Gilmer High cheerleaders made their way to South Forsyth High School last Saturday for another competition.
GHS competed in the Class 4A division and finished fifth out of six teams. Gilmer had some tumbling issues and one of its stunts came down early, according to coach Naomi Esparza, and incurred four points in deductions for a total score of 45.
Some of Class 4A’s top teams were in attendance as Denmark, Woodward and Blessed Trinity captured the top three spots.
GHS cheerleaders took the floor after 4 p.m., which is later than they normally perform. They also went directly from the practice mat to the competition floor with little time in between.
“I don’t think this week’s performance showed all of what they can do, nor what they’ve worked on in practice,” Esparza assessed. “We had a late afternoon session, and that may have thrown some of the girls off because that’s out of the norm for us.
“We went from warm-ups straight onto the floor, and they usually have a few minutes to catch their breath. They really didn’t have that, and it made them feel rushed, and you could tell right off the bat that they were a little out of sync.”
GHS will use this week to sharpen aspects of the routine as Esparza hopes to get it up to speed.
“We’re off Saturday so we’ll just have a practice instead of going to a competition,” she said. “At this point of the season, it’s when you start to see some injuries and tiredness. After going at this for a couple months now, having this weekend off will definitely help.”
Esparza added, “We’re probably a little behind the mark from where we need to be at this point. I do think we’re going to try and take some things — and the ball’s in their (cheerleaders) court — and let them figure out what they need to focus on and that will be our focus for the next couple weeks.”
Gilmer’s next competition will be Nov. 2 at Dawson County High School. GHS will return to Dawson the following Saturday for the region competition to determine which Region 6-4A’s teams will advance to state sectionals.
“The routine we have in place is what we’ll take to region,” Esparza said. “Hopefully, we’ll continue to make improvements with that and be ready to hit a solid routine at region.”