The U12 PACE cheerleading team wrapped up their season in Edmonton, putting together a third place finish at the All Star Cheer Extravaganza.
During a season that was filled with injuries and COVID-19 concerns, coach Sandra Kirtzinger said she was proud to see the team fight their way to a third place award to end the year on a high.
“We had some issues throughout the year with COVID and we were missing some athletes; one was out with a broken foot,” Kirtzinger said. “We scrambled last minute to get everything put together, but it was good in Edmonton. We finished with our highest marks of the season.”
The club was originally planning to send 14 cheerleaders to Edmonton for their final performance, but had to quickly adjust after one of the girls couldn’t make the trip. Kirtzinger said that put some stress on the girls, as they now had to rehearse with one less girl than planned, but also practicing around a cheerleader with a broken foot.
“We were aware of our cheerleader with the broken foot and what the rules would be around that,” she said. “She was only allowed to dance and jump, but of course, you can’t jump with a broken foot. We had a member that wasn’t able to travel last minute. The girls had about 24 minutes to revamp their choreography and put it on the floor.
“For kids that are 12 years old and younger, those are some pretty big changes for them, to do that last minute. The kids are resilient, they’re a really good group. They managed to pull it off. They still had a few bobbles and a few deductions, but their marks were by far the highest of the season, and it was good to see them finish so strong.”
With all of the adjustments and last second fine tuning that the team had to do in Edmonton, it was a positive sign for how well they reacted to the pressure. As if it wasn’t high enough already, to go out and string together a third place finish after 24 minutes of tweaking their structure showed how resilient the team was.
Kirtzinger said the way they fought through adversity, not only in Edmonton, but at all of their events, will go a long way in building their character for future competitions.
“That’s the challenge of being on a team sport,” she said. “It’s a little bit different from hockey or an organized team sport, where if someone gets knocked down, you can put someone else in to replace them. With cheer, your routine is choreographed to the number of people you have, and everyone had a specific job. If that one person isn’t there, you’re either sitting on the mat and doing nothing, or you’re trying to switch out a spot.
“It’s a great life lesson for these kids, or for any athlete, that things don’t always go as planned. You have to be willing to adjust to make your way in the world.”
@kyle_kosowan • sports@paherald.sk.ca
