LFO cheerleaders have sights set on region repeat, more
There will be a new, but familiar face on the edge of the mats for the LFO High School competition cheerleading squad this fall as Coach Elizabeth Willis is back to lead the Red-and-white.
Willis previously coached the team for five years, but stepped aside after the 2016 season. However, following a two-year hiatus from coaching with the birth of her youngest son, Willis is back.
“It’s been busy, but I’ve enjoyed getting to work with the girls again,” she said. “I love getting to be in that role where I get to see them succeed and work hard. It’s definitely been an adjustment because of the two years off, but it is nice to be back.”
Willis will have the benefit of three seniors on this year’s squad, Lydia Biggs, Gabi Hughes and Dekeia Rowe, whom she coached during their freshman year.
“It’s nice that I at least have that one class returning, but even if I haven’t coached most of the girls, I’ve taught a lot of them in class, so I already had some sort relationship with them,” she explained. “Our seniors are our leaders. Having them already know me and know my coaching style and the way I approach things has been very helpful. They’ve really helped get the team on board and get ready for the season.
“They’re very good about making sure the younger girls are ready. It’s a small (senior) group, but they’re really good at helping out our freshmen and sophomores to help them get into that mental state that we need to be in before we start our season. They’ve been really good about offering suggestions, helping to clean up and working with some of the other girls on different things. They have been awesome about stepping up and doing whatever needs to be done.”
The rest of the squad includes juniors Juleigha Boynton, Jayna Carver, Raine Hollis and Lexi Ward, sophomores Maci Gouvitsa, Maddy Hartley, Lashana Palmer, Trula Robinette, Frankie Robinette and Karoline Wilson and freshmen Kameron Hartley, Alana Martin, Adriana Mckenzie, Piper Piatt, Maddie Thomas and Rachel Wilson.
Willis said, barring injury, LFO will compete with 16 girls on the mat this season, something that hasn’t been done with the program in many years.
“(The routine) is very difficult,” she added. “The stunts are difficult and the pyramid is very difficult, so it’s definitely going to be a show of strength and endurance. But it’s going pretty well and we feel pretty good about it right now.”
LFO stepped up last season to win the Region 6-AAA championship and Willis said repeating is just one of two goals her team has in 2019.
“Obviously, it would be wonderful to get the region championship again and winning (the region) is priority number one,” she added. “But really, as much as we want that, we are a really strong team and we need to compete well at the state level. We feel like we should at least be in the Top 10 at state, as long as we execute. Our goal is to perform better on a larger stage.”
It’s a goal that LFO has reached before and Willis knows can be reached again.
“It’s really about nailing down a clean routine and executing it well with as much difficulty as possible,” she added. “The secret is just making sure that all the girls have the same goal. As long as we’re all working towards the same goal, everything will work really well.”