After yet another amazing season cheering on the girls and boys basketball team, the varsity cheer team continues to work hard going into their competition season. The team cheers for football and soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter. During the winter season the team prepares for competition season. Preparation takes many weeks to achieve the amazing skills we accomplish and to create and learn new dances, stunts, cheers, and tumbling routines. The team competes three times this year. The first competition took place at the SV PAnther Invitational at Schuylkill Valley High School where we took third place and first place in last lib standing. When not at a game, the team works on new skills to add into game days to excite the crowd. Our second competition is scheduled for February 18, in South Columbia. Our third competition is February 24, at the State College Cheer Championship. 

     Peyton Snyder, a junior cheerleader, is excited for yet another competition season and looks forward to working on new skills and routines. “I’m excited for competition season but I know it means it’s just closer for the seniors to graduate and for us to be seniors.” Peyton is an excellent cheerleader who has cheered for 12 years and would not consider doing any other sport because she has fallen in love with cheer at such a young age. While there is a lot to look forward to in senior year, “I will miss all my senior friends who I got close with this year.” Next year holds so many new opportunities and experiences but while “it’s exciting it’s scary too because that means I too will be done cheering for Hamburg.”

Catrina Feltenberger, a senior cheerleader, is excited to be graduating but will miss her friends from cheer. After she graduates she plans to stay in touch with them after she graduates and try to attend games and competitions when she can. She loves being a part of the squad because she has been cheering since she was in the youth program. She says “I can’t believe it’s my last year cheering for the team I grew up with, I swear just yesterday I was a freshman just starting out.” She will miss the team but she knows that the team will forever be a second family to her. 

     Nicole Valentino, head cheer coach, is excited for another competition season and looking forward to creating memories with the team. “I’m excited to see my seniors who have cheered with me since middle school have one last amazing season and while this is their last competition season we still have the rest of the competition season with them.” The team, of 14, has five phenomenal seniors this year who have led the team and helped correct and better the team as a whole. “The team this year is an amazing group who is always ready to help one another and lend a hand when needed.” The team works so hard preparing for competitions and loves being together and when a group hits a new stunt it is not only exciting for the groups but the whole team. “Even though this may be the seniors last year we still have them for a couple more months, and there is no reason to be sad because we will still see them around even after they graduate.