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Archive for the ‘Cheer’ Category

Jovanah Foote is Fired Up!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , on August 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Jovanah Foote

Jovanah Foote

Foote and Sylvia Hurlburt (John Fisken photo)

Foote and Sylvia Hurlburt (John Fisken photo)

A new high school sports year approaches and the Coupeville High School cheer squad is hard at work.

To get you ready, we present a series of features on Wolf cheerleaders, with the headline to each article paying tribute to 2009’s “Fired Up!,” the best cheerleader movie ever made.

Yeah, you heard me the first time, “Bring it On.” I said it and I meant it.

Sylvia Hurlburt is gonna be so happy.

Her partner in crime on the CHS cheer squad, fellow junior Jovanah Foote, is finally getting her moment in the spotlight, with a little coaxing from Hurlburt.

And Foote deserves it.

A whip-smart, athletic young woman, she’s been toiling in the cheer trenches for years, having started in junior cheer when she was at Coupeville Elementary.

Now she’s one of the ones out front, leading the way for the Wolves and helping teach the next generation of cheerleaders when they work with the CES girls.

Foote brings years of gymnastic experience to the floor with her when she cheers and she’s a two-season member of the Wolf squad, working hard through both football and basketball season.

“You have to be strong and athletic to be a cheerleader,” Foote said. “It’s the same with football, volleyball, basketball and any other sport.

“We throw girls up in the air and have to catch them; that takes a lot of strength, otherwise we’ll drop them,” she added. “Cheerleading takes up a lot of time, energy and practice, just like any other sport, so it should be considered a sport.”

An avid reader, she enjoys spending time with her friends, whether in the cheer arena or outside of it.

“What I enjoy most about cheer is how well the team gets along,” Foote said. “And the stunting and the football games — that’s the best part!”

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Allison Dickson is Fired Up!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on August 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Allison Dickson

Allison Dickson

A new high school sports year approaches and the Coupeville High School cheer squad is hard at work.

To get you ready, we present a series of features on Wolf cheerleaders, with the headline to each article paying tribute to 2009’s “Fired Up!,” the best cheerleader movie ever made.

Yeah, you heard me the first time, “Bring it On.” I said it and I meant it.

Allison Dickson does not fear hard work. In fact, she embraces it.

The CHS junior, who is entering her second season as a member of the Wolf cheer squad, knows her sport requires hours of toil and sweat, work often under-appreciated by those who think cheer is just standing on a sideline waving pom-poms.

“Cheer takes hard work,” Dickson said. “We have to practice, just like any other sport, we have to work as a team, just like any other sport, we have to be strong and we have to work hard, just like any other sport.”

She’s joined on the squad by younger sister Lainey, and family has always been an important part of her life.

“My family always supports me,” Dickson said. “They help me to be confident in myself, to know that I can do hard things.

“They help me to be the best I can be!”

When she’s not cheering, Dickson can usually be found somewhere in the vicinity of a piano (she’s been playing more more than a decade).

She also participates in Big Brothers Big Sisters, is a member of the National Honor Society, and, like her siblings, played soccer when she was younger.

“I like all my classes, but my favorite last year was weight training,” Dickson said. “I like spending time with family and friends, church, eating food, and I like photography.”

And, while there is a lot of work involved in cheer, in the end, it comes down to joy for Dickson.

“I thought it might be something I would enjoy,” she said. “I enjoy getting people excited and cheering people on.”

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Jessica Bester is Fired Up!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on August 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Jessica Bester

Jessica Bester

A new high school sports year approaches and the Coupeville High School cheer squad is hard at work.

To get you ready, we present a series of features on Wolf cheerleaders, with the headline to each article paying tribute to 2009’s “Fired Up!,” the best cheerleader movie ever made.

Yeah, you heard me the first time, “Bring it On.” I said it and I meant it.

Jessica Bester is new to CHS, but she already has at least one connection to her new teammates on the Wolf cheer squad.

Senior Ciera St Onge, a Wolf veteran, is Bester’s cousin and helped recruit the freshman to make the jump from youth cheer programs in Oak Harbor to sporting the red and black.

“Ciera was a big reason why I started high school cheer,” Bester said. “The reason I started was because I thought it would be fun and a good way to make friends.”

As the Wolves prepare for the football season ahead, the multi-sport athlete (she’s played basketball and softball) has found her new team to be a welcoming one.

“I enjoy how close you get with the girls,” Bester said. “You’re not just teammates, you’re a family.”

A fan of the movie “Finding Nemo,” she enjoys her history and science classes and draws on her family and friends for support.

“My mom, she’s always been a really big supporter in what I do,” Bester said. “When I felt like quitting she gave me all the reason to stay and thrive.”

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Lainey Dickson is Fired Up!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on August 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Lainey Dickson

Lainey Dickson

A new high school sports year approaches and the Coupeville High School cheer squad is hard at work.

To get you ready, we present a series of features on Wolf cheerleaders, with the headline to each article paying tribute to 2009’s “Fired Up!,” the best cheerleader movie ever made.

Yeah, you heard me the first time, “Bring it On.” I said it and I meant it.

The proud Dickson football legacy lives on at CHS.

Older brother Jared graduated in June after a stellar gridiron career and is off on a two-year Mormon mission, but sisters Allison and Lainey are returning to the sidelines as key members of the Wolf cheer squad.

Lainey, who will be a sophomore in the fall, is entering her second year cheering for the red and black, and she remains as excited by it today as she was on the first day.

“I always wanted to be a cheerleader, and it sounded like a good opportunity to be part of a team and boost Coupeville spirit,” Dickson said. “I enjoy learning new cheers and dances.

“I also enjoy being part of a stunt group and part of a team, because we all learn how to work together and get things done.”

Dickson has played other sports along the way, participating in track and soccer when she was younger. She also hopes to join the CHS softball team in the spring.

While cheer is considered an activity, and not a sport, by CHS administrators, Lainey is content in the knowledge she and her teammates are putting in as much hard work as anyone in a Wolf uniform.

“Technically we aren’t considered a sport, but we practice just as much if not more than other sports,” Dickson said. “It takes just as much commitment and hard work as any sports team!”

When she’s not working the sidelines, Dickson enjoys playing the piano and loves to “walk around my house listening to Disney music, too!”

Like her brother before her, she is quick to praise the job her parents (Randy and Lisa Dickson) have done in raising a family that’s deeply committed to each other and their faith.

“My parents have been amazing examples of the person I want to be, and have always supported me in the decisions I make,” she said. “So I would definitely say I am the person I am because of them.”

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Ayanna Jeter is Fired Up!!

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , on August 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Ayanna Jeter

Ayanna Jeter

A new high school sports year approaches and the Coupeville High School cheer squad is hard at work.

To get you ready, we present a series of features on Wolf cheerleaders, with the headline to each article paying tribute to 2009’s “Fired Up!,” the best cheerleader movie ever made.

Yeah, you heard me the first time, “Bring it On.” I said it and I meant it.

Ayanna Jeter is new to CHS, but not to cheer.

She’ll be a freshman in the fall, one of just two, with Jessica Bester, who have turned out for the Wolf squad. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t bring experience to the sideline, though.

A veteran of the youth cheer programs in Oak Harbor, she first picked up the sport to spend more time with her friends.

“I started because I had friends that did it and it looked like a fun girly sport,” Jeter said.

And, it is a sport, regardless of whether Coupeville administrators want to classify it as one (they peg it as an activity currently).

“I would tell them that cheer is a sport because it does take practice and physical activity,” Jeter said. “There’s no I in this activity; it’s all about the team and care for one another and that’s a big part of a sport.”

The young gun looks up to her more-experienced teammates and draws support from them, as well.

“I enjoy how caring and welcoming the girls are and how we never stop till we get it right,” Jeter said.

Away from the cheer arena, she enjoys hanging out with her relatives.

“Apart from cheer, I really love spending time with my family and friends, and being at the beach in the warm sun,” Jeter said.

One member of her family, in particular, has had a huge influence on her and continues to help guide her through life.

“I would say mom has a big impact on me because no matter how hard practices are she tells me to keep going and do my very best, and to never give up on myself or cheer.”

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