News Photo by Alyssa Ochss The Alpena High cheerleading team gets the crowd into the Wildcat spirit at a recent home football game.
ALPENA — From getting the Alpena Wildcats into the spirit at football games to cheering competitively, the Alpena High School cheerleading team gives it their all while maintaining a strong, familial bond.
The team is made up of seven students with three freshmen, a junior, and three seniors. Team members include Sarah Brown, Miranda Zinke, Kloyie Boring, Anaelle Fortin, JoLyne Sigmon, Emilee Ruth and Brooke Yuchasz.
Alpena’s coaches, Kaitlin Skiba and Janelle Mott, are both in their first season coaching the team, but both agreed things have gone well so far.
“I think it’s been a learning curve there’s no doubt, but it’s overall been positive, I think we’ve learned (a lot) this year,” Mott said.
The coaching duo said they’ve learned a lot from the students as they navigate how to coach them through the season.
News Photo by Alyssa Ochss From left to right, Sarah Brown, Miranda Zinke, Anaelle Fortin, and Kloyie Boring prepare to practice a cheer in front of their coaches at a recent practice.
“They’ve been really helpful in teaching us what they normally do, what they kind of want to hope for and change and we’re just kind of building the team back up again and adding some new things and lots of changes ahead but we’re excited,” Skiba said.
The cheer team has two main seasons — fall is dedicated to sideline cheer and the winter is dedicated to competitive cheer with a few home basketball games sprinkled in between.
Sideline cheer sees the team at football games, cheering on the Wildcats and getting the crowd into the spirit. The team has cheered at three home games so far this season and one away game — something Skiba said they would like to do more in the future.
Tryouts for sideline cheer are held in July and the team practices several times a week during the season.
The students get involved in their school by participating in the pep assembly for homecoming. They also have different themes for each Friday that they dress up for, Skiba said.
News Photo by Alyssa Ochss The Alpena High cheerleading team does a high kick at the end of one of its cheers at a recent home football game.
One of their signature cheers is called the “AL cheer,” where the team spells out Alpena, leading the crowd in the familiar chant: “A-L, A-L, A-L-P-E; P-E, P-E, P-E-N-A, A-L-P-E-N-A, Go Alpena!”
The cheer has been around for a long time so many people know it, Mott said.
“I feel like the AL cheer is that signature,” Mott said. “It doesn’t matter if you went here 30 years ago you probably know (it) and that feels like to me. I don’t know if it’s a signature move, but it would be a cheer signature.”
Skiba said Alpena’s cheerleaders enjoy coming to practice and cheering.
“I think so, they love coming, they say that a lot of this is like a safe zone for them, like they’re just happy to come to practice, they’re happy to be a part of a sport, bring some positivity,” Skiba said. “They have fun with it and they just love to hang out with their friends too at practice and getting ready for Friday games and things like that. They usually get together and do their hair and makeup and it’s just a really good bonding for them.”
News Photo by Alyssa Ochss The Alpena High cheerleading team cheers to the crowd to get them in the Wildcat spirit at a recent home football game.
In competitive cheer competitions, the team is judged in three rounds.
“We go around to different high schools, usually it’s on a Saturday, and they compete against numerous schools and they have three rounds,” Skiba said. “The first two are motions with words and the last round is like stunting and they get judged on their performance and there is certain points and things like that.”
Boring has been cheering since she was five years old and is in her first season as an Alpena cheerleader. She said her favorite thing about being a part of the team is the bond she and her teammates have, comparing it to a family.
Boring and several teammates said recently that cheering gives them a purpose; they look forward to practice, get excited to see their friends and enjoy cheering.
“That it’s like a family,” Boring said. “That we can say anything and it won’t leave the little circle that we’re in unless it’s, like, serious.”
News Photo by Alyssa Ochss From left to right, Sarah Brown, Kloyie Boring, Miranda Zinke, and Anaelle Fortin practice one of their cheers at Wildcat Stadium at a recent practice.
Fortin, a first-year cheerleader, enjoys the atmosphere of the football games on Friday nights.
“And the football games are really nice too,” Fortin said. “We have some good moments, like, to be positive and to make fun with friends.”
Mott said she’s seen the squad grow a lot since the beginning of the season, both personally and as cheerleaders.
“They’ve come a long way for a young squad,” Mott said, speaking to the team during a recent practice. “And I think Coach Skiba and I are both new and some of you guys are new but from where you were to when I first met you to what happened at that game Friday, they’ve all grown tremendously as athletes and really just as people.”
News Photo by Alyssa Ochss Members of the Alpena High cheerleading team listen to a teammate during a break in one of the cheers at a recent home football game.
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Cheerleading creates lasting bonds, school pride for Alpena High School team - Alpena News
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