Last Wednesday, Sparkman Cheer left for nationals. As they prepared to board the plane to Orlando, Florida, friends and family saw them off in hopes of the teams taking the national title back home.

After long practices and striving to be their best, the team arrived in Orlando, ready to show the nation their senator spirit. Before taking the floor, teams are given the chance to warm-up in a large room with two other teams. “Warm-ups are a nerve racking,” said cheerleader, Kendall Foshee, “…we are only allowed 8 minutes to warm-up so it is important for our team to stay focused and have a good warm up so that we can be confident in out performance.”

Following the warm-up, teams begin to wait in a long hallway backstage from the performance area. Varsity staged in the hallway for about 20 to 30 minutes, which is a reasonable amount of time compared to previous years. As they prepare to takes the floor, the team huddles together and shares words of motivation and encouragement for each other. “One member leads us in a prayer before we perform to keep us calm and focused,” said Foshee.

With all their work leading up to one moment, the team really delivered what they had to offer. As Varsity Cheer went though their performance, they would check in with their coach to see how well they were doing. The reassurance they received from Mrs. A fueled the cheerleaders with all the motivation they needed for the rest of the performance. They were confident in each other from the beginning and they finished knowing that they did the best the team has ever done.

The moment Sparkman Varsity Cheer heard their named being announced as National Champions, they broke into celebration. “So many emotions were going through our head but the feeling of our handiwork paying off is one of the best feelings in the world,” said Foshee. Among all the screaming, hugging, and crying they team knew that in addition to feeling great about the work they had done, they would be bringing home the national title.