A competition routine can look polished by the time a cheer team takes the floor, but Valliant High School junior Sarynidee Kennybrew knows how much can change before that moment arrives.
Formations can be adjusted, routines can be changed and athletes may have little time to get comfortable before they are expected to perform. Kennybrew has experienced those situations firsthand during her first two years with the Valliant cheer program.
Now entering her junior season, she has something she did not have when she first stepped into high school cheer: experience.
Kennybrew was part of Valliant teams that advanced to the finals at the state cheer competition during both her freshman and sophomore seasons. Competing at that level early in her high school career gave her an opportunity to see what is required when the pressure increases and every part of a routine matters.
One moment in particular has stayed with her.
“Hearing my team being called for top finalists,” Kennybrew said of one of her favorite memories.
The announcement was the payoff, but getting there was not always smooth.
Kennybrew remembers times when Valliant had to adjust its routine the night before a performance and make additional changes on competition day. Instead of allowing the unexpected to derail the team, the cheerleaders had to learn the changes, trust one another and keep going.
Those moments have become an important part of Kennybrew’s development.
Competitive cheer requires athletes to depend on the people around them. One change can affect several members of a routine, and there is little opportunity for an individual to separate herself from what the rest of the team is doing. Everyone has to be ready to adjust together.
Kennybrew learned that things are not always going to work the first time. She also learned that frustration cannot become the reason to stop working.
That mindset has been reinforced by Valliant cheer coach Stephanie Coulter, one of the people Kennybrew credits with pushing her to expect more from herself.
“She always believes in me even whenever I don’t,” Kennybrew said. “She teaches me to push myself no matter what.”
Two trips to the state finals have given Kennybrew memories she will carry long after high school, but they have also given her a better understanding of what happens before a team reaches that stage.
There are practices when something has to be fixed, moments when an athlete has to quickly learn something different and competitions when there is no opportunity to dwell on what went wrong.
Kennybrew enters her junior year having already lived through those moments.
She knows what it feels like to hear Valliant’s name called among the state finalists. More importantly for what comes next, she knows some of the work, adjustments and trust required to put a team in position to hear it again.
