Bowie pride echoes throughout the gym as the cheer team shouts words of encouragement to the players on the court. A Bowie basketball player lines up on the free throw line and prepares to shoot the ball while the cheerleaders jump up and down with anticipation.
This season, the Bowie Cheer team plans to maximize its support by combining its JV and varsity teams and attending as many Bowie basketball games as possible. According to head Coach Hailey Scott, the program’s new changes will reflect AISD’s current focus on togetherness.
“This arrangement is the epitome of ‘together.’ Supporting our programs at Bowie is our top priority, and being international about how we do that makes it more impactful,” Scott said. “Anyone can show support but doing it as a family, united and engaged, is what truly transforms the experience.”
The Bowie cheer coaches believe that bonding and togetherness is very important. The coaches randomized groups filled with both JV and varsity athletes to bring them closer together.
“The purpose of mixing JV and varsity is so that varsity can cheer some JV games and JV can cheer some varsity games,” junior Reagan Pfeffer said. “Through this, we are also giving JV the opportunity to experience a varsity game and cheer with varsity to prepare them for what a higher level team environment looks like.”
As varsity cheer is a higher level than JV, their stunts, cheers, and energy at games tend to be more intense. By allowing JV to join in on varsity games and cheer, the coaches prepare them more effectively for varsity and give varsity the opportunity to practice their leadership skills when helping the younger girls get the hang of things.
“Mixing JV and varsity wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the smartest one for the long-term development of our program. There were pros and cons, but ultimately the benefits outweighed everything else,” Scott said. “Having the teams cheer and stunt together has strengthened our culture. They collaborate, support each other, and learn to operate as one unit.”
In addition to mixing the JV and varsity teams together, Bowie Cheer are testing out a brand new sideline court formation at Bowie basketball games. According to senior varsity captain Genevieve Casas, the new formation has the cheerleaders split into different groups. The groups line up in rows, with the very last row holding megaphones.
“This year, we stand in three rows, where the front row sits, the second row kneels, and the last row stands,” Casas said. “We typically have twelve cheerleaders go to each game, so we can have three stunt groups.”
Supporting the athletes in the game is every cheerleader’s main priority, and each tier in the new formation is able to provide a different kind of encouragement. From the signs in the front row, to the pom-poms in the middle, and then the megaphones in the back, Bowie cheer has it covered.
“Our structure requires the athletes to be attentive and engaged for the entire game,” Scott said. “We are part of the team’s wins and losses by contributing to the atmosphere, energy, and school spirit. My hope is that our presence helps the players love what they’re doing a little more.”
Each cheerleader has a different preference on their favorite way to cheer: sitting down, standing up, flying, spotting, and more. When assigning positions in the formation, coaches try to base them on each cheerleader’s choice.
“I usually sit in the middle front row, or if it’s not symmetric, I’ll just sit somewhere along the front row,” Casas said. “Since I’m in the middle, whenever we have a free throw, I get to count everyone down from three, and then we bring out our signs and cheer on the person shooting.”
Casas is excited for the members of the Bowie Cheer team to get to know more about the game and each other. Combining teams has allowed them to spend more time with teammates that they normally wouldn’t, and has brought the team dynamic to its peak.
“I think combining JV and varsity has brought me closer to the younger girls on JV,” Casas said. “I remember how cheer helped me my freshman year, because I already had a designated group of people, and I’m glad we get to provide that same friendly environment to the freshmen and sophomores this year.”
