Bringing spirit to Tesoro HS: A coach鈥檚 perspective
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. — Tesoro High School’s cheer program has been a powerhouse since its inception. Over the years, they have competed nationally at UCA High School Nationals (Orlando, FL), NCA High School Nationals (Dallas, TX), and USA High School Nationals (Anaheim, CA). We have won numerous national titles both at the JV and Varsity levels.
I came on board two years ago and am looking forward to the upcoming season. My goals, along with fellow coaches Jenna Nelson and Shane Bigelow, are to continue to build a positive and successful program and team culture. With our new coaching staff, our program is working to maintain and create new traditions while still honoring the unique traditions that make our squad successful. Our goal is also to help bring more school spirit at various events and be true ambassadors of Tesoro High School.
Our squads are led by incredible captains, co-captains, and other leadership officers. These girls were hand-picked by their peers and coaches, which makes their titles so special. These individuals truly earned these positions鈥攖hey were not just given. On top of that, many of these athletes have siblings and family members that have come through the Tesoro Pep Squad program, which shows how true we are to our traditions and how connected we are to the community.
The girls are also very friendly and open to the new members of the squad. Every year after tryouts, we host a New Team Welcome Party at one of our returning member鈥檚 homes to bond and get to know each other. We also love to gift our new teams with a special team t-shirt for the season and yard signs to put on their lawns to acknowledge their accomplishment of making the team.
We love to have fun and adhere to traditions. Every home game, we do a pre-game meal with our Song Program to unify our Varsity Pep Squad members. Then, we always do a pre-game Pep Rally for students and parents outside our gym with Song and Band. It鈥檚 one of our favorite pre-game rituals.
We鈥檙e proud of what the squad has done and continues to do. Last year in the 2021-2022 season, our JV competition team placed 1st out of 22 teams at USA High School Nationals in Anaheim, CA. These girls hit perfect zero deduction routines two days in a row–and had never competed at the high school level before. It was a fantastic accomplishment!
This summer, for the first time in program history, our team attended USA Cheer Camp in Palm Springs, CA, where we had one athlete (Sophomore: Sophi Reinhart) earn an All-American Award. In addition, one of our stunt groups won first place in the Intermediate Division Stunt-Off, and our JV and Varsity teams won Blue Superior ribbons in all their routine evaluations at camp.
The girls understand the importance and value of working together. This team is huge on unity and being a family. With 44 athletes, getting to know everyone on the team is not always easy, but these girls have had a blast getting to work with each other so far this season. Their goal this year is to continue to improve and be better than last year, and so far, they are doing just that!
As coaches, we are impressed with their skills development and the successes they achieve every day at practice. We are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were last year at this point in the season, and it is all a testament to this incredible team鈥檚 drive and work ethic.
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