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Cheerleading demands physical skill, team
mentality, positive spirit, and discipline while maintaining high
academic standards
Coach Miss Jessica Plummer has been the squad’s coach
for the last two years. Their routine had to be three minutes long,
have standing tumbling, running tumbling, quad stunt, and a pyramid
sequence. At the junior high level, cheerleaders are only allowed
one flyer up (added layer) in pyramid due to legalities and safety
precautions.
Assistant Coach Janet McFadden, who began in the middle of last
year, helped Coach Plummer in getting the girls ready for
competition.
Last year the girls wanted to compete and this year they were able,
but because of competition rules in their division, they were only
allowed to start practice in October of 2018.
“This gives us a chance to improve skill and modify the routine to
increase our score,” said Coach Plummer.
Mid-December, 2018, the Trojan Cheerleaders competed
in an ICCA competition in Peoria and in New Berlin bringing home a
first place plaque from the combined weekend competitions.
The squad earned 10 out of 10 for sportsmanship.
Coach Plummer said that out of 100 points possible they earned 57.7
the first day in competing and 65.2 on their second day. The
qualifying score is 55 points.
This was the first year to compete in a large division since there
are 17 members of the squad.
“I tried to stress to the team that it is all new to them and
awesome they brought home a first place plaque,” said Coach Plummer.
“I do get nervous at their meets, perhaps more than the girls,” said
Coach Plummer.
On January 6th, the Trojans competed against five
other qualifying junior high schools claiming third place at the
ICCA State Championship at the Bank of Springfield Center in
Springfield.
The Trojan Cheerleaders took third place at the ICCA State
Championship.
Scoring by the judges is created by deductions as the cheerleaders
compete. Judges watch for such things as: A bow falls off to the
ground and you cannot touch it while competing, a stunt falls or
bobbles, they cannot step on the boundary lines. Cheerleaders cannot
wear any glitter or nail polish and they must have short nails. The
performance must be 100% in sync with the music. They have to have
perfect spacing in formations. Exuding crowd appeal is important and
so is having excellent sportsmanship.
When becoming a cheerleader at Lincoln Junior High, the biggest
portion of tryout is a teacher evaluation. “I care more about their
personality than skill level,” said Coach Plummer. “They are still
judged on motions, smiling, loudness, facial expressions, voice
projections, and their jump.”
[to top of second column] |
 That isn’t all they have to do to become a Trojan
Cheerleader! Candidates have to write an essay as to why they should
be a cheerleader. In this way the tryout judges find the student's
passion in cheering and ability to be a team player.
Coach Plummer said, "It is super important to
communicate together during their pyramid building and that they
have a cheering personality."
While a cheerleader, it is expected of each student that they will
keep a high grade point average, and take a lot of discipline from
the coach. They have to keep committed during the school year.
Cheerleading practice lasts two to three hours. Their parents have
to be committed too. Cheerleading Camp is each summer and they
practice about six hours a day doing stunts, and quad stunts that
consist of two sides, a back spot and a flyer up front.
Jessica Plummer also coaches at Lincoln College. Sometimes the
cheerleaders from the college come and give pointers to the junior
high cheerleaders. One big help the college brings is their mats to
practice on.
Mark Perdue, the Athletic Director at Lincoln College allows the
mats to be brought in, says Coach Plummer.
“Because our mats are an obstacle, we have decided to have
fundraisers in the future to buy new and improved ones,” said Coach
Plummer. The cost for one lengthy strip of mat is between $680 to
$720. Coach Plummer said they need nine strips to cover the whole
end of the floor.
The business community is responding with commitments from Momma’s
Arcade; Shawn Taylor of the Bowling Alley, and Quality Inn.
The LJHS Trojan Cheerleaders have a ritual they cheer before their
competitions: Be loud!
Be sharp!
Stick it!
Have fun! Then in a circle
they each say, "I will," and then all together say, "We will!"
Cheerleaders:
Eighth-graders: Peyton Bennett, Kaitlyn Shull, Jadyn Fish,
Hattie Mourning, Taylor Boyer.
Seventh-graders: Faith Bennett, Korinn Pardo, Kylie Boyer,
Autumn Strohl, Izzy McFadden, Alyssa Buffington, Cydney Hanes.
Sixth-graders: Jewel McDonnell, Gianna Massena, Audrey
Meister, Jasmine Raymond, Reece Winebrinner.
Head Coach: Miss Jessica Plummer
Assistant Coach: Janet McFadden
Manager: Gwendolyn Gill
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Read all the articles in our
new
2019 Education Magazine
Title
CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES |
Page |
|
Lessons
for all - How to be good people |
4 |
| LJHS
new Eaton STEM Lab sparks learning |
9 |
|
Hands-n learning in LJHS STEM lab |
11 |
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Cheerleading encourages discipline and high
academic standards |
16 |
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Outstanding educators produce students who
succeed at life |
19 |
|
Current status report for West Lincoln Broadwell
School |
23 |
|
Tutoring can minimize anxiety and result in
stronger grades |
24 |
| ACT or
SAT: What is a college bound high school
student to do? |
28 |
| Logan
County Education Coalition assists in finding
post secondary education opportunities and funds |
31 |
|
Lincoln Colleges moves forward by looking to its
past |
35 |
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