 Perhaps where the line is drawn is a matter of each person's
perspective.
Perhaps where the line is drawn is a matter of expectations.
All of these matters were in play this weekend at the IHSA state
competitive cheerleading competition in Bloomington.
Expectations are funny things.
If you don't have any of them, you are never disappointed. You
are also never rewarded.
If you do have them, you are bound to be disappointed. You also
have the possibility of being rewarded.
A couple of months ago the first-time-ever LCHS competitive cheer
squad was "expecting" that this year would be a learning year for
them. A first chance to "get their feet wet" and see how they
stacked up against schools from every part of the state. The team
worked its tail off to prepare for the upcoming competitions and
hoped for the best. Each team member promised the other that, no
matter what, each would give her best performance. This "we will"
attitude would become their theme as they headed to the
competitions.
At the competitions, the team's "we will" attitude suddenly
turned into "we did!"
At the IHSA sectionals last week, 70 middle-division teams would
start off vying for the first-place trophy. That number would be
whittled down to just 25 at the end of the sectionals. LCHS expected
a strong performance. They got that and more. They got second place
and qualified for the IHSA state tournament this past weekend at the
Cellular One Coliseum in Bloomington. Initial expectations were
already exceeded. Respect was immediately earned.
Expectations skyrocketed immediately. The team's expectations
went from a "learning season" and "getting our feet wet" to a desire
for a top-10 finish in the state. Now that was an astronomical
one-week expectation leap! I commend the girls and Coach Baker for
taking the leap into the expectation stratosphere. As we noted, such
expectation leaps are both dangerous and rewarding at the same time.
The state final's weekend started like the old military cliche --
hurry up and then wait. At school late Thursday, the team was
suddenly called upon to get to Bloomington that night, instead of
Friday morning, due to dire predictions of incoming winter weather.
Calls and e-mails to the highest levels of the IHSA on Thursday
brought assurances that the state competition would not be canceled
or postponed "no matter what." The team had to get to Bloomington on
Thursday before the snow or risk not getting there at all on Friday
morning. Fast forward to 6 a.m. Friday morning, when apparently "no
matter what" did occur at the IHSA office. With hundreds of girls
already up and preparing in hotel rooms all across
Bloomington-Normal, the news came. Due to "hazardous road
conditions," the Friday competition would be canceled. The entire
competition would be held all day on Saturday instead. Teams would
not perform twice, but only once. It would be one three-minute,
sudden death, do-or-die moment for each team.
Do or die for LCHS came late on Saturday morning. The Railers' 16
stepped onto the brightly lit mat, in performance mode, and in a
darkened Coliseum gallery at exactly 11:20 a.m. It was three intense
minutes of highly choreographed tumbling, dancing, stunting,
lifting, tossing and, of course, cheering. I was tired after just
watching it. I can't imagine how the girls felt. Well, I can, since
they exited the mat near the press box with those looks that every
exhausted and spent athlete has after giving it her/his all. They
had left it all on the mat -- the most anyone can expect from any
athlete at any level.
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Two anxious hours stood between the performance and the
announcement of results. Maybe it is more accurate to say that it
was two excruciating hours for the team. Would the judges agree with
their raised expectations or not? Would the announcement be bitter
or sweet? That depends on your perspective.
The hoped-for announcement would not come. Tinley Park High
School won the state competition. Lincoln did not get its name
mentioned in the top 10. Coach Baker privately received the results
a few moments later from the judges. Lincoln was placed 16th in the
state competition. It was a bittersweet pill for the girls to
swallow in light of their high expectations. There was that
disappointing moment that hits every athlete when someone judges
your performance with a lesser value than you judged it yourself.
That is admittedly hard for any athlete. It was hard for this team
to hear.
But there is, as I said, that fine line between bittersweet and
sweet.
So where do I draw my line after seeing the LCHS girls perform
over the last two months? No doubt I stand on the side of the line
marked sweet! How could there be any other conclusion when you look
at the facts?
A first-year cheer coach takes on the challenge of turning 16
girls who had never performed together before into a cohesive
competitive cheer unit. They prepare and practice their hearts out
for two months. They push through the injuries that naturally come
from lifting and tossing people up in the air and then catching
them. They practice all over town in any gym that will give them an
hour or two of floor time at almost any hour of the day or night.
They keep their grades up and their conduct consistent with the
athletic code.
They take second place at the IHSA sectional, defeating 13 other
great teams, and are given a score sheet with no technical errors.
They show up at a statewide competition and it gets canceled. They
return home in a snowstorm only to have to turn around and head back
early the next morning to take one shot at their dream. They take
their best shot and are judged to be the 16th-best competitive
medium-size cheer team in the state of Illinois.
They come back to Lincoln and are escorted through the city
streets by the Lincoln Fire and the Rural Fire departments, the
Lincoln Police, and their fans. The good people of Lincoln come out
of their homes and businesses in freezing weather and cheer the
girls on as they pass through town.
Now how else could you describe that except for SWEET?
Sixteen beautiful and talented athletes! Sixteenth in the state!
Congratulations, ladies. We believed in you. You made us proud. You
gave us your best! Consider this our cheer for you!
GO, RAILERS!
[By RICK
L. HOBLER]
Respond to the writer at
rhobler@lccs.edu.
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