By Molly Seales

On Monday, July 6, a meeting was held by Mrs. Kristi Spradley for anyone interested in cheering for the 2020-2021 season of cheer at Riverdale Academy.  Many things were discussed during the meeting, and many new and fun ideas were thrown into the air.

The first and most important thing that was discussed were expectations.  Cheerleaders play a big role in representing the school, so they need to make sure that they maintain a good reputation.  Some things that are included in this are maintaining good grades in school, maintaining good behavior inside and outside of school related activities, being respectful, and being responsible.

Another thing that was discussed was pep rallies and how the cheer team can get more of the students involved.  Last year there was an inflatable donut and whoever had the most spirt got to sign it and got donuts one morning.  Since some people didn’t like to participate, it gave some classes disadvantages. This year one idea was to have classes make signs so that everybody participates, and it is fair to all classes.  There was also talk about giving all of the elementary students more opportunities to participate in games. 

One more important thing that was discussed was getting the middle schoolers more involved with cheer.  Many of the middle schoolers already cheer along with the varsity cheerleaders, but since there is currently nothing for students in grades 6^th – 8^th there were some ideas discussed about ways to get them more involved with cheer.  This would also help them to see if they would be interested in cheer when they’re in high school. 

At the meeting it was decided that practice would be on Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 to 5:00 starting on Monday July 13.  By the end of the meeting everybody was excited for the upcoming cheer season and to start practicing. 

Cheer coach Mrs. Kristi Spradley said, “We are very excited about the upcoming year.  I am looking forward to working with this group of girls!”

Senior cheerleader Tylee Adams said, “I think this upcoming cheer season will be great! I’m very excited we have a new coach. I’m very confident that everything will be well-organized and fun.  I personally love everyone on the team and cannot wait to make memories with them.  Our cheer meeting was very upbeat!  After talking about this cheer season everyone including myself are counting down the days to cheer.  I am very thankful for RA cheer and my RA family.”

Senior Abby Jones said, “I am very excited for my senior year of cheer.  I think that this will be a great year.  I am looking forward to making even more memories with my team while on the field cheering on our boys and off of it during practices.”

As a cheerleader myself I can’t wait to start practicing and get back on the field to cheer on our boys. Let’s go Rebels!