The Cheer News

Worth County cheer coach Sue Youngblood responds to a column written by The Herald’s Carlton Fletcher about the GHSA Region 1-AAA competition held recently.

As I read Friday, Nov. 7’s article in The Herald’s sports section by Carlton Fletcher, I was disturbed by the many inaccuracies in his article, but especially his “Oops — they did it again ” implication that the Worth cheer team had won the region title because the competition was held on our campus, as if some sort of home field advantage existed that caused the judges to forget the degree of difficulty guidelines, the safety concerns, the National Federation spirit rules book, and the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) cheer manual, as well as all else they had learned in the training required to judge GHSA cheer competitions. Mr. Fletcher’s opinion that Westover came closest to matching Perry is the point he wants to make, and those are the results of his connection to the Westover program as the parent of a cheerleader, the ex-husband of one of the Westover coaches, and a former teacher/coach at Westover High school. Just because Carlton Fletcher wrote it in a sports column for The Albany Herald does not make it the truth, or even creditable.

Mr. Fletcher says that recognition of cheerleading as a legitimate sport is a tough sell in Southwest Georgia. I completely disagree with that assertion as most who attend a cheer competition for the first time are enthralled with the level of difficulty, the capability and the energy of our cheer squads right here in South Georgia. It’s people like you, Carlton Fletcher, who want to turn it into only a popularity contest. Let’s just get out the old cheer-a-meter and award a region championship based on how long and how loud the parents and supporters of a squad can yell. Let’s ignore the training and expertise of the judges, as well as the hearts and souls of the competitors, in deciding who gets a trophy. And lastly, let’s ignore the life lessons that we as coaches are trying to teach our athletes — lessons like, it’s not the trophies that matter, but the journey we take together as a squad which enriches our lives, athletes and coaches alike. Did the Worth County cheerleaders, fans and coaches want their team to win a region championship? You bet! Are we proud of our athletes who overcame broken collarbones, torn elbow ligaments, strained shoulders, swollen noses and sore wrists? Absolutely! I guarantee you that all of the coaches at that region meet were proud of the progress that their teams made in the course of the season. It’s not the winning that coaches, including my fellow competitors in 1-AAA, want our cheerleaders to remember. We leave that to the uninformed like you, Carlton Fletcher. It’s what we have shared in the course of the season; it’s the distance we have come together; it’s the life-long friendships that have been established, and it’s the ability to overcome adversity and pain and hurt for a common goal that I think we all want our athletes to recall after our competitive season. So, Mr. Fletcher, get out of our way; let us focus on our teams — on what’s really important — and let us learn to ignore the criticism of uninformed voices like your own.