Athletic artistry: Yorba Linda cheer and song teams make history in 2023
YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Artistry comes in many different shapes and sizes. As most people know, there is an abundance of different mediums in which an artist can choose to portray feelings and emotions. One of which being through bodily movement. Cheer and Song are great modern-day examples of this art form. But in order to master the skills needed to compete in these sports, hours upon hours of hard work have to take place. The coaches that facilitate these practices share the difficult task of creating safe excellence come competition time. And very few do it as well as the Coaches of the Yorba Linda High School Cheer and Song teams!
Stacy Shube, Rich Shube, Margaret Reddick, and Katie Bowers lead the cheer side of the program while Sabrina Lundberg, Sarah Chapman, and Stephanie Schuster guide the song members. Between both sides of the program, their trophy cases are filled with awards from this year alone. Success is commonplace for all of the teams which can be proven by the 1st place finishes from all that competed at the Cheer Pro鈥檚 Championship Cup. However, success does not end there. This year marks the first time that the varsity cheer team has competed in the advanced division throughout the program’s history. For high school cheer, this is the highest level of competition that you can face, and the team took the challenge in stride. Coach Margaret Reddick said, 鈥淭hey had a successful year winning multiple titles and have laid the foundation for teams to come.鈥�
In order to prepare for competitions, both teams have slightly different rituals before heading out onto the mat. 鈥淰arsity cheer circles up with their good luck stuffed animals surrounded by good luck crystals. They run through their routine mentally to focus on themselves before competing. For the song leaders, they huddle up, jump three times, and shake it all out,鈥� said coach Stacy. As any athlete knows, mental preparation is equally important as physical, and keeping a routine before competing can definitely help to stay sharp. Another part of the Mustang鈥檚 routine takes place the night prior to a competition when they gather for a team meal. 鈥淭his tradition creates bonding and cohesiveness within the team and gets them competition ready for the next day,鈥� said coach Shube.
Along with a strong coaching staff, every great team needs to have team members step up into leadership roles in order to find success. Luckily for the Mustangs, finding a group that is willing and able to lead the team has not been an issue. On this topic, coach Reddick mentioned, 鈥淭he seniors are an integral part of the leadership of the Varsity teams. This year鈥檚 seniors have all been in our program for at least three years. They have the experience to know how to inspire the team as a whole and lead by example.鈥�
Congratulations to the YLHS Cheer and Song teams on a fantastic year. Look for these programs to continue their elite level of competition in the years to come!
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