INPERSON
STATE CHAMPS
BP Competitive Spirit Team wins the PIAA championship .
BY PAUL GLASSER
Members of the Bethel Park High School Competitive Spirit Team say persistence and excellent teamwork helped them win the PIAA championship .
They won a national title last year but were eager to win a state championship as well , which they did in Hershey in January . Senior Erin Brown says it took a lot of practice and teamwork to claim the small varsity division title . “ Working together as a team and putting in all the hours we did made everything easier on the mat ,” she explains .
As a result , Erin says being a member of the competitive cheerleading team has taught her the value of patience and a good work ethic . “ When you ’ re participating in competitive cheer , things don ’ t always work out the first time ,” she says . “ But if you put in the work , the best results will come out .”
The cheerleading team regularly held squad bonding events where the members played games , watched videos of their routines and discussed ways they could improve . Senior Kelsey Quinn says the meetings helped the team members get to know each other . However , it also took a lot of effort and practice to prepare for the championship .
“ Everyone tried their best and we really pushed through ,” Kelsey says , adding that participating on the team gave her confidence . “ It showed me I could do more than I thought I could .”
The Bethel Park cheerleading team has only been competing for five years , but has already achieved recognition on both the state and national level . Coach Andreana Radomski , who also teaches seventh-grade math at South Park Middle School , says she has high expectations of the team members . “ I expect them to work hard , have a good attitude , maintain good grades and be a good representative of the community ,” she explains . “ I expect the same thing from a freshman as a junior or a senior .”
Radomski started cheering when she was 8 years old and founded the competitive spirit team at Bethel Park High School five years ago . The team ’ s motto is “ Let ’ s Do It , Together ,” and that ’ s reflected in the decision not to elect any team captains this year . “ It lets all the girls have ownership of the team ,” Radomski notes . “ The natural leaders would step forward to take on leadership roles when necessary .”
There are many talented teams in the varsity division and Radomski knew the Bethel Park team would need to flawlessly execute a difficult routine in order to win the championship . “ We really worked on increasing our tumbling and difficulty ,” she says .
The Bethel Park spirit team did well enough in the first round of the championship to qualify for the finals . Radomski feels that because the team members focused on their stunting and tumbling , their execution in the championship round was even smoother . “ I was so proud of their performance ,” she says . “ Regardless of the outcome , we could leave there knowing we did the best job we could . Winning was just icing on the cake . After this year , they know they ’ re up with the elites .”
Erin says her teammates were shocked to realize they had won . “ We never really imagined it was real until we heard our names ,” she recalls .
In addition to persistence and teamwork , Radomski says the team has achieved so much success in only a few years because they have excellent support from the school , families and alumni . “ We have an awesome support system including a lot of our alumni cheerleaders who really paved the way ,” she notes .
Radomski added that she wants to focus on getting youth in the community interested in joining the competitive spirit team so it ’ s successful long into the future . ■
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