GOOD HOPE, Ala. — Another year of cheer season is here, and Good Hope junior Lexi Doss is excited to get back to work with her team.
“It’s one of the best feelings being able to know that you have a group of girls that you can count on for absolutely anything. We are all like a family, so it makes all of the tough practices and bad days so much better knowing you have a coach and teammates that care so much about you. I wouldn’t trade my teammates for anything, and I’m sure we can all say the same,” Doss said. “You could be going through the hardest times in your life, but you can have confidence in knowing that you have a team you can trust, whether it’s related to cheer, school, life, etc. They are always there.”
Lexi’s been a cheerleader for 13 years now and has taken away so much during that time.
“Being a cheerleader has taught me so many things. One thing it has taught me is that you can’t go through life alone. You need someone (or a group) to help you get through tough times, and at Good Hope, we definitely have that. It has also taught me to never take anything for granted. One day, you can be cheering on a Friday night, and the next, your season could get cancelled for COVID, or you could have a season-ending injury. Cheer has taught me that it all goes by so fast.”
She added,
“I’ve been cheering for 13 years now and as I’m nearing the end of my high school career; my eyes have really been opened to see that it really does fly by. I can remember being told as a freshman, ‘Enjoy and cherish every moment, because it all flies by in the blink of an eye,’ and I never thought that much of it, but now that I look back at my cheering career and see that it’s almost over, I realize just how true that really is. Time does fly by, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. You really don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”
Good Hope has a lot of experienced cheerleaders coming back this year and Lexi thinks that will help this young squad get even better in the years to come.
“This year, we will have seven cheerleaders returning from last season and they will be very beneficial and will play a large role in shaping the future of Good Hope cheerleading. We have a very young team this year and the returning cheerleaders will be very important this year, especially with the years of experience they bring to the table. They have high expectations for this season, as well as for the future. The goal of leadership from those returning will be a very big thing for us this year, being that we are such a young team.”
Lexi’s been really blessed to have a cheer coach like Brandy Lowe in her life and she has soaked up so much from her so far.
“She loves her team and has such a strong passion for cheer. She always pushes us to be our best and constantly strives to teach us valuable lessons. She treats us as her own children and spends more time with us than she does with her own family. We love her. She always teaches us what it means to be a family and always encourages us to keep God first in everything we do. We couldn’t do what we do without her.”
Lexi is one of the leaders on this young team and has taught the younger cheerleaders so much.
“It has been very important being a strong leader that the younger cheerleaders can look up to. I believe it’s essential that each cheerleader have an older role model to come to for anything and I strive to be that for the little ones,” she said. “So far, I have done my best to teach them to cherish every moment and to live each day like it’s your last, because it very well could be. Most importantly, I’ve done my best to teach them to rely on God for absolutely everything: the hard times, the good times, and everything in between. Prayer can go a long way.”
Lexi took away so much from the upperclassmen before her and worked on a lot of things during the summer.
“The upperclassmen taught me a lot of the same things I’m trying to teach this year’s underclassmen. They taught me many lessons about how much better cheer is when you have a family-like team of girls. They also taught me to always do my best and to always keep a positive attitude even on the bad days. They taught me to never take anything for granted and not to wish my life away. They really set the stage for Good Hope cheer, and they have some pretty big shoes to fill, but I believe us upperclassmen this year are doing a very good job with that.”
She added,
“I worked on perfecting the skills I do have, and to have better technique doing so. My other main focus was simply just to strengthen my body, so I spent most of the summer weightlifting and setting goals for myself in and out of the gym. I also focused a lot on growing my relationship with God and it has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Lexi has set some goals for herself and the whole team this year.
“The goals I have set for myself is to continue being a leader and a role model for all of the younger girls coming behind me. I strive to be someone they know they can count on, no matter what. The team’s main goal this year is to become state champions and to receive a bid to go back to Nationals for the fourth year in a row. Our other main goal is to keep a strong family bond and to stay drama-free as much as possible.”
Lexi talks about what will make this year’s team so special to watch and she also talks about her role models growing up.
“I think the thing that will make us so special to watch this year will definitely be our technique. We have really focused a lot on keeping things clean and solid. Even though the skills may not be as difficult as they were in past seasons, we believe technique and solid execution will be the best way to score high and achieve the goals we have set,” she said. “Growing up, I would go to the game on Friday nights and watch the cheerleaders. Being on the sidelines was a huge goal of mine and I’m so grateful to be able to do that. I’ve had many amazing upperclassmen leading me and pouring into me the past couple of years, and they have truly shaped me into who I am today.”
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