As the cheer team continues to deliver nothing less than impressive and eye-catching performances for the Boys’ Basketball Team, it is now—for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic—taking its insane talent to the next level: competitive cheerleading.
Led by Head Coaches and Malden High School alumni Brianna Silva Couture and Bianca Scola, as well as two of The Blue and Gold’s sophomore lead reporters, Aundrea Orozco Cifuentes and Alexia Lima, the new cheer competition team consists of 20 determined girls who will go on to represent Malden in their first competition on February 23rd. During this competition, they will showcase their skills and teamwork that they have been tirelessly working on for the past month.
As both students and athletes, balancing both can be a struggle at times. With fairly late practices, schoolwork, and other extracurriculars that many of the girls participate in, it can become overwhelming at times—especially for those who are new to the team and to cheer as a whole. Despite this, the encouraging aspect of the team reminds those girls that they are not alone. They are all in it together to reach a common goal, and this uplifts their spirits.
“I come and give my best and try to put my best foot forward for all of us, regardless if you’ve been on the team before or are new to competing. I feel like I’m just trying to be adaptive,” stated junior Taliyah Lauture, who has been on the cheer team for two years. She further explained how she tries to be as supportive as she can for all the new girls, because “what brought me to join the team was how inviting and awesome everyone was, so I hope to make others feel the same way.”
Junior Claudia Hernandez Escobar is new to the Malden High cheer team this year but has been a competitive cheerleader for more than ten years, making her extremely familiar with all the requirements that a team must take prior to the competition in order to ensure success and satisfaction with their performance. “I’ve been in this sport for my whole life and competitive cheer for nearly ten years, and although our time to work is limited compared to my other experiences, we’re still in the perfect direction. The coaches and captains are doing an amazing job to keep everything in check,” stated Hernandez.
As good in shape as the team is in terms of their mindsets and physicality going forward, they face some obstacles when it comes to space and equipment.
“The school doesn’t have a full mat, we’re missing two panels,¨ explained junior Sorin Mamouzette, who is new to the team. She added how, as small as that obstacle seems, it can make a big difference in performance and ensuring that everyone is comfortable when it is time to perform in an unfamiliar space. Luckily, over winter break, the girls were invited to Bay State All Stars in Woburn, Massachusetts, where they were able to practice with a full mat and put all of their hard work into effect. Practicing here, they got a glimpse of what the competition will look like.
“The girls are adapting so well, truly, if I could take all 30 of them to competition I would, but the rules limit it to 20,” stated Couture, who later emphasized how their practice at the All Stars gymnasium went so well that the girls were invited to come again.
“They definitely showed them just how much potential they have so towards the end of January; we’re going to be practicing at their gym once a week,” expressed Couture. She also mentioned how one of the owners is from Malden herself and recognized all the physical hard work and desire that the girls have to better their skills. “When we went there, the girls learned so much from all their extensive help.”.
With February being sooner than we think, the stakes are high for the cheer team; but with all the sacrifices that they have already to ensure that they are prepared, it is almost obvious that they are going to deliver nothing but the best of their abilities.
“Competitive cheer is all I know, and so, coming back to my high school team to coach, I wanted to make sure that they also get to experience that. I really hope that they place either 1st-3rd, but if not, I know that we will score over 65 points, and that’s what you need to go to regionals—which I know that they will do,¨ noted Couture. She expressed confidence in the girls’ ability to show Greater Boston Leauge that Malden cheer is back.
