The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

“Fight, Mules, Fight! We’re here to win tonight!,” yell the Wahkiakum Cheerleaders during a recent practice. The group of ten girls jump, scream and perform stunts to keep the crowd motivated during football and basketball seasons.

The girls usually practice two days a week for around 90 minutes, but that will depend on the weather. On nicer, sunnier days, they may be out longer.

“We try not to have too many practices because it interferes with school work, and everybody wants to go home sometime,” said Assistant Coach Raedyn Grasseth, who has been working with Coach Lisa Hannah for four and half years.

Junior Varsity (JV) football plays on Monday nights. The girls split on who cheers at those games. “People that need the practice, we will have them cheer at the JV game.” Usually six or seven girls will cheer those games. A girl can cheer both JV and Varsity games in one week.

Practicing chants isn’t the only thing that happens during cheer practice. The girls get into stunt groups, which is a group of four girls and rehearse the jumps and releases that make the crowd go wild.

“Back again, come on Mules let’s win!,” they scream as two girls are held up high above the ground; two more holding either foot and a fourth supporting the ankles of the girl in the air. This stunt is called an extension.

There are a variety of ways to bring a girl back to the ground. One technique is called “sponging.” This is when the two girls holding the feet of the third slightly bounce her up and lead her down safely.

Stunts cannot be practiced in the rain because the ground is too slippery, Grasseth explained. “It’s dangerous!” she said. They have had injuries from sprained necks to ankles.

Both Grasseth and Hannah are certified stunt coaches. They both had to complete a class with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). All coaches must be educated on stunt techniques for safety purposes. It is a three day, hands on class with a test at the end. “We know the safe way of doing things,” Grasseth said. “And we make sure the girls are safe, because it is so dangerous.”

The girls usually practice on the track, because the gym is occupied with other activities. “If it is raining, we usually try to stay out of the weather, but we really have no where to go,” Grasseth said. Sometimes, she said they will try to sneak into the wrestling room where the floor is lined with mats, but it really depends on what is going on.

This year’s squad is made up of two freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. Anyone is free to try out for cheerleading, even boys, Grasseth said. In March, the search begins for the following year’s cheerleaders. The uniforms must be ordered by April, and each uniform is custom fitted to each person.

Auditions are pretty easy, said Hannah. The girls must fill out an application saying they promise to abide by the rules of the athletic code, i.e. no drinking, or drugs, and no failing classes. “Grades are a very small part of it, but we need to know they will keep their grades up,” Hannah said.

In the performance part of their tryouts, girls must learn a cheer or two and perform a dance. They are judged by a panel of five people made up of community members and school personnel. They receive points based on their dance and technique abilities.

The girls must try out annually for the squad; there are no free rides. Even if one of the girls has been on the squad the previous year is no guarantee they will make it the next year. If a first year cheerleader is working hard and a seasoned cheerleader isn’t, she runs the risk of being replaced.

This year, cheerleading has taken a new turn; in past years, there were two teams; JV and varsity. “They only cheered at JV games, they didn’t do any traveling.”

Cheerleading is really the only squad that excludes people, Hannah explained. At one point, she said she went to the administration and asked if they couldn’t just combine JV and varsity cheer staff.

“As long as everybody knew the cheers, that was a stipulation in the beginning,” she said. They ended up with 12 girls cheering at home varsity games. Then the first year cheerleaders would cheer at JV home games.

Some of the chants the girls learn at cheerleading camp, others they make up together. The same goes for the routines. “We have had some girls come up with the dances all on their own and teach it to the rest of the squad,” Hannah said.

“Being around the girls,” Grasseth joked, “you will learn they love to be the center of attention!” Some of these girls have been on the squad for four years, they become like family, she added.

“Cheerleading, it should be fun,” Hannah said. “It’s cheerleading!”