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From BleckleyProgress.com Community News
The cheerleading program at Bleckley County High School has already produced three college-level cheerleaders. Brandi Bowman cheered at Valdosta State University. Lauren Ledbetter and Aubree Caldwell have both cheered for the University of Georgia. So it shouldn't be a surprise that Heather Allen will be following in their footsteps. Allen, who graduated from BCHS this past May, was a four-year member of the varsity squad. She won NCA All-American one year, and was voted MVP by her squad this past year. Allen was a member of a state runner-up squad, and three region championship squads during her high school career. She will be a member of the UGA co-ed squad for the 2006-07 year. So why did she decide to try out for UGA? Allen said seeing Ledbetter and Caldwell make it gave her the inspiration to try. "I had always considered it especially after Lauren and Aubree made it. I figured if they could do it then I could too. I actually didn't officially decide to try out until I got accepted for early edmission back in Decemer." Tryouts for the squads were held April 21-23 in Athens. As Allen explains, it was a rigorous process. "The first day (Friday) we had our first stunt evaluation and our physical fitness tests. For the stunting, we each had to stunt with every guy and do some form of extension. For the fitness stuff we had to run a timed mile, burn out on pull-ups, do as many sit-ups that we could in a minute, and do a flexibility test. We also had to do three standing tucks. That night they cut half of the girls trying out for Co-ed totally based on stunting and the standing tucks. That left 14 girls trying out for co-ed." Saturday was even more difficult as there were more stunting and tumbling evaluations, four girls cut from the Co-Ed tryout group and sent to the All-Girl group. Included in the day was having to partner stunt with a guy and do the most difficult stunt possibile. This was combined with learning that only eight girls would be kept for the co-ed squad. That led to Sunday which had a different kind of stress Allen explained. "The final day we had an assigned interview time. We went in groups of five and each of us were asked three questions. Talk about being nervous! Then we had our final try out. We had to do the fight song, tumbling, stunt sequence, a cheer, and two band dances in nothing but our skirt and sports bra. They did this to make sure we didn't have any tattoos or other piercings, and to make sure we were in good physical condition." After all that, there was the wait. And like the Tom Petty song says, the waiting was the hardest part for Allen. "Well it was probably the most stressful weekend of my life. Not only did I have the nervousness of try outs that weekend, but I also had region track the Tuesday and Thursday before try outs. I was honestly so busy that I hardly had time to actually stop and think about everything. I just took one day at a time and trusted that God would help me through it all. He never fails!" Allen found out she made it that Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. She was nervous, she knew she'd done well, but the "what if" thoughts kept creeping into her mind. Not only though did she make it, she was one of two freshmen to make the co-ed squad. She described her feeling as "estatic." Through the process, Allen was able to call upon both Ledbetter and Caldwell for help. Ledbetter helped Allen on her interview, and provided encouragement. Caldwell worked with Allen until nearly midnight the night before the final day working with her on things like her appearance and interview. In Allen's words "I could never thank them enough." Allen also credits her experience at BCHS as being a reason why she succeeded. She said there were other girls who'd been on competition squads in high school, but didn't seem to know what they were doing. "There were other girls there that were on competition sqads at their high school, but they didn't look like they even knew how to do motions. Scarb's (BCHS head cheerleading coach Bonnie Scarbrough) discipline made me the cheerleader I am. If she hadn't made me realize how important the little things are, I would've just looked like everyine else." Allen said she also talked to assistant cheer coaches Mi Waters and Samantha Williams, as well as football coaches and Lady Royals track coach Shelly Cranford. She said they all were encouraging for her. As a member of the Co-Ed squad, Allen will be at all football games, including UGA's bowl game. She'll also be at some men's and women's basketball games, as well as voleyball and gymnastics. And as a member of the UGA cheerleading squad, she will be doing community appearances. As she explained, "We are representatives for the University of Georgia and we take pride in everything we do." Allen encouraged anyone who wants do this to try out and encourages them to work hard. "You can never work too hard to prepare yourself. If anyone wants to try out, let me know! I'll help you in any way that I can!" Allen called this "the best experience of her life" and said she can't wait to see what else God has in store for her. You can tell by her smile, her infectious charm and personality, that she loves life, is of deep faith, and believes in seizing the moment. "Don't pass up any opportunity because you may never get another chance. And trust in the Lord in everything you do, and always give Him the glory!" © Copyright 2008 by BleckleyProgress.com |
