DALLAS TWP. — The Dallas High School Varsity Cheer Squad endured coach changes and a teachers’ strike plus a snow storm that threatened their arrival at the National High School Cheerleading Championship on Feb. 10.
The team persevered and pushed on, ranking 13th out of 19 teams in the Super Varsity Non-Tumbling category, said cheer coach Jennifer Sorber.
The experience is one senior Callista Connors will not forget.
“It was insane,” Connors said. “My team never performed for an audience of over 500 people.”
The team’s path to qualify for the UCA competition was riddled with challenges since the start of the 2016-17 school year.
“One coach went on maternity leave in July, the second coach left in October and I started the end of November,” Sorber said in an interview in early February. “They had a lot less practice time than the other national teams.”
That streak of challenges continued when a snowstorm moved into the northeast, shutting down airports and canceling flights.
The squad was initially scheduled to fly from Newark, New Jersey and land in Orlando, Florida, Thursday, Feb. 9 for competitions slated for Feb. 10 and 11, Sorber said.
“Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 8), the flights were canceled,” Sorber said. “I had five people trying to find (alternative) flights for the squad.”
The volunteers did uncover and book four flights out of Philadelphia, stopping in Atlanta, Georgia, and one from Philadelphia, stopping in Detroit, Michigan to get the 26-member team in in Orlando at 2 a.m. Friday, Sorber said.
After arriving in Florida, the squad had four hours of sleep before a scheduled 8:30 a.m. practice.
Connors said that first practice session for their elaborate routine was rough.
“We were falling,” Connors said. “The girls were crying.”
The girls had a several-hour break before their next scheduled practice at 4:45 p.m, Sorber said.
“Some girls (and their parents) went to Epcot; others slept,” Connors said. “Everyone was in a much better mood for the next practice.”
The UCA competition pitted Dallas against 19 teams in the Super Varsity Non-Tumbling division.
Sober said the team “hit every stunt, but had one member fall during the routine.
“They missed the final competition by 2.1 points because of a fall,” Sober said. “They scored 67.7 points.”
The squad was taken into a back room to watch its performance, she said.
“They were thrilled,” Sober said.
The Dallas team found support among its peers from Pittston Area High School Varsity Squad, Connors said.
“Pittston was there, right in front, during our competition,” Connors said.
Connors’ teammates returned the support for the Pittston Area squad when it performed.
Connors will not be on the squad next year because she is slated to graduate June 9. However, she believes her teammates will make their way back to the national championship.
“I think this year we had a hard time with coaches, a strike and lack of practice time,” Connors said. “I think Jenn (Sorber) will take them the rest of the way next year.”
