BREMEN, Ala. — In this interview, I talked to Cold Springs’ senior cheerleader, McKinna Duke, and she shared some of her favorite high school memories. She also talked about what it was like cheering for the Eagles and some of what she learned during her time at Cold Springs.
“My favorite memories are probably my very first game, my last first game, Senior Night, and we made it to state, and we were able to cheer in the BJCC,” Duke said. “Cheering at Cold Springs was very different for me. I moved here my sophomore year and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I had an amazing team and coaches that helped me through my first year. This pushed me to try out next year and to continue on until my final year, my senior year, where I was able to make captain. It was such an amazing experience to be able to lead such a talented group of girls and leave something behind for them.”
She added,
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot about cheer: how to work as a team, responsibility, respect, and goal setting. Working with Mrs. Adrian Dickerson, she teaches a lot about mental toughness. That was such a big thing for me. At Cold Springs, I’ve learned so much. It’s like one big family. The teachers, students, and everyone else are willing to help and go the extra mile for one another.”
McKinna was so blessed to get to cheer with a great group of girls over her three years at Cold Springs and learned so much from them. She also soaked up as much as she could from Mrs. Dickerson.
“It was an awesome experience. I was able to learn from every one of them. I need to give a lot of credit to the seniors my sophomore year. They helped me the most from anyone. Whether it was with a cheer, uniforms, or whatever I needed, I could always count on them. Throughout my junior and senior year, we always had feedback on cheers, dances, and other things. We all worked together to try to change up stuff year to year to make ourselves better, so I learned a lot there,” Duke said. “Mrs. Dickerson taught me that you can always improve. No matter how good you get, there is always room for improvement. She also taught me how to be mentally tough and how to be a leader for the cheer team.”
McKinna will remember some important things during her time as a cheerleader and will miss it dearly. She gave some advice to the cheerleaders that want to be where she’s at right now, and to the students that will be starting high school in August. She also talked about making it to state her senior year.
“I will remember the girls on the team, as well as making it to state our senior year. I will deeply miss cheering at the football games,” she said. “To those cheerleaders that want to get to where I’m at now, I would just tell them to be the best and do the best they can. Don’t let drama get in the way of what you want to do. Always be able to be coachable and dedicated. Practice like you are going to play and make every second count. To those students that are starting high school in August, I would tell them to just be yourself and don’t let anyone change you.”
She added,
“It meant a lot. I was able to make so many new memories with the girls for my last year. I was so happy and excited to be able to support my team for the last time as they went all the way.”
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