Coupeville Sports

The future of Wolf cheerleading. (Wendy McCormick photo)

The junior cheerleaders perform at halftime of the boys’ basketball game Friday. (Shelli Trumbull photos).

Cheerleaders are not born. They are made.

They are made by great coaches. Women (and men) who build, who teach, who shape but let the athlete grow in their own direction when need be.

They are made by interaction with their idols, the girls (and sometimes guys) who cheer at the high school level, when they are still young. They see what they want to be, and they see a destination they want to reach.

They are made out of hard work, countless hours put in behind the scenes.

They are made from twisted ankles, bruised elbows, routines worked and re-worked and re-worked again. They are made from sweat and commitment.

There is strength in cheerleading, not weakness. There is teamwork, there is family.

They reach out and pull each other up, and it begins when you are just a small child.

Cheerleaders are built, bit by bit, by unconditional support. From family, from friends, from community.

They are nurtured by small dollops of praise and by standing ovations from a packed gym when they are still young.

They are made every day in Coupeville, and we are a better town for it.