65 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com our sports and even on Sunday evenings working on those skills. The work does not end once football season begins. Williams described cheer as almost two seasons in one, with different preparation required for football and basketball. There are cheers to learn, stunt groups to develop, band dances to practice, banners and flags to coordinate and countless small details that must come together before game day. “It’s not just, ‘We go out there and cheer,’” she said. At Wando, Mansfield’s team is preparing for its own competitive challenge. She described this year’s athletes as determined, talented and eager to push boundaries. After South Carolina restructured its classifications, Wando is back in 4A, the same division where the program previously won a state championship. For the athletes, the change represents a new opportunity. “They are true go-getters with a lot of spunk,” Mansfield said. LEARNING TO TRUST The physical demands of cheer may be what make the sport challenging, but the relationships between teammates are what make it work. For Spraker, trust is especially important within stunt groups. Every athlete has to know that her teammates will do their part. “Trust is so important or the stunts don’t work,” she said. That trust develops over time, through repetition and shared experiences. It also creates something that extends beyond the mat. Spraker said Beckham’s athletes spend nearly every waking minute together, carpooling, practicing and attending games. Their families become part of that world, too. “The cheer moms are a big part of the sport,” she said. Williams sees that same sense of connection as an important part of the experience. Her seniors at Philip Simmons are expected to help younger athletes and the junior varsity team, teaching cheers, setting expectations and leading by example. For her, leadership is not about a title. It is about showing up prepared, holding yourself and your teammates accountable and setting the standard for the people around you. These lessons, she said, extend well beyond high school. “You have to be able to work with people,” Williams said. “You have to have conflict resolution.” She hopes her athletes leave the program knowing how to communicate, take responsibility and work with people from different backgrounds, skills they will need in college and in the workforce. Johnston has similar hopes for her Bishop England athletes. Her goal is not simply to create good cheerleaders, but “polite, respectful, well-rounded young women.” The older athletes, she said, have an opportunity to model that for the younger girls, while the coaching staff sets the expectation for what good leadership looks like. At Wando, Mansfield sees that same sense of family developing across generations of athletes. Many of the girls have known one another through the program since they were children, creating relationships that can grow alongside their cheer careers. FINDING YOUR PEOPLE For many athletes, the relationships built through cheer become just as important as the sport itself. Johnston described the culture at Bishop England as a sisterhood. Her athletes can turn to one another and their coaches for support and guidance, creating a team environment where the girls know they are not navigating the experience alone. At Beckham, that closeness develops naturally from the amount of time the athletes spend together, while at Philip Simmons, it is reinforced through the relationship between older and younger athletes. Oceanside Collegiate Academy head cheer coach Tricia Hargrove said team-building is an intentional part of building a successful program. The team works to establish connections among athletes and families, creating a community around the program rather than simply a group of students who practice together. That sense of belonging can be particularly meaningful during the high school years, when Brittani Williams, Philip Simmons High School head coach. Oceanside Collegiate Academy head cheer coach Tricia Hargrove.
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