Meet the Jackson cheerleading team
MASSILLON, Ohio — A standing tuck. A round-off. Backflips and handsprings up and down the football field or basketball court. At one time, only a few cheerleaders possessed these skills, which were mostly formulated through competitive cheer gyms such as NEO, Blue Storm, or Cheerville. But that is in the rearview mirror as the sport has elevated itself at the high school level, where almost every cheerleader is required to have these skills to make the team. The sport of cheerleading has come a long way in addition to seeing young ladies cheer on the sidelines to get the student section fired up cheering in unison, especially the crowd-pleasing ‘J, Ja, Jacksonpolarbears’ cheer heard at games. Cheerleading is a sanctioned sport that competes in competitions during the year as well as for a state championship.
鈥淥ftentimes, the community only sees the cheerleaders on the sidelines at football or basketball games,鈥� said Courtney Reich, who is in her sixth year as cheerleading coach.
鈥淭his is the only time they get to watch the cheerleaders perform. In these moments, the girls are supporting the football and basketball athletic programs while building crowd and student section involvement in the game. Local, state, and national competitions are so important to the sport of cheerleading because they showcase the most athletic parts of cheerleading. It feels really great that cheerleaders are getting recognized for their athletic abilities because what they do is truly something that takes great athletic ability.鈥�
Last year, Jackson competed in nine competitions, six of which were competitions preparing the purple and white for big competitions 鈥� the Federal League, state championship and national high school cheerleading championship. All those competitions prepared the Polar Bears to tumble into their first state championship on March 3 at Big Walnut High School in Sunbury. Jackson won the state championship title in the D1 Game Day Non-Building Large division.
Winning a state title
The state championship was the first for Jackson cheerleading. Reich describes how the school reacted to their state championship. 鈥淭he school has been amazing in recognizing and celebrating our state championship,鈥� said Reich.
鈥淎fter arriving home from the state championship competition, the school worked with the Jackson Township Police Dept. to meet our bus at the township line, where they escorted us back to the high school. Upon arrival at the school, we were greeted and celebrated by our families, friends, and members of our community! Our state championship win has also been celebrated by the hanging of our state championship banner in the main gym at the high school, as well as a large photo of our state championship team that is permanently displayed in one of the high school hallways. The school has been so amazing in celebrating our state championship win and recognizing the girls for what they are: true athletes. 鈥淭o all current and former coaches, the athletes, families, and past alumni of the program, the cheerleaders were extremely excited to win a state championship. Reich commented, 鈥淲hat made this win so special was the fact that it was our first state championship in our program’s history. This team and the teams that came before it were all part of leading us to this moment.鈥�
Choreographing a state title
Similar to other sports at Jackson, time and effort are put into practices perfecting tumbling and routines. But the top priority is culture. Jackson cheerleaders practice anywhere from 6 to 14 hours per week. Similar to other sports, the practice schedule will vary depending on which weeks competitions are held and which ones do not. Many of our athletes put in extra hours outside of our scheduled practices, tumbling at open gyms. 鈥淚 think the most important factor that has led us to our state title is the culture of our program,鈥� added Reich.
鈥淥ur team consists of girls who prioritize cheerleading as one of their top priorities following academics. They set high expectations for themselves and create season goals. They work hard both in and out of our scheduled practices to ensure they are meeting those expectations and goals. They are selfless girls who work hard for their teammates. The way the girls build each other up and support each other has created a positive environment. Another key factor that has led us to our state title was the opportunity to compete at the national level. It was a great experience seeing some of the best teams in the nation compete. We learned a lot about ourselves and the division in which we competed. 鈥淥ur program has been competing at the national level for the past two years. The National High School Cheerleading Championship is held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. This national competition is held in February. Our program was ranked fifth in the nation in our division in 2023 and fourth in the nation in our division in 2024.鈥�
Many athletic teams will use a program called Hudl to review game film and look ahead to what future opponents will do. Reich explained how the cheerleaders make corrections. 鈥淎fter each competition, we receive feedback from judges who evaluate each part of our routine,鈥� said Reich.
鈥淭hey evaluate things like tumbling difficulty and execution, our team’s ability to lead a crowd, motion placement and sharpness, use of crowd-leading props, etc. The comments we receive on these scoresheets become our main focus heading into the next competition. We make changes and highlight our strengths based on the feedback we receive. The corrections we make vary depending on the comments we receive from the judges.鈥�
Tumbling is extremely important and a necessary skill to perform well. Reich explained why tumbling is such a necessary skill. 鈥淭umbling is a very important part of cheerleading in the divisions in which our program competes,鈥� said Reich.
鈥淐ompetitions provide us coaches with detailed rubrics outlining where specific tumbling skills would fall as far as difficulty goes. For that reason, tumbling is a strong focus for our program. We spend the summer months as well as our scheduled practices throughout the season to perfect and work new skills.鈥�
Just like many other sports, Federal League squads score high on a state and national level. 鈥淭he Federal League has some of the most talented cheerleading teams in the state of Ohio,鈥� said Reich. 鈥淚 believe it is that talent of our league that encourages and motivates us to be better athletes. Many of us compete at the state level, providing our teams with experience to compete against the best in the state. These opportunities are great learning experiences for our programs.鈥� The next time you attend a football or basketball game, pay close attention to Jackson cheerleaders tumbling on the sidelines. As they prepare for a back-to-back run at a state championship, appreciate that there is more to the sport than standing on the sidelines doing ‘rah, rahs’ to fire up the cheering section.
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