Hard work pays off for St. Joseph High’s main flyer and tumbler Alanna Gonzalez
LAKEWOOD, Calif. — Meet Alanna Gonzalez, a freshman at St. Joseph High School in Lakewood, CA. She began practicing ballet at the age of three, gymnastics at five years old and then tumbling at the age of ten. She attended several summer youth cheer camps at St. Joseph’s High School while she was growing up.
“If you work hard, anything is possible. I knew I wanted to be on the Varsity Cheer Team. I worked hard, took no days off, I’d wake up at 5am to work on my flexibility and jumps. I listened intently to advice and criticism from my teammates and coaches,” Alanna reveals.
It all paid off. She is the only freshman, the main Flyer and Tumbler on St. Joseph’s Varsity Cheer Team. Alanna also cheers at St. Joseph’s brother school, St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. She is fully devoted to her team and doing all this while striving to maintain a 4.0 GPA.
The 14-year-old views herself as her own competition and her personal aspirations are to always be better. She is constantly setting new goals for herself. “Crossing off completed goals is so satisfying, it continues to push me,” Alanna discloses. She has big dreams to win CIF championships all four years and to continue to cheer in college.
When she feels her performance is lacking, practice makes perfect. She watches videos of her performance repeatedly to learn what she needs to do differently in the future. She motivates herself to do better with the confident self-talk, “This is not going to happen again, I know I am better than this.” She faces challenges head-on and holds herself accountable by reminding herself that “I only have control of me, and as long as I give it 100%, that’s all that matters. The best advice I’ve received is to not give up and keep pushing myself. Being a member of a team has taught me to be patient and I cannot control everything, but communication is key. I am a flyer and hitting new stunts can be scary. My coach reminds me to not overthink it and just have fun,” Alanna expressed.
“I love competition time; the adrenaline rush I feel when running out to the mats is the best!” Alanna declares. She wears her uniform with pride. Her sister, Alyssa, a junior, also cheers with her on the Varsity Squad. As a team, we huddle pregame, say a prayer, and leave it in God’s hands to take care of us out there on the mats. We motivate each other and remember that, “We’ve got this!”
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