Coupeville Sports

   New CHS assistant cheer coach (and Wolf alumni) Amanda (Streubel) Jones. (Photos courtesy Jones)

Rockin’ the red and white, old school style.

Cheering for a semi-pro team in Bellingham.

“I enjoyed feeling like I belonged to a group, and actually felt safe being myself.”

Cheer gave Amanda (Streubel) Jones a new lease on life in high school, and it’s something she wants to pass on to a new generation of Coupeville High School students.

After years as a successful swimmer (she went to state at the 4A level and swam at the Western Zones Championship against rivals from 11 states), she left the pool because of built-up verbal abuse.

Jumping to cheer as a Wolf sophomore, she found a new family and blossomed under long-time coach Sylvia Arnold.

As a senior she brought home the Wolf Award and the “Do It Again” Award (“That was my saying after we nailed a new stunt; had to be sure we could do it again”), then went on to put in a year as a cheerleader with a Bellingham semi-pro team.

Now, the 2011 grad is a wife and mother of a little girl, and one of Coupeville’s new cheer coaches.

Jones, hired as the school’s assistant coach, is joining fellow alumni Emily (Norris) Stevens as the duo prepare to return to the sidelines of their (slightly) younger days.

It’s a huge moment for both of them.

“I care about the program; I never want to see it go away,” Jones said. “It brings so many people together, and I love the inclusiveness of the program.

“My goal is to continue working with Emily, and making the program as strong as we can.”

Jones, who cheered at a time when the Wolves operated as both a sideline team and a competition squad, fondly remembers her time working as a base.

“Stunting was definitely my go-to. I love it.”

Her four years as a cheerleader continue to impact her life in positive ways.

“Most of the traits that the cheer program taught me, helped me maintain my job, and has helped me build relationships with people,” Jones said. “I tend to be more on the socially awkward side of life. So cheer has really helped me break that barrier.”