Q&A WITH OUR CHEERLEADERS

I had an awesome time talking to our cheerleaders, Shaylene Wray (left) and Dora Lyn Mustillo (right), for a Q&A session. We chatted about what it means to be a Rambler, their visions for the season and their upcoming competition. Check out what the girls had to say.

Q: What is your definition of a “cheerleader”? Shaylene (S): "A cheerleader is someone who supports a team with chants, and just being energetic. We pump up the crowd all the time, through thick and thin. & just giving it our all!" Dora Lyn (D): "My definition of a cheerleader is having good spirit & a positive attitude. During the football games, we cheer on the team, regardless if they’re winning or losing, we are their number one supporters. We also like to get the crowd going, and we love making the games more fun & enjoyable." Q: Shaylene, it's your first year as a rambler cheerleader, how does it feel to be part of the team? S: "It feels amazing knowing that I’m a rambler cheerleader, I enjoy being on the team a lot, and cheering for the boys. I’ve made new friends and learned and experienced new things, i’m planning to stay on the cheer team all high school years. & Hopefully become captain senior year." Q: Dora Lyn, it's your second year as a rambler cheerleader, how does it feel to be part of the team? D: "It feels amazing to be a part of the CHS ramblers varsity cheerleading team for 2 years now. Last year was my freshman year, & it was really hard for because I was the only freshman on the team. This year I’m a sophomore & there’s now a couple of girls in my grade on the team which is a great feeling. I am hoping I am a captain senior year since I will be the only one there for all 4 years, I really would love to make a great team bond & step up the team. " Q: I heard your 1st competition is at the end of the month, how do you feel about that? S: "I’m feeling very great about our first competition on October 29th. I’m super excited and can’t wait to show off our routine we really came a long way. I also can’t wait to re experience walking onto the floor and just showing what I love doing." D: "I am super pumped up about having our first ever competition this month! I feel thrilled & I can’t wait to see how we do. It is finally our time to shine, and show everyone how hard we’ve been working this season. So excited to take the mat with my ladies!" Q: What do you think you and the team need to work on? S: "Some things my team & I need to work on is learn how to not get so angry at one another. We tend to frustrate a lot and put our anger at one another when we are upset, or when something doesn’t hit, such as the stunts. We also need to learn how to love each other more, our first competition is right around the corner, we just need to learn how to talk to each other properly and nicely, and not laugh at what others are doing wrong. Overall the team is doing extremely good." D: "Our team has made a tremendous improvement from the beginning of the season until now. I am very proud of how far the team & myself has come this season. I think we need to work on controlling our frustrations & consistency with hitting our stunts in the routine. I know if we keep working as hard as we are we will get there. I love my team this year, as well as my coaches, and I wouldn’t want it any other way." Q: Do you think you and the other cheerleaders are ready for the competition? S: "I’m gonna be honest, I do feel like we are ready to take on the mat! We have worked extremely hard over the summer, we had cheer camps for 7 hours a day. We practice every single day after school for about 2 hours, We have performed in front of big crowds before. Even though we might fall we always get back up and that’s all that matter, We are ready to show it all!" D: "I do think the other cheerleaders & I are ready. We’ve performed our routine for an audience twice already. We practice every single weekday after school from 3-5. As long as we are tight, together, and our stunts hit we will do great! Winning is great, we would love to do that, but what’s more important to us is doing our best and knowing how more improvement we made this season." Q: What do you think are the most important things that make a team successful? S: "What I think that makes a team successful is just being very dedicated to the sport. Just giving it your all and not giving up. Bonding with each other is also a big one, as a team you need to learn how to talk with one another, and the main key is helping each other out with our mistakes." D: "I think the most important things that make a team successful is having a good team bond, being dedicated & hardworking, supporting each other & respecting each other. These things are all very important because without a good bond, more drama will occur than success, being lazy & giving up easily won’t get us anywhere, & if we don’t respect or support our teammates or coaches problems will approach constantly."