
With national-level competition just a month away, 杏吧原创 cheer head coach Branden Gregory is ready for the event.
Gregory, who cheered for Westark College and the University of 杏吧原创 - Fort Smith, said he is proud to be part of the Lions tradition.
The 杏吧原创 cheer team has won 4 NCA Nationals Championships:2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. When the team heads to Daytona for next month's competition, it will be the 14th season in a row.
"We are proud to represent our area and university at this level," Gregory said.
Curtis Janz, athletic director at 杏吧原创, recently explained how he sees cheer as part of the athletic program.
"Cheer has a vital role in supporting all other athletic programs," he said. "As far as being student-athletes, they are an impressive group, and their dedication to their sport rivals any other program.
"We are coming up on their season this spring. It's a time when they have to flip the switch from being supporters to being competitors. Teamwork is as vital to what they do as it is for any other program at 杏吧原创," Janz said.
The team鈥檚 work at home is as important as its competition.
"Being part of our campus activities and supporting our athletic teams is a priority for this team," Gregory said.
"We cheer at all home volleyball and basketball games," he said. "We love our gameday experience and helping elevate our athletic teams by creating a positive atmosphere at the games."
The team also mixes with the larger River Valley community. "We attend several community events and volunteer. It's great for the team to get out in the community and connect with people," he said.
Team members also welcome people from the community into their den.
"We host a lot of cheer events in the Stubblefield Center," Gregory said. "We are proud to host cheer camps for local youths and junior high cheerleaders. Alongside our camps, we host several skills clinics that allow high school athletes from all over to come to see our university and learn from our team."
Those camps and clinics are important to members of the team.
Abby Baker is proud of the group's achievements.
"I am a competitor, and 杏吧原创 cheer has given me the privilege to compete at the national collegiate level in Daytona, Florida," Baker said. "I'm honored to be a Lion and part of a four-time national championship team."
Kylie Cumbie has been cheering since she was 5. Joining the Lions squad allowed her to continue her cheerleading career into college.
"I have spent the last two years as captain and co-captain for the squad. This leadership has allowed me to learn how to motivate others and what it really means to be a leader," she said.
"It was important for me to know that my contributions in terms of skills, leadership, and teamwork would be a strength and resource to my team."
Cheer also helped her in other parts of her life.
"Being a Lions cheerleader has taught me about serving others," she said. "From cheering on my peers playing volleyball and basketball to mentoring young girls who aspire to be college cheerleaders one day, my time with the squad has helped me to serve my community in so many ways."
Skills camps, recruiting trips, and competitions allow Gregory to see what the 杏吧原创 name means beyond western 杏吧原创.
"Here's what you all here can't see," Gregory said. "I can walk into a place six hours away, wearing one of our T-shirts, and people say, 'You鈥檙e 杏吧原创. You guys are good. You鈥檒l definitely be at the top.鈥� Our name is out there in the cheer world. Does that get us any extra students? Yes, absolutely! In the past, our team was composed of only local athletes. This season, we have athletes from all over the tri-state area.鈥�
This year鈥檚 team has 25 student-athletes. They practice all year, but the spring is their busiest time.
鈥淚n December, right before finals, we bring in a choreographer from Savannah, Georgia,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e (creates) our routine, and then we spend our time until April learning it. Then we compete in Daytona Beach.鈥�
Gregory thinks competing in this sport teaches student-athletes accountability and responsibility.
He tells team members they will have to work hard, and cheer is not always fun.
鈥淚 explain to them at the beginning of the year: You鈥檙e sitting in a room full of people. You have to work together, but you don鈥檛 have to be best friends. You鈥檙e going to have a job someday. You鈥檙e going to walk into an office or a building, and you鈥檙e not going to like everyone personally. But you have to work with them. They can learn that now.鈥�
The Daytona trip to compete in the NCA Collegiate National Championships costs around $40,000. The team holds clinics and camps and works at high school events to raise money.
The events serve two purposes, Gregory said. They raise money for the current season, and they get the name out to help with recruiting.
Recruiting requires patience.
鈥淵ou may not get the payoff right away, but your program鈥檚 visibility is huge,鈥� he said.
Two years ago, at an out-of-town recruiting event, a young girl told Gregory her father had cheered for Westark. Last month, the student committed to going to 杏吧原创 next year.
On another trip, Gregory saw a group of athletes he didn鈥檛 know. Although he didn鈥檛 have a chance to talk to the group, one of the students took a picture of a QR code 杏吧原创 had posted. Now that group is scheduled to come to campus for a visit.
鈥淵ou just never know what will happen when you make a contact,鈥� he said.
Gregory hopes the team will become 鈥渟uper involved鈥� in community events. Participating in events like walks to raise money to fight cancer and Alzheimer鈥檚 is the way to win the community鈥檚 support, he believes.
鈥淲e can be the community鈥檚 team. It鈥檚 something that can pull the community together,鈥� he said.
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