Lady Bulldogs back in state title hunt
The Cedartown Lady Bulldogs competition cheer team has a tall order ahead of them for the 2017 season.
With a solid group of seniors and underclassmen, they have to pull off the feat of once again making it through every competition during their upcoming schedule of Saturdays on the road, win the region, make it back to the floor at state and if all that works out, bring home another state title.
But head coach Brigitte Tillery isn't worried one bit. She said that her squad of competition cheerleaders are ready to give their support on the sidelines on Friday nights, then head onto the bus early Saturday morning and show off what they can really do when they hit the mats for competition.
Tillery said that though her team was slightly behind during the first week of August before school was back in session, they will be well ready for their first time up in front of judges when the cheer season starts in September.
"It's an exciting season, but coming off a state win you feel the pressure," she said. "You feel the bar has been raised. You’re constantly work- ing to maintain that spot at the top."
That work includes the off-season conditioning that went on during the summer months, hosting a cheer camp for local youth, and getting a new routine organized and memorized.
It's an especially tough task when the addition of new stunts and tumbling maneuvers, along with cheers and getting each step perfect so as not to lose any marks on the score sheet when the competition cheer team finally faces judges in the f all during weekend events.
She wouldn't provide full details of what the Lady Bulldogs competition cheer squad show will look like this year, but she did say that fans should expect a fastpaced routine with plenty of stunts, tumbles and pyramids to show off their technical skills, and a whole new cheer in which to lead the crowd before the Lady Bulldogs routine begins.
With all that to prepare, it's a challenge. One that Tillery said her team will be more than ready to meet come September and through the rest of their season.
"It's extremely helpful when you’re coming into a season where the bar is raised higher and expectations are there for our kids," she said.
She's not making it all work out all by herself. Tillery said a core group of seniors who are set to achieve during their final year on the squad are making a huge difference in leadership for the whole team.
She said that without the help of Bailee Davenport, Lauren Lindsey, Lizzie Lee, Chloe Lee, and Khristyle Walton, the team would have a tougher time of getting to the top this season.
"They are an extremely talented group of seniors. All five have been cheeri ng f or f our straight years, and four of them cheered i n middle school," she said. "They are ready to go out on top again."
Tillery said too that with girls returning on the squad who are underclassmen and got to experience the state championship run, along with a new group of girls coming in just as talented from middle school, her team has a lot of potential.
She said though she also couldn't do it without the help of coach Jennifer Ruff, who has been by her side for a number of years and providing the team with extra support when needed.
Cedartown's cheer squad has also enjoyed much support from the community over the past years, Tillery said, and she had high praise for those who had provided donations and their own cheering sections for the girls along the way.
"It's rate to have a community that supports cheerleading like Cedartown and Polk County does each year, because not many communities support their cheer squads like they do here," Tillery said.
But where the team gets a chance to give back is two-fold: on the sidelines on Friday nights and when they get to host cheer camps like they did in July.
Tillery said her squad is looking forward to being back out on the gridiron with the Bulldogs as they face Rockmart this Friday night, when they can show their most visible support for Cedartown.
"We get to show off our new uniforms this year as well," she said. "So we're really excited about getting out there and cheering the team along as they face Rockmart."
The Lady Bulldogs open their competition cheer season on Sept. 16 when they face off against other teams at Pepperell High School.
It continues on Sept. 23 at Woodland High School, followed by Sept. 30 at Columbus State University, October 7 at Hillgrove High School, Oct. 21 at Carrollton High, Oct. 28 at Woodstock High and November 4's region championship competition meet at Columbus State University again.
State cheerleading is being held on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11.