Kennard-Dale cheerleaders heading to Citrus Bowl
FAWN GROVE, Pa. — Meet Kennard Dale’s (KD) Cheerleading squad and their coaches. High School Head Coach Tobi Bennett, JV Head Coach Heather Durham, Junior High Head Coach/High School Competition Cheer Head Coach Allison Bennett and volunteer coaches Becca Smith, Addyson Creamer, and Brooke Matthews all have high hopes for their squad and current seasons.
Tobi explained, “We have been working towards positive changes for the entire Kennard-Dale Cheer program. Like many sports, cheer took a hit during COVID, and it has taken us a while to come back from that. We have been working really hard changing the culture of KD Cheer, how we view our own program, how the community views cheerleading, and how cheerleaders are viewed by their peers.”
For the first time, some of the squad members were invited to the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) camp over the summer. Speaking of the experience, Tobi said, “It was a great experience and the girls learned a lot. One of the best parts of UCA camp is earning the Top Banana Award at the end of camp. Earning this award demonstrates teams that promote leadership, spirit, and hard work, all while having fun at cheer camp. Our girls were up against a lot of other cheerleaders from Southern York County schools. Going into day 1 we set our goal – to obtain the UCA camp top banana. On day 3 we were awarded the top banana award.” Some of the cheerleaders earned an invitation to cheer at this year’s Citrus Bowl halftime show in Orlando, Florida.
In addition to the Citrus Bowl invitation, a special acknowledgement for the additional UCA camp awards the KD squad and cheerleaders received: 2 Blue ribbons for performance evaluation (one for high school and one for Junior High); 2 spirit sticks each day of camp; and 4 girls from Kennard-Dale Cheerleading named UCA All-American Cheerleaders, a huge deal in the cheer world. KD’s All American Cheerleaders are Ashlyn Gibbs (11th grade), Delilah Riley (8th grade), Isabella Augustiyaniak (7th grade),and Payton McClellan (7th grade).
The KD coaches are leading their squads to, “focus our attention on our technique, learning proper skill progression and how important it is working with your teammates in order for everyone to be successful. We are also really focusing on our GameDay presence and trying to improve on that,” according to Tobi. Along with their coaches, the entire team, “works really hard to promote a positive, fun, and welcoming program. I think that we do a really good job of that. We want everyone to feel comfortable and a part of cheerleading.” Unlike other programs, she said, “We do not have captains, but we have girls that show great leadership qualities.”
Tobi hopes that everyone appreciates, “The amount of work, and failure it takes in cheerleading is something I think a lot of people do not understand. For every one or two times a stunt looks beautiful, there are hundreds and hundreds of times it doesn’t. The bumps and bruises these athletes have show how hard they work. They honestly make it look easy, and it really is not easy at all. They learn 30+ cheers with perfect motions, facials and voices. They know more than 7 band dances, and countless stunts. We have 6 girls program wide that also participate in All-Star Cheerleading and they are all a huge asset to our program.”
Three KD cheerleaders, Delaney Ziegfeld (grade 10), Kalleigh Smith (grade 9), and Kylie Dettmer (grade 11) all have dreams to cheer in college. They hope to make some of the best teams at schools like Towson University, Penn State University, and West Virginia University. Sydnee Bowers (grade 11) commented, “ Cheer is harder than it looks. You must stay determined to work hard and practice hard. Kalleigh Smith (grade 9) said of her biggest challenge, “Mental blocks-get encouragement and support from your team, stay positive.”
The squad talked collectively about the best advice they ever received and all agreed with 3 of their teammates’ thoughts. Layne Holmes (grade 7) explained, “Practice like you want to perform on game day.” Abby Phillips (grade 8), feels, “Just because things don’t hit one day, does not mean it will never hit.” Jules Markel (grade 8) said they all try to remember, “Perfection before progression in stunting.” Summing it up, their coaches have taught them, “Be a role model, there are always younger kids looking up to you. Believe in yourself because I believe in you.”
Being part of the KD cheer squad, has taught Ashely Donahue (grade 12), “making decisions based on the team and not personal benefit is key.” Kylie Dettmer added one important word, “leadership.”
The collective squads shared some final thoughts about their sport . For Kalleigh Smith, it’s remembering, “Cheer is a sport, we work hard to make things look easy.” Brenna Heffler (grade 7) feels, “Never give up on something you are passionate about.” Ashley Donahue said, “Anyone can be a cheerleader, it is all about the attitude and dedication you give to our sport.” Brynn Jacka (grade 8) shared a great life motto, “Work hard for what you have, work harder for what you don’t have.”
Outside of cheer, a few athletes shared their other interests: Ella Molina (grade 11)likes to read. Ashley Donahue likes to go thrifting and write for the newspaper at Kennard Dale High School. Brynn Jacka also plays basketball and volleyball.
A well-rounded team, the athletes also participate in other extracurricular activities, Tobi mentioned, “We have 3 girls that also train as gymnasts, one who made it to States Competition last season. We have girls that belong to FFA, participate in summer theater, and girls who also play volleyball during cheer season. We juggle a lot of schedules, and yet these athletes make it work, and push themselves harder and harder each week. As a coach, I could not be more proud of how they are doing, and so excited to see where they go.”
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