HOLLY POND, Ala. – In this interview, I spoke with Holly Pond ninth grader Blakely Baggett. Baggett talked about her first year cheering on the Broncos’ varsity squad and what it was like cheering alongside a great group of girls.
“I really like cheering and supporting our football and basketball teams. The games were always so exciting, and I enjoyed cheering with the girls and growing closer with them. My favorite part was probably UCA camp with all the girls. We won multiple awards.” Baggett said. “I’ve seen a lot of improvement from the beginning of camp to the end of it. We improved greatly as stunt groups, individuals, and as a team throughout the season.”
Blakely learned a lot from her coaches, Melanie Hall, Sarah Hall, and Michelle Bolouhanis and she talked about the experience of making it to state her first year on varsity.
“They were very patient and encouraging. They always pushed us to be better and never let us give up. They devoted a lot of time into our team and supported us. They both had a big focus on all the girls having a strong bond with each other. Michelle Bolouhanis taught us fundamentals and just how to be a better cheerleader in general. They taught me how to be a leader. They are all great role models for us to look up to,” Baggett said. “Making it to state made me realize how overlooked cheer was. Prepping for competition requires a lot of time, effort, and dedication. Seeing other teams and how well they performed inspired me. I think this year, we will set goals and work our hardest to meet those goals.”
Blakely has set some goals for herself and for the cheer team, plus she talked about what has made this group of girls so great to cheer with.
“I hope to get All-American at UCA camp again this year, and I also hope to receive All-County again. I want the team to win multiple awards at UCA again and I hope we make it to state again,” she said. “It was fun to cheer with the girls because they were all so funny and positive. I think it was easy to get along with them because we all shared common goals.”
Blakely discussed some role models that she looked up to and shared some of the best advice that she was ever given.
“The coaches inspired me to cheer,” she said. “One thing that I think about all the time is to always speak life into each other. I really use that with my stunt group. We were very close, we always encouraged each other, and we stayed patient with each other. I think this advice helped make my stunt group very successful.”
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