ETV News stock photo by Dusty Butler
Emery cheer brings a lot of energy and excitement to the venue with its enthusiasm. This year, the Spartans have a squad of 24, the majority of which are returners, including three senior captains.
The team will compete in coed show, freestyle, timeout dance and timeout cheer. The show category is full of stunting, dancing and a cheer period, where they have to nail the timing from start to finish.
“They have to be on time or they lose points,” said head coach Maegan Butterfield. “Freestyle is a chance to show off your best skills.” The timeout dance is a one-minute pom routine while the timeout cheer has no dancing or music.
Overall, Butterfield is most impressed with the dedication and determination that the Spartans bring day in and day out. “I feel like today it’s hard to find kids that want to be there [in general] to do that sport.” Butterfield continued, “I feel like my team wants to be there, they want to be better. I’d say that just their grit and passion for what they do is a huge strength and addition to what we do, because we can’t do it without it.”
Emery is also a talented squad that has been working in more difficult stunts than ever before. “As far as technical skills, half my team can tumble; tumbling is huge in cheerleading,” said Butterfield. “I have a lot of strong kids. We’ve been able to do a lot harder stunts this year that we’re excited to show off in our routines, because of our strength and ability.”
The Spartans are excited to continue to grow and improve as they prepare for their competition schedule. “It’s been a good year,” added Butterfield.