The crowd’s applause grows deafening as the team finishes their final flips at showoffs. After months of preparation, they know they are now ready to compete at Nationals. Satisfaction builds within the team, everyone knows that what they are working so hard for, is now within reach.
The 2025-2026 cheer season is coming to a close with the Bowie cheer team qualifying for the Nationals performances in Orlando, Florida, after competing at the preliminary showoffs. This highlights the hard work that all of the cheerleaders have put in, states junior Co-Spirit Coordinator Reagan Pfeffer.
“Showoffs are a chance for us to demonstrate to our family and friends more of what we have been working so hard on,” Pfeffer said. “We performed in UIL early in January to see how well we stacked up against other teams in Texas, which went pretty well, and it gave us a better look on how we could improve leading up to Nationals.”
The hard work of the team is mirrored by the strong leadership and love for the sport given by senior captain Genevieve Casas. As they approached Nationals, the cheer squad leaned on their leaders to push everybody to their full potential.
“Leading up to performances I get the team to run full-outs of the whole cheer instead of working on each section,” Casas said. “That way we are prepared to run the whole cheer on stage. Then right before the meet, I bring us all together to say whatever we need to say before we go, we can pray, and really do whatever the team needs to be as confident as possible.”
Leading up to Nationals, the team took measures to make sure they were in the best shape possible to perform at their best. The team practiced active recovery by stretching, going to the trainers, and practicing short portions of each cheer to keep their muscles in their best shape, while also allowing them to heal up.
“Physical rest is important because you need your body to recover,” cheer coach Hailey Scott said. “There are days where we will only do sections of dances, or shift to just watching film rather than full outs. Also, mental rest is important, sometimes we switch to work on basketball cheers when I see the girls are getting mentally frustrated or overwhelmed.”
As Nationals neared, pressure set in Casas, but this is calmly dealt with as she has faith in her teammates, and knows she is a leader for a reason. Her mental focus on each move in the moment leads to minimal mistakes for not only her, and her team.
“As a leader there is definitely pressure,” Casas said. “During the cheer I am thinking, don’t fall, don’t mess up. I have also begun watching the team while we dance, and not just myself which is something I’ve never done before. I make sure everybody is in place and has sharp movements.”
Nationals were February 7 and 8 and despite the possible pressure in the moment, to coach Scott, Nationals is just like any other competition, as she requires full energy and effort from her team anytime they cheer, whether it’s a small competition or Nationals.
“Nationals is just like any other competition in my eyes,” Scott said. “No matter what, we should always put our best routine on the mat. Cheerleading is different because cheerleaders, we practice for hours and weeks and days. And we get one time to showcase all of our hard work. So, no matter what you do, do your best, and that’s what I try to encourage my athletes.”
