Cheer team places 4th in national competition

Mary Beth Sallee

Editor

Hart Co. News-Herald

 

After a strong performance among the top teams from across the country, one local cheer team has brought home 4^th in the nation.

Last week, the Hart County High School Varsity Coed Cheer Team competed in the Large Coed D2 Game Day Division at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Only the top 24 teams from across the country, which included HCHS, made it to the national competition.

“This year was the year I’ve been looking forward to since the beginning of last season,” said HCHS Cheer Team Head Coach Kim Minor. “Last year, we became coed, and we were great last season, but I knew if I can get the boys with a year of experience then we would be amazing…Placing 4th was not what I was going for. I was going to win. We had two mistakes in our final routine, and I knew that we had to be perfect to win, so to place 4th with two mistakes just shows how great this team is.”

Coach Kim shared that building a winning cheer program at Hart County High School has not been easy as it doesn’t have the resources that a lot of successful programs have. However, this has not deterred the cheer team from succeeding.

“We have to practice in a warehouse with no heat or air conditioning,” Kim said. “We have poles standing in our way, and our mats have to be cut around them. We practice on a floor that has different thickness of mats, so we have to careful to not trip and fall. I do think that these obstacles have made them stronger athletes. Obviously, something has worked. This team has made history. They are the only team of any sport that has won KHSAA region 4 times consecutively. We are the only team that has made four straight state appearances. I would like to thank our community for all the support and donations. We would not be able to attend nationals without the support!”

Among this history-making team is 15 seniors. Coach Kim said there are not enough words to adequately express how great this group of seniors are.

“These kids are so easy to coach,” Kim said. “They are so respectful. They have never ever disrespected me. They know I have high expectations. Not just high expectations for cheerleading, but I set the bar high for their character and reputation. They do a lot for the community and volunteer their time to help out the community when needed. This year, they worked in the heat to makeover the Bonnieville Elementary playground. They painted the playground equipment and cut down branches and hauled off several trailer loads of brush. If I could pick a team to coach forever, this would be the team. I call them my dream team.”

Coach Kim shared that building a winning cheer program at Hart County High School has not been easy as it doesn’t have the resources that a lot of successful programs have. However, this has not deterred the cheer team from succeeding.

“We have to practice in a warehouse with no heat or air conditioning,” Kim said. “We have poles standing in our way, and our mats have to be cut around them. We practice on a floor that has different thickness of mats, so we have to careful to not trip and fall. I do think that these obstacles have made them stronger athletes. Obviously, something has worked,. This team has made history. They are the only team of any sport that has won KHSAA region 4 times consecutively. We are the only team that has made four straight state appearances. I would like to thank our community for all the support and donations. We would not be able to attend nationals without the support!”

“To be apart of the top 24 teams (in the nation) was a huge honor,” Kim added of this year’s team. “Placing 4th out of the top 24 in the country was a great accomplishment.”