Coupeville Sports

Brittany Starr (Photos courtesy Starr)

   Starr and teammates share a moment at the end of a paint war with the Wolf football squad.

Cheer puts a smile on Brittany Starr’s face.

“What isn’t there to enjoy about cheer! The energy of all the girls is just great to be around!,” she said. “When we are with each other, as soon as we walk in the door for practice, everything bad gets put behind us.

“It makes it so easy for all of us all to be our selves around each other.”

The CHS junior is new to the Wolf squad but it’s a return to her earlier days, when she took part in junior cheer as an elementary school student.

“I started cheer because this year I wanted to try something different and it keeps me motivated to keep my grades up,” Starr said.

It may also spur her into trying other sports in her remaining time as a Wolf. Either way she is already proud to call herself an athlete.

“When I hear someone say cheer is not a sport it really upsets me; we do just as much, if not more work, than some sports at our school,” Starr said. “I never knew how hard the girls worked until I started this year, but we work all summer.

“Cheer is a sport to me; we work hard to get everything perfect,” she added. “It’s not just yelling and waving our arms around.”

Getting to where she currently is has been made easier with the help of many of those she is closest to, from friends to family.

“My mom was a pretty big impact on who I am today; she also thinks cheer is not a sport but she is the most amazing woman to me,” Starr said. “We don’t have much but she did whatever she could to get me into cheer.

“Then there is my best friend Amanda who has got me through so much. Her and her family are amazing people!,” she added. “But without Mrs. (Kristin) Hurlburt, I would not be in cheer right now. She helped me get scholarships and everything else I needed to pay for cheer.”

As she goes forward, balancing school with cheer, Starr has a wide range of things in her life which bring her joy.

“Algebra and English have always been my favorite classes,” she said. “For my free time I love to draw or paint, sing, and now cheer is one of my favorite things to do, so there’s always that.”