Coach Chesnei Thomas has been involved with Alva Schools for a total of eight years, with two of those years being the high school cheer team coach. Her favorite part to being the cheer coach is watching the growth of her team members, not just as athletes but also as people. “I am so proud of the little victories daily, and the overall big victories. I also love how great my team is to my kids. They take the role of leader, mentor, and role model seriously and I appreciate their character beyond just their athletic abilities,” she says:
Even though the team has had their fair share of setbacks including injuries, struggles, and changes, they still find ways to celebrate their victories together. “Coaching them through life along with our sport, I try to be a person that teaches them how to hold themselves to a high standard,” she says. Coach Chesnei is invested in helping them to grow through the good and bad times. She and her assistant, Maya Stewart, always try to hype them up in the big and small victories; wether it’s individual wins or the whole team.
At camp this summer, they were awarded 2nd Place All Around-Varsity, 1st place Sideline-Varsity, 2nd Place Dance-Varsity, and 2nd Place Cheer-Varsity. They had three All-Americans, and their very own Randee Perks was invited to join UCA staff. They were also all awarded team spirit stick and coach credentialing.
This year, their team started competing in the OSSAA Gameday competition for the first time ever for Alva. The team took pride in the honor of being the first and did a great job. They worked really hard and received some great feedback from their judges at Regionals; giving them some pointers and things to focus on to keep getting better and better. They hope to break through to State next year. The coach and team are looking forward to building the team up to make it there.
By Ariel Casida
