Nerves flashed minutes before the Cheer Tigers’ home debut as they paraded from a practice room above the Commerce High School gymnasium floor.
Some cheerleaders fought the urge to glance at the large crowds below. Others didn’t bother trying. They looked at the stands and their mouths dropped open slightly. Many people gazed at them, too.
“We were worried about hitting our routine,” senior Ann Drinkard said. “It’s a lot different when you’re in front of your own crowd. It’s more pressure.”
A couple cheerleaders admitted to wondering whether they’d perform as they first did at Mill Creek High School in Braselton — unsure, wobbly, second-best.
But the home team held rock steady for two minutes and 30 seconds. The Cheer Tigers executed their routine with precision enough to secure a high-point total for their classification as well as a moral victory in front of hundreds of supporters, including dozens of proud alumni.
“We were so worried about our stunts,” sophomore Savanna Hardy said, beaming after the routine. “The crowd pushed us through it. The alumni came to our practice to help us out, they helped us get through it…. Finally, I can sit down and relax.”
Commerce’s inaugural home meet — called the Cheer Tiger Classic —seemed as much about coming together for the school’s cheerleading athletes, past and present, as a competition for the 25 teams that arrived.
Crowds emerged before 9 a.m. to watch middle schoolers compete, including Commerce, which finished first runner-up.
Heart-thumping musical rhythms enlivened the gymnasium as simulcasts of the routines kept crowds in the school’s general lounge, vendor and concession areas up to speed as well.
Superintendent James “Mac” McCoy, who presented the awards, confirmed the Cheer Classic was expected to raise a significant amount of money for the cheerleading program. He echoed coach Dianne Cotrell’s hopes that Commerce High and its new gymnasium, which made hosting such an event possible at all, will become an annual stop on the competitive cheerleading schedules every fall.
“It has been wonderful,” Cotrell said. “Everyone has been so nice. A lot of people have commented about how friendly and helpful everyone is.”
People filled the bleachers and lined the balcony-level walkways, where a series of hanging banners reflects just how successful Commerce’s cheerleading teams have been since its 1998 beginning. Included are a host of state championships and runner-up banners.
Rallying together, again, brought back memories, several alumni said, with Cotrell adding that some of her former athletes claiming “they wanted to be back on the floor so bad.”
“This is something we worked so hard for in high school. When we first started, people considered cheerleading a rah-rah, for the sidelines,” said Elizabeth Varnedoe, a 2001 graduate and three-year Cheer Tiger. “It is something to see how much it has grown and to see how the sport has changed, especially at Commerce. Here it’s considered a sport and one of the top ones.”
Like many of the alumni who volunteered, Katlin Wilson responded to e-mails and Facebook requests for volunteer help as early as March. A four-year Cheer Tiger and 2008 graduate, Wilson’s job Saturday was to serve as a hostess for the home team.
“This is something we’ve all wanted for so many years,” Wilson said. “It brings back old memories for us. Like we’re in it all over again.”
She watched as the current team advanced from calm in the morning to “very nervous” during warm-ups.
Just as the rest of the alumni did, Wilson emerged from her work post to watch her team take the floor and shine.
Cotrell sat in a chair near the corner of the large competition floor, barely able to keep seated as she watched her team secure their stunts, tumbling and choreography. Even the middle school team, sitting as one unit, could be seen lending their voices to the cheers the varsity group shouted.
“With the atmosphere, the spirit of the alumni, they realized this is what we have to do. We made our mark in this brand new school,” Cotrell said. “This was a positive thing after last week. They needed that. They needed to know it’s OK if you make a mistake, you pick yourselves up and move on.”
Junior Katherine Sanders said the team felt off during its Mill Creek opening.
“Nothing was right,” she said.
Minutes after her team’s performance at home, the opposite held true, she added.
“Today, with all the fans and support from the town and alumni especially, we couldn’t do it without them, especially,” Sanders said. “Now we’re ready we have confidence again.”
