The Charger Online School Newspaper

CDHS Cheerleading Makes County-Wide History

Article By: Kolby Shannon

Photographs By: BKMedia

Videos By: Dani Shelton

Edited By: Kaleo Toscanodulanto

Published By: Harrison Ayers

Cheerleaders are known as the embodiment of school spirit and crowd leaders. Chuckey-Doak High School’s cheer team is nothing short of that. You see them on the sidelines of football games, basketball games, and community events.  This year, for the first time in county history, you’ll see them on the competition mat. The cheerleaders, supported by coaching staff and fans, are taking their sport to a whole new level this season. They’re ready to raise energy levels and cheer on other Black Knight athletes through stunts, cheers, and routines. The cheerleading team is coached by Liz Carlson and Madi Baldwin-Jennings. It consists of seven experienced seniors: Elizabeth Shelton, Kenslee Miller, Kolby Shannon, Michelle Brooks, Mandy Cooper, Reagan Brown, and Xayda Vereecke. 

The CDHS Cheer season started in May as they began practice. Over the summer, they attended UCA Cheerleading Camp in early July at Park Vista Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This is a four-day-long camp where the girls spend 12-hour-long days learning dance, stunt, and chant material. They also spend these days doing mock competitions, or evaluations, to prepare the girls for the final day. At camp, the girls have the opportunity to try out for UCA All-American. Xayda and Reagan earned this title and will travel to London this winter to participate in the parade. On the final day, the cheerleaders competed in the Sideline/Game Day and Camp Routine divisions, placing in the top three. 

Also in July, the team also held a children’s cheerleading camp for young aspiring athletes on the 20th and 21st. To conclude their busy month, the Chuckey-Doak Varsity Cheer Team attended a 10-hour-long choreography day to begin competition preparation. This was a really large step for the team, as the head cheerleading coach of the University of Tennessee Cheerleading Team spent the entire day coaching their routine. This day was a huge accomplishment and a big step towards their goals at competition. 

The TSSAA-sanctioned competitions are a new concept within the CDHS cheerleading program, and in Greene County as a whole. The girls will compete at the TSSAA State Competition and a Smokey Mountain Regional Competition. They will compete in the DII Medium Varsity Game Day division. Coach Liz Carlson speaks about their upcoming events: “This year is so exciting for CD Cheer. This is the biggest stage we’ve ever been on, and it’s finally time for us to shine on our own. I can’t wait to see my team take the floor and crush it!”

To prepare for competitions, the cheerleading team practices six days a week to perfect their three-minute routine. This routine consists of dances, a cheer, and a chant. The routine involves a lot of sign work, flags, stunts, and rallying. The team plans to have a cheerleading showcase in the near future before their first competition to show off their hard work and new level of cheerleading in Greene County. Outside of competition preparation, you can find the team cheering on the Black Knights at football games and, soon-to-be, the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams. 

Cheerleading is the only sport whose sole purpose is to support other athletes. They don’t have a game of their own; they are on the sidelines of others. Competing gives these girls a place of their own that they earned. Through rallying, teamwork, and determination, the CDHS Cheerleading team is sure to make an impact not only on the sidelines, but on the competition mat this upcoming November. We recognize the change they are making to the program, and the work it takes from each athlete and coach to reach such milestones. Congratulations to the cheer team for making history. Go, Black Knights! toward the postseason, the Black Knights will have more chances to test themselves and see how far their hard work can take them.

Chief Kolby Shannon

Chuckey-Doak High School
365 Ripley Island Rd, Afton, TN
(423) 798-2636