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Archive for the ‘Cheer’ Category

Ex-Wolf cheerleader hopped up on pain meds!!

Posted in Cheer on August 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

The Christensen clan, radiating pure awesomeness.

Best wishes for a fast recovery to former Coupeville High School cheerleader, Miriam’s Espresso barista and one of the nicest people in the world, Shawn (Evrard) Christensen, who emerged from an operating room mere hours ago.

The irrepressible one, wife to CHS grad Billy Christensen and mom to two adorable daughters, had her biceps tendon detached and reattached, a honkin’ bone spur removed and much general cleanup. All hope that this eases what apparently has been the cause of much pain.

In one of those weird coincidences, I sent Shawn a message on Facebook yesterday. It was the birthday of her sister-in-law, Jodi (Christensen) Crimmins, a former Wolf hoops star, Miriam’s barista and one of Shawn’s few rivals for Most Awesome Person in the Universe.

I had a few minutes to kill, the idea suddenly hit me and I sent Shawn a message reminding her of how awesome she was. Little did I know she would be in surgery less than 24 hours later, or I might have said something more profound.

And now, here I am using my sparkling new web site to say what could be said in a Facebook message. And why not? It’s my site and I’ll do whatever the heck I feel like around here.

So, to the whole Christensen/Crimmins clan, one big group “You’re awesome!” and to Shawn, “Glad to hear you’re OK.”

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Felici — it’s Italian for awesome!!

Posted in Cheer, Softball on August 22, 2012| 1 Comment »

   Two of Coupeville’s best promoters of school and community spirit, Julia Felici (on left) and Nicole Becker.

There are people who are going through their lives, and than there are people who are making a real difference.

Julia Felici is young, only a junior at Coupeville High School, but the Wolf cheerleader and softballer already falls squarely into the second category.

From raising huge gobs of money for cancer research in honor of a close family friend who fell to the disease, to her work as a worthy adviser with her local assembly of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls — a Masonic youth service organization — Felici is touching lives.

“She’s pretty amazing!! Not that I’m partial or anything,” said Nanette Streubel, mother of Felici’s boyfriend, gridiron giant Nick Streubel.

Did we also mention that she loves her parents (“My Dad has to be my biggest influence. He has always led me by example and puts 100% into everything he does. He’s always taught me that good things come to those who work for it and to strive to be the best I can be.”) and is now taking karate classes with him?

The family that roundhouse kicks together stays together.

Felici comes across as a genuinely nice person, a young woman not out to toot her own horn, which is maybe why she hasn’t gotten a lot of publicity yet.

But she is without a doubt the kind of person a community looks at, takes a second look and then says, “We should all be proud to have her as one of us.”

For her part, she remains refreshingly low-key in describing herself.

“I’m pretty much your normal teenage girl,” Felici said. “I love cows, anything pink or sparkly, hanging out with my boyfriend Nick, spending countless hours on Pinterest, being with my family (especially my nephew Drake) and just being with my friends.”

Her community efforts have included a commitment to Relay for Life, an annual event to raise funds and awareness in the fight against cancer.

“A close family friend died of cancer after a long fight almost two years ago and it made a huge impact on my life and is the reason I am trying to help make a change,” Felici said.

“This year I sold sweatshirts and tote bags that said “fight like a girl” on the front and “support breast cancer awareness” on the back,” she added. “I planned on selling them just for breast cancer awareness month but kept receiving orders and ended up selling them until June. From the sweatshirts and bags alone I raised almost $900 for Relay for Life.”

When she’s not raising money, or fulfilling her duties to the Order of the Rainbow for Girls (“Being worthy adviser is much like being president of a club; I plan a calendar, run the meetings and communicate with all the adults and girls in the assembly. It takes up most of my time when I’m not at cheer”) she is one of the linchpins of Sylvia Arnold’s cheer squad.

A sport she almost didn’t take up.

“I started cheer halfway through football season freshman year,” Felici said. “The first home game of the season I watched from the bleachers and I realized I would much rather be on the sidelines with my friends cheering on the team then sitting on the cold bleachers.

“My favorite thing about cheer, well, at least about our cheer team, is that it’s the only time you can put 28 girls together and we all get along,” she added. “We all work together to accomplish great things.

“As for the physical aspect of cheer I love stunting, the fact that four girls can throw a girl in the air, have the girl do a 360 then catch her, will always amaze me.”

For those out there clinging to the antiquated notion that cheer is not a sport — we’ll call them idiots — all you have to do is watch one practice as Arnold cracks her (peppy, good-natured) whip.

“Cheerleading, just like any other sport, requires strength, determination and teamwork,” Felici said. “We go to competitions just like any other sport.

“I personally think cheer is one of the best sports because 90% of the time, the effort we put in to perfect our stunts and memorize our cheers is for the sole purpose of cheering on our friends and peers on the court and on the field,” she added. “We work hard to support others and bring spirit to the community.”

A community that is blessed to have a gem like her among us.

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Kiel juggles sports, life, Tumblr addiction!!

Posted in Cheer, Girls Basketball, Volleyball on August 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In this photo by Pam Headridge, Wolf cheerleaders Emily Clay (on left) and Katie Kiel share some love after a paint/water war to end a summer cheer camp.

Katie Kiel is busy.

“I guess I’m just like any other teenage girl,” she said. “I love to talk, I have a Tumblr addiction, I’m always listing to music, and not a lot of people know this, but I’m such a nerd. I love to read. I’m usually in the middle of four different books at a time.”

Oh, wait, did we also mention the Coupeville High School senior plays outside hitter for the Wolf volleyball squad, cheers (that calls for double duty in the fall) and goes hard to the hoop as a post/wing player for the CHS hoopsters? As we said, she’s busy.

“I plan to juggle volleyball and cheer this year, and I plan to do so successfully,” Kiel said. “I have done it in years past, as well as my other fellow team mates.

“I guess it’s hard to juggle it all, from cheering at Friday night football games, volleyball Monday-Friday, and homework, of course, to my home life and my friends,” she added. “It seems like a lot, but staying busy keeps me from making trouble, I guess. The hardest thing to do is find time to eat.”

It helps that younger sister Kacie (“My family means the world to me, especially my sister. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be who I am today!”) is also an athlete, so the entire family can move as one. Both Kiel sisters will be looking to make an impact for Toni Crebbin’s spikers, who lost a chunk of key players to graduation.

“For volleyball, I plan to strive for my best in every way,” Kiel said. “If that’s not missing a single serve or going for every ball I will always try my hardest.

“As for the team, I hope we do as well as I know we can,” she added. “We always work together really well and I hope to keep that up.”

Press the multi-tasker on which of her sports is her favorites, and even the whirlwind Kiel has to take a pause.

“Ohhh … a favorite sport … hmm … that’s tough now. I enjoy so many things about each one,” Kiel said. “I love my cheer ohana. They keep me smiling. Volleyball is just … there’s no words that describe how I feel when I’m on the court with the team and we just have this amazing rally and win the rally. That’s gotta be the best feeling ever.”

And, while she enjoys all of her sports and mentions her appreciation for Crebbin and cheer coach Sylvia Arnold, she gives a (very slight) edge to basketball coach David King as her top mentor. His brand of tough love, with an assist from wife and fellow coach Amy King, has helped shape her as an athlete and a successful young woman.

“I have to thank all my coaches and teachers for never giving up on me,” Kiel said. “Out of all of the coaches I’ve had throughout my life, I think Coach King has stood out to me the most. He doesn’t sugar coat anything. If you need to practice more then he won’t hesitate to tell you. Sometimes he can get on my nerves, but I know it’s all to better myself as well as the team.

“I think the way that he and Mrs. King coach is very helpful,” she added. “They can come up with plays at the snap of a finger and they are so well explained that it’s a breeze to run. I enjoy the way they coach.”

Quick to spread the love, Kiel doesn’t forget her teammates, who she reserves a special place for in her heart.

“Without the help from my teammates I’d be nowhere. We are all like one big family and you can tell just by looking at us,” Kiel said. “They each have their own talent that they contribute to the team and in each way they make us stronger and better. I want them to know how much they mean to me and no amount of words can ever describe how much I’ve loved playing with them these past years.”

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Rain or shine, Roberts brings the cheer!!

Posted in Cheer on August 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

On top of the ladder, Madeline Roberts is ready to fly in this photo by former OHHS cheer coach and renowned photo whiz Pamela Headridge.

There was a time when Madeline Roberts might have screamed at the mere thought of being a cheerleader.

A pedal-to-the-metal softball and basketball player who has never met a loose ball she couldn’t throw herself head-first after, the Coupeville High School junior had to be talked into joining the Wolf cheer squad. Now she is one of its best and brightest, a fireball whose irrepressible personality shines through in every cheer squad picture.

“I never really thought I’d be a cheerleader because I’d always been into softball and basketball and made fun of cheerleaders,” Roberts admitted. “I started cheer halfway through football season freshman year because they needed someone for competition cheer. My friend, who was on the team at the time, convinced me to do it.”

Once she was in, she was totally in, fully committing to the team’s “family on the mat, family off the mat” philosophy.

“The best part about being a cheerleader is the family you create with them over the years,” Roberts said. “Since freshman year, Julia Felici and I actually created a pregame routine to get us pumped for games and it really made us closer, not to mention it makes football season that much more exciting.”

How committed is she to the cause these days? She even enjoys cheering on sometimes miserable Washington fall evenings.

“I don’t think there’s anything about cheer I could do without,” Roberts said. “Some people would say rainy football games. But there’s just something about cheering for those boys in the rain that makes it that much more fun.”

Not that it is all fun and games. What few on the outside see is the time and sweat put in by Roberts and her teammates, under the peppy but detail-orientated tutelage of coach Sylvia Arnold.

“You know, cheerleading is actually really freaking hard. I mean, kids lift us, and that’s like at least 100 pounds and we get thrown and work our legs doing jump lines until they’re jello,” Roberts said. “It’s hard work. I’d tell them come to practice sometime and tell me how sore you are the next day, because Syl works us hard!”

Still, as much as she enjoys cheer, even with the hard work, she clings to softball as her true love. A star player for both the Wolves and her select team, she hopes to continue playing when she goes to college in two years.

“After high school I would hope to play some college softball up at Western and I really want to focus on studies in early childhood development,” Roberts said. “Working with kids is just something I’ve always been good at and love to do.

“I’d love to say cheer is my favorite sport but I love the dirt way too much and just the feeling of being fast on the field and going hard and winning,” she added.

As she progresses through school and life, becoming a well-rounded young woman (“To everyone’s surprise I really like to read books, and nobody ever believes me! And I love studying history. I just find the past so interesting and really think we could learn a lot from it.”), her choice of cheer has paid off in numerous ways. A close relationship with her coach has been one of the most evident.

“One person who has really had a big impact in my life is actually Sylvia Arnold. She may be my coach but she’s been there for me since I was a little kid,” Roberts said. “I used to live next door to her when I was a kid, but she’s been there for me in the toughest part of my life.

“My parents got divorced when I was little and, as I grew up, I had a really hard time dealing with it through middle school,” she added. “She started this group called Chill with Syl and it really helped me open up and see what God has in store for me.”

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Hard work, sparkling personality fuel cheer superstar!!

Posted in Cheer on August 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Jai’Lysa Hoskins (front row, second from left) and teammates say cheese after a paint/water fight brought a close to summer cheer camp. (Pam Headridge photo)

Jai’Lysa Hoskins is a true triple threat.

Silky smooth on the track oval — where she dominates in the sprints and relays — a ferocious rebounder with a light scoring touch on the basketball court and an electrifying presence on the sidelines each fall as a key member of the Coupeville High School cheer squad, the Wolf senior does a bit of everything.

And everything she does, she does well. Not that it doesn’t take a bit of hard work.

Two years ago she juggled basketball, school and being a part of Coupeville’s competition cheer squad, which placed sixth at state in a triumphant return to the world of stunts and throws.

“Doing all three was extremely hard as a sophomore, but I’m a part of an amazing team that has my back through it all,” Hoskins said.

“One thing I learned while trying to juggle those activities, you have to be a good planner and really push yourself beyond your limits.

Hoskins, who will have cheered all the way through her high school days, almost didn’t pick up a pompom at all.

“My mom talked me into cheering,” she said. “I used to think that cheer was too girly, but after my season you couldn’t keep me off the football sideline!”

With the Wolves having operated as both a straight-up cheer squad and as a competition team, Hoskins and her teammates have had to show they are more than just sideline decoration.

The outdated idea that cheer is not a sport should no longer be a question.

“The only thing I would say is to come out and have a practice with us!” Hoskins said. “Once you go through a practice, you realize how much athleticism goes into cheer and they’d change their mind.”

Regardless of the sport and whether she is on the sidelines or in the thick of things, Hoskins is sure to be a hit, her mega-watt smile lighting up the room wherever she goes.

Her friendliness meshes well with her fellow cheerleaders, which fits in perfectly with the long tradition of CHS cheer squads being a tightly knit bunch under the tutelage of peppy head coach Sylvia Arnold.

Family on the mat. Family off the mat.

“My favorite part about cheer is the unity and bond that I built with girls of all types through the team,” Hoskins said.

“One of our team goals this year is to ignite the spirit at CHS and to get people coming to games of every sport, supporting one another in that way.

“The only personal goal I have for this year is to just give CHS everything I have for every sport that I play this year,” she added.

“My plans for after high school are to go to college somewhere and study psychology. I hope to get on a track and field team at the college level — I think that would be amazing!”

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