WEST POINT, Ala. — West Point sophomore cheerleader Makaila Wylie has been cheering since the fifth grade and she’s currently in her second year on the varsity cheer team. She’s enjoying every minute of it so far and having three guys on the team has made them stronger and stronger each day. She has learned so much from this experience so far.
“West Point is an amazing school. The energy at pep rallies and football games while cheering is amazing. When the crowd gets involved, it’s amazing. The one thing I love is cheering for a crowd that wants to be involved and stands up and cheers along with us. Cheering for West Point has been a great experience so far, and I love the new friendships I have made while cheering with the wonderful boys and girls on the team. This year, we didn’t only have just one guy cheering with us; we have three, and they are amazing at what they do. Not only do they make our team stronger as one, but they know how to get the energy up. Cheering for West Point has been one of the best decisions I have made.”
She added,
“Having three guys on the team makes the energy better, because they use megaphones, and they have loud voices that stand out. When people watch us, they complement on how well our guys do, as well with the team. We have three incredibly strong guys on the team, and they also do amazing stunts with us. I’ve learned that even when you’re going through a rough time, give it your all. Things might not go your way, but it’s okay. You’ll get over it. Never hold grudges towards people. We’re all humans, trying to learn how to do life, and we all make mistakes. We just have to learn from them.”
Makaila has had a blast cheering with some great people so far and has learned a couple of important things from them and has enjoyed cheering under her coach so far.
“It’s been a great year, and I’m looking forward to cheering my junior year. I hope there’s more amazing things to come, and I can’t wait to see how much more our team can improve. I’ve learned that we all go through things outside of cheer, and we’re all there for each other,” she said. “My coach is amazing, and we went to CGCA; that gym helped us improve a lot. She has loved each one of us, no matter what, and she does amazing as our cheer coach. She pushes us to our fullest and never lets us down. We love her. She’s encouraging us and loves each and every one of us. I’ve learned that sometimes, we need to be pushed to be able to achieve big things.”
Makaila has seen a significant amount of improvement in her performance from last year until now. She’s had a bunch of help from her fellow upperclassmen in helping her become the cheerleader that she is today.
“I have fixed a bunch of my imperfections, from my motions being sharp, to giving my full potential in the cheers and routines we do. When we practice our competition material, I’ve learned that how you do your routines at practice is how you’ll do when you perform in front of a crowd,” she said. “They have helped me become a better cheerleader by teaching me the right and wrong things to do. They help me fix my mistakes in our routines and teach me new cheers throughout the season. What I’ve learned from them is that it’s good to work on cheer material outside of cheer practice to make me a better athlete and make me perform better.”
West Point competed not too long ago at the state competition and finished fifth in Class 5A, and Makaila learned a very important thing from that experience. She set some goals before the season and talked about them, plus what has made this cheer squad special to be around, and the best advice that someone has ever given her.
“It felt good to be able to place that high in the Class 5A division, and I learned that there’s more improvement to make. I’m hoping that we will make it to state again next year,” she said. “My goals were to enjoy my sophomore year and try my hardest to improve and be better than I was last year. I had a goal for my team to go to state and we did. I think I have achieved my goals, because I have seen improvement in myself this season, and there’s definitely still room for improvement for myself.”
She added,
“This cheer squad is special to me, because they are all supportive, and if you ever feel down, they know how to bring you up. I have been around these girls and guys a lot, so we all know how we each are. They know how to make you happy, and we all know how to work hard together. The best advice that someone has ever given me is to always give 100%. I only have four years of high school, and it’s best if I give it my all and have fun.”
Makaila talked about a couple of role models that has inspired her a lot, how important it is to be a role model for the younger girls and gave some advice to the girls that want to get into cheer themselves.
“Mary Sergi is one of them. She inspires me as a flyer, because she’s amazing. My captain, Haylee Hernandez, also inspires me, because she tore her ACL last year, and has gotten stronger. She does an amazing job at flying, so I look up to her a lot,” she said. “Being a role model is very important. The younger cheerleaders look up to us a lot. Sometimes, I don’t realize it, but it feels special to be in that position. My advice to them is that they definitely should try it. You never know if you’ll like it, until you try it.”
Copyright 2023 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
