I sat down with the head coach and assistant coach for South High cheer, Sara Speck and Sophia Ridge. Both Speck and Ridge are English teachers at South High. Speck and Ridge have been coaching for two years. They both wanted to start coaching cheer due to their own enjoyment with the sport. Speck wanted to get more involved in school, and Ridge was a cheerleader in high school and loved the memories it came with.

On Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., both varsity and junior varsity teams practice together, and after that, varsity does its practice from 6 to 8 p.m. During practice the cheerleaders go over their routines and jump. Tuesdays they do conditioning with both teams. Speck also said that this school year is going to be varsity’s first year to do competitions

Speck and Ridge said that students need at least a 2.0 GPA or higher, five teacher recommendations, and one week of tryouts to be considered for the team.  Students have clinicals for a week where they learn jumps, the fight song, and more from experienced cheerleaders. On Saturday, students come to try out in front of judges.

Omaha South Cheer is sponsored by Telemundo, Radio Lobo, and Pesek Law. The cheer teams also do fundraisers that earn money for students to help pay for their uniforms. They do car washes in the summer, cheer camp, and a clothing drive. They are also planning to start a recipe book.