The spirit-o-meter at Howe Sound Sounders football games this year may rise to an all-time high.
Cheers, chants and maybe even a human pyramid are in the works for the brand new Howe Sound Secondary School (HSSS) cheer squad, which is set to make its home regular season debut on Friday (Sept. 28).
According to the unofficial coach of the team, Sara Stuart, the girls are raring to go.
"I was told that they were looking for a coach and when I came to the first practice I was really overwhelmed," the 2010 HSSS grad said. "We had about 25 to 30 girls come out for our first practice, which was more than we expected. I didn't realize our school had so much spirit."
Catherine Harney of the Sounders said HSSS Principal Christine Perkins also helped put the squad together.
"The spark started with the principal, but there are three of us working with the girls," she said. "Sara is taking care of the cheer and dance routines, Diane DeCook is looking after the fundraising and uniforms and I also work with the fundraising and travel with the team to all the games."
The squad practices three times a week and is mostly made up of Grade 12s. Stuart said that for home games, there could be a team of 20 or more, but only 10 cheerleaders can travel to away games.
"The players on both teams seem to like them," she said of the team's road debut in Surrey on Friday (Sept. 21).
Connie Oreamuno is the dance captain of the team, working with Stuart on routines and formations, while Emma Wong is the cheer captain, helping to lead chants and cheers during game action.
According to Oreamuno, the team formed through word of mouth and the guys on the team were pretty happy to have their support. Wong, who is heavily involved in the local performing arts community, said cheerleading should work well with her other passions.
"It all fits together," she said, noting that the practices can be a lot of work, but are fun. "All the stretching and performing really push you to your physical limits."
The girls promised a "pretty bumping" halftime cheer and also have specific celebrations planned for the opening and conclusion of the game. The HSSS cheer squad also announced that it will challenge the cheer squad of the Pemberton Grizzlies to a halftime competition during the Sounders-Grizzlies exhibition game on Oct. 27. Winners of the cheer competition will be judged by audience reaction.
Check out the cheer squad in action at the Sounders home opener on Friday at 4 p.m.
