After months of preparation and determination, the Kittens are clawing their way at the door of cheer leading nationals. Grambling Laboratory High School cheerleaders will be competing at nationals for the first time. Seven of the eight GHS cheerleaders will be competing.
This particular cheering competition is called the Speed, Strength and Agility Program. The competition is March 2 in Dallas at Richmond College. The national competition will consist of states from Oklahoma to Georgia. The Kittens competed in December to qualify regionally before getting a Nationals bid.
In order to make sure the girls are ready for the competition, their workout and preparation load has increased. The Kittens practices two hours a day during the week and three hours on the weekends. The kittens coach, Brittany Smith said, “The girls started conditioning and practicing a week before school started to prepare for the strenuous routine. The girls are also learning tumbling to increase their chances of being the ultimate competitor.”
If the Kittens reach their maximum goal as national champions they will win a host of trophies, medals and plaques.
The road to nationals was not always smooth for the Kittens, but their supporters helped the Kittens jump over obstacles along the way. These supporters included a group of schoolmates and faculty members who encouraged the girls, a booster club named the Hello Kittees that helps with funding and a group of dedicated coaches, who taught the girls the basics of cheering and the importance of improving their sisterhood.
One major obstacle that the Kittens faced was funding. Without funding, the Kittens would not have been able to attend at the National Cheering Association in Dallas. But the competition supporters wouldn’t let the girls’ vision of becoming national champions die.
“We had excellent support from the staff and faculty at Grambling High,” said Smith. “The Hello Kittees Booster Club sponsored the competition through fundraisers and hardworking.”
The GHS Kittens will be accompanied by their Principal, Sandra Boston, sponsor Queen Lawhorne and Coach D’Andrea Wilson.
The only bittersweet part of heading to national success is that the kittens will be losing one of their coaches. Coach Smith graduated from Grambling State University in December and was offered a Regional Coaching Position in Dallas that will require her to move in March.
“I am beyond saddened by the move because the last thing I want to do is leave my babies, said Smith. “I know they will be in great hands and will help cultivate a new perspective of Cheerleading for the girls to come. They had an outstanding coaching and support team from family to faculty and friends.”