Cheerleading has always been about energy, pride, and unity. When it comes to senior year, the experience becomes even more special for the cheerleaders. Each practice, each cheer, and each celebration is not just another average moment; it’s a lasting memory of the final year as part of the team. For seniors Elizabeth Day and Brooke Steven, who have dedicated the last four years to the cheer team and now serve as captains, this feeling is well known. Enjoying each moment, they’re experiencing the nostalgia of cheering for the last time in high school. 

“It’s definitely a lot of fun,” Day said. “Looking back at the past three years, how much we’ve grown and how much the school has grown too… I’ll just miss the friendship and possibly cheering, definitely that.” It’s not just about cheering, it’s also about the connections and the good time you spend doing it. 

“This will probably be my last year cheering, so I’m definitely gonna miss all of it, really,” Steven said.  

Those words capture the essence of being part of something so special. The realization that while the future is just ahead, there’s something irreplaceable about the community and the bonds built. 

Despite the nostalgia, the seniors aren’t just looking backward. They’re firmly set on what they hope to accomplish this year.  “Definitely regionals, because we won last year, and then also states, it’s like a process you have to go through in order to compete and hopefully get top three,” said Day. 

It’s not about perfection, but about proving to themselves that hard work pays off. For the team, just making it to states would already mean achieving something incredible. 

Training for that kind of success requires more than natural talent. “We practice for multiple hours a week, and also conditioning too, to get our stamina up,” Day said. Every repetition of a routine, drill is a step toward building the endurance needed for the spotlight.

But the physical aspect is only part of it. Stevan shared that before every competition, the team comes together in a ritual that grounds them. “Before we go out for competition, we always say a prayer and circle together,” Stevan said. 

That sense of togetherness is what makes the difference. “It’s definitely about unity. In order to do half the things we do, like stunts and stuff, you need other people in it, or else it won’t really work. Everyone has to work together in order to create a good team,” Day said.

When a lineage leaves, a new one arrives to continue the legacy, and it’s not different with our seniors and future cheerleaders.

“It has a lot of good parts, but it also takes time to be good at something. Practice is definitely needed,” Day said. She doesn’t hesitate to offer advice and share lessons learned over these four years for those who dream of cheerleading and want to try to get into the sport. 

“Definitely just hard work, but also having fun and not letting messing up in a pep rally take over your whole mindset,” she said. 

What began as a chance to cheer and represent their school has become  something much deeper. A journey of growth, family, and legacy. Where you turn every second and every performance into a farewell. And when they look back, it won’t just be about stunts or trophies, but about friendships and the feeling of being part of something bigger. That’s what makes these last cheers so unforgettable.