Sophomore Emily Livengood, a first year Cougar from a small town in Utah, was excited to join the CKHS cheer squad this year. Despite her disappointment upon finding out that she had come too late, she was still determined to be involved. She emailed Coach Jaymie Ford, and asked what she could do to help. Ford offered her the position of manager. She had been a cheer manager once before, and was ready to take it on again.

When it came time for the first practice, Livengood was introduced to the team, including Junior Maddie Adams and Senior Kacey Morris. Adams had been cheering for four years, and Morris for five. Livengood quickly learned her responsibilities as the manager, which include taking attendance, starting the music, and posting on the team’s social media sites.

“I just really like being part of the team,” said Livengood, who has done cheer and cheer managing on and off since fifth grade, in North Carolina and Utah. Her family’s frequent moves, however, kept her from becoming too involved.

The team goes to all of the football games, and the home basketball games, and she tries to go with them as much as possible, mostly to the home football games. “Obviously games would still happen if we weren’t there, but I feel like we really encourage the crowd and get the crowd involved,” said Morris.

The cheer squad would not be possible without their ability to work together, especially when it comes to competition time. Stunting is one of the hardest things they do, and if one member isn’t paying attention, it could end badly. “Decide. Commit. Succeed,” said Adams, referring to the idea that once you’ve decided to do a certain stunt, the whole team has to be committed to it in order to succeed.

“Cheer gets you hooked,” said Adams. “Once you’ve started you can’t stop.”