Westmont cheer squad nails its first league championship

This year, for the first time in its history, Westmont High School's stunt team won first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League and qualified for the state cheer competition in Roseville.

“Not only that, we placed eighth among 165 stunt schools” at the state level, said Kelly Debey, cheerleading coach for the Campbell high school. The team also went to the national competition in Florida.

According to parent Nikki Merrick, there are three types of cheerleading: sideline cheering for school games; traditional competitive cheer that involves dancing, cheering and inter-school competitions; and stunting, a relatively new sport.

“These girls are strong and competitive,” she said of the Westmont team. “It is important to give attention to athletics. It is not just jumping on the sidelines with pompoms. That is the least of what they do.”

“When I joined Westmont a few years ago, they only had a sideline team and had never been to a national competition,” said Debey, who grew up in San Jose's Almaden Valley and took drama and cheerleading classes at Castillero Middle School. To earn volunteer hours as a student at Pioneer High School, she coached Castillero's cheerleading team.

Training for the stunting team is rigorous.

“We do tumbling at Loopkicks Tricking in Santa Clara. Some Olympians have had their training there,” said Debey, a volunteer coach who works fulltime at Apple in Cupertino. “Cheerleading is a sport and needs to be recognized as such. There is a great deal of physical energy and talent that are expended.”

According to Merrick, a longtime high school teacher in Cupertino, the necessary skills include tumbling, jumps, stunting and dancing. Her daughter, Kate, has been part of the cheer team throughout high school.

“I did dance for 11 years, ever since I was 2,” Kate said. “Dance helps me with rhythm and remembering counts for a routine. Stunting is my favorite.”

Team captain Laney Fitch said several qualities are needed to be successful in cheer teams. These include confidence, showmanship and physical skills as well as a smiling face and an upbeat attitude.

“It gives me a heartwarming feeling to see the team that you helped cultivate,” added Laney, who did gymnastics for 10 years as a young girl. “I definitely view this as a sport. We try to entertain the crowd, but we have to have physical skills, even in sideline.”

Kate Merrick said her teammates, who live in Campbell and Los Gatos, are like a second family. “I also like my coaches,” she added.