Coach and team member departures force cheer team to give up competition season

The cheer team sits on the edge of the stands preparing to cheer for the girls’ basketball on their Jan. 7 game against Los Gatos.

All three of the team’s original coaches left along with most senior members.

Following the end of the football season, the cheer team began practicing for upcoming competitions but due to a series of unforeseen issues, they did not have the opportunity to participate in any of them.

Other than cheering at basketball games, their season was effectively over.

A big issue occurred in mid December when head coach Chelsea Miller decided to step down for another job opportunity. Following Miller’s departure, two other co-coaches of the team — Alyssa Nicole and Alec Lockhart — left shortly afterward. These unexpected changes left the team without a coach.

In the interim, assistant principal Abra Evanoff stepped in and took the responsibility for helping the team. Evanoff continued to manage the team’s schedule and communicate with members on what they should be doing.

Along with losing coaches, the team roster has also changed drastically. In frustration, nearly all of the seniors decided to step away from the team.

“There was a lot of miscommunication between the team and the coaches, and because of that it just wasn’t always organized,” sophomore cheer captain Lucie LeToquin said. “Our season just wasn’t going the way that we hoped that it would go.”

LeToquin was named the captain of the team by the two former co-coaches just before they stepped away.

The team only met for practice once a week up until the end of the season, focusing on finishing off by cheering at boys’ and girls’ basketball games. Although the reduced roster and a lack of coaches devastated their season, the remaining cheerleaders see reason for optimism.

“We decided that this year, we should just focus on attending more games and next year we hope that we can compete again,” Le Toquin said.