The Dream That Was Lost

“And in 8^th place… the Roadrunners of Holbrook!” the announcer belted over the intercom. My heart stopped and my body froze. The whole squad looked around at each other and a smile grew across all our faces. I pushed my body up off the hard gym floor and started screaming.  We were all hugging and crying our eyes out, not for sadness but for great joy. The date was November 24^th, 2011. We were in the middle of Phoenix at a huge 5A school. This was the first time we had ever made it to state in 12 LONG years. And not only had we made it, but we were number eight to make it! That means we beat two other teams. Our team was proud and so was our coach.

About two months later we were back at it again. But we weren’t just competing for a spot in the top ten. We were competing for the big title, STATE CHAMPS. It was the week right before we left for state and one of our members had unfortunately dropped out. She wasn’t able to attend our practices or games anymore because of her grades. That means we had to create a whole new routine in only four days. In some places she was not a main person so it was easy to switch around, but in other places we had to teach different stunts and make a whole new formation. Most of our team was committed so it worked out great at practice and everything hit perfectly every time. We had a chance to become the great STATE CHAMPIONS.  

We left the school at around 7:30 in the morning for Prescott, AZ and arrived at Tim’s Toyota Center at about 10:30. We got our bags checked, got dressed, and found a spot for all of our team to sit. We didn’t have to check in until noon so we got some food, bought some t-shirts, and looked around at the college booths that were set up. When it finally reached noon we put our red lipstick on, took a team photograph, stretched out, and started to warm up behind the curtain. First station: jumps. “1-2-straddle-5-6-7-8” My coach yelled. The jumps hit perfect. Two more times, and the jumps hit perfectly once again. Next station: tumbling. Brooklynn practiced her back handspring and we did our forward rolls, just to take up some time. Everything hit perfect, once again. Next station: stunts. This was the station that was the most important, and that if someone was not able to do something, they needed to say it now. My coach started counting out the first five eight-counts of the routine and only two out of the four pod’s stunts were hitting. There was a group in front that was mainly freshmen, and they started freaking out. They began feeling the nerves that most of us upperclassmen had felt several times. I talked to a couple of them and told them to settle down because that’s the only thing that will hold you back out on the floor. They took a couple breaths and told me they were okay. We went through the routine one more time and everything hit perfectly. We were ready.

As the team before us walked off the floor we walked on in a single file line with all smiles on our face. I looked down at my white, tight, shiny shoes, and took a deep breath. I got goose bumps on my arms as I looked forward and saw the judges who would soon decide the fate of my dream. Right before the music started my group said that after this we would be state champs… our hearts stopped and the music started. I put on my cheer face and did the routine the best I ever had in my entire life. I wanted to win.

After our final clean and after walking off the floor knowing I left my heart back there, I could not help but smile. I looked around to see how the other girls felt when I noticed something went wrong. A couple girls were crying and some would not speak to anyone. We took another break and then it was time for awards. The announcer said that it was now time for the All Girls Cheer- Division lll awards. We held hands and waited anxiously. They announced the first time in tenth place: Benson. I took a deep breath. Next was ninth place… Holbrook. I stood up, put on one last fake smile, and sat down with all hope lost. My eyes filled with tears and knew that was my last chance to be a champ, representing Holbrook, AZ. I was proud of our team for getting here in twelve years, and I will never forget that day of feeling on top of the world for two minutes and thirty seconds. I love my team and I always will. It was nobody’s fault and I hope people will start believing in us more because we had the chance to be State Champions. I love my team, and I thank God for giving me this amazing opportunity.