The GGHS cheerleaders dominated this year at the GGUSD District Championships and brought home first place!  The competition took place at Santiago on April 3rd, 2010.  The girls were able to win the gold with the help of the cheer coaches, their advisor, and months of preparation. Read more to get a glimpse of their victorious journey! 

The Central Orange County Cheerleading Competition held annually by Aaron Shahrestani of Santiago High School is the highly anticipated cheerleading competition of the season for most schools in the GGUSD.  Formerly known as the GGUSD Competition, this wonderfully orchestrated collection of athletes, dancers, and drill teams put on the show of the year for the GGUSD community at large on April 3rd, 2010.  Unlike other nationally associated cheer competitions, Shahrestani has managed to elevate the athletic spirit, drive, camaraderie, and hard work of the GGUSD by offering a wide variety of events to highlight the teams' as well as individual's strengths with such competitions as the Jump Competition, the Extenstion Competition, Spirit Competition, Dance Competition, and Overall Cheerleading Competition.  For the better part of the last decade, Shahrestani has organized this competition as a fundraiser for his football team, with the full understanding that each year, every GGUSD cheerleader anticipates the day when they can take the mat amongst their peers, families, and friends on their own turf.  He has built a phenomenal program that no doubt leaves an indelible mark in the life of every cheerleader that steps out in front of the massive crowds at the competition and every coach that spends countless hours creating, tweaking, and revisiting the routines that they've put all of their hopes into on that Saturday morning. 

May 2009

The GGHS Cheerleading teams started off this year with 2 brand new coaches- Jen Jones of UCI as the JV Coach, and Jessica Shay of NYU as the Varsity Coach.  With a combined cheer resume touting over 20 collective years of cheer experience, Jones and Shay set out to do what no other GGHS coaches have been able to accomplish- to win the District Competition.  While both coaches have their fair share of seeing cheerleaders on their original teams come and go, they remain stolid and unwavering on their path to their Championship win.  When both coaches walk into the GGHS doors in May of 2009, the teams make their intentions crystal clear- they want to win the district competition.  Both Shay and Jones know from that moment that they will win.  But this will not be easy.  Although the Varsity team has competed in other cheer competitions in the past, they have no idea what their coaches have in store for them in order for them to realize their dream.  The summer of 2009 is their first introduction to this new hard core competitive cheerleading world.  Shay and Jones focus on their physical fitness transformations with running, jumping, strength training, core, flexibility, and tumbling drills.  Conditioning is brutal.  The cheerleaders leave every practice battered and tired, but come back every day thereafter with a new fire and new attitude that fuels their determination to be the best they can be.  The coaches also focus on their mental and emotional development by having the teams attend team bonding excursions over the summer called the Ropes Course that teaches them team work, determination, trust and confidence.  The remainder of the year proves to be challenging to both the teams and the coaches, as people drop out, tensions rise, and the competitive spirit dwindles in the face of frustration, soreness, fatigue, and injuries.  The coaches, having dealt with these same feelings before on other teams, know that this phase will pass, but only by working hard at getting back on track with their goals and their passion and love for cheer.  Both teams enter 2 more competitions before the April 3rd competition.  JV takes home two well deserved 2nd place trophies and Varsity gains the experience that they need to take their routine to the next level.

March 3rd, 2010 

4 weeks before the COCC competition-

Shay, Jones, Laura Lewis the cheer advisor, the JV team and the Varsity team decide that they will embark on their championship win as one collective team.  While both coaches know that this is no easy task, they both have faith in their teams and know that what one team lacks, the other has in spades.  They know that JV's fresh energy will complete Varsity's competitive experience.  They know that Varsity's experience will complete JV's transformation into cheer greatness.  This inevitably creates the most unique dynamic in Argo cheer history.  There is something different about this team now.  There is a collective vested interest in the success of each and every cheerleader on the team.  22 members, including one male that they recruited 5 weeks before this competition, all set out on their championship path once again with a new found sense of urgency, determination, and fearlessness.  The coaches spend countless extra hours of practice prepping the combined routine, complete with new stunt combinations, formations, dances, tumbling sequences, and even a new format.  In any other situation, 4 weeks before a competition for a veteran team that has been working together for an entire season is hard enough.  Combining these 2 teams proves challenging, but certainly not impossible.  They are now one team.  And they own it.  In fact, the coaches stress to the team that no matter what happens on the day of the competition, that they not leave the mat with any regrets.  "Leave it all on the mat," they say.  And the team listens.

March 26th, 2010 

9 days before the COCC competition-

During a routine stunt performance, Brenda- one of 2 senior cheer captains- comes down from a stunt and lands awkwardly on her wrist.  She knows something is wrong, but in true athlete fashion, finishes the routine with a brilliant smile as if nothing is damaged.  Once those two and a half minutes are up, Brenda walks off the mat, right arm clutched tight against her stomach.  There are tears in her eyes and she can no longer hold them back.  The morale of the team is shaken.  Some members of the team have hands over their mouths.  Some members look away with their heads in their hands.  Some are speechless and frozen.  Could this be the end of the dream?  Nine days before competition and they lose a main component of their team.  The odds seem against them but their coaches assure them that nothing in the world will stop them on their journey.  They will overcome this, they say.  They will make it work, they say.  And in the next few days, they will all step it up to complete their mission. 

March 29th, 2010

6 days before the COCC competition-

Michelle, a base, is asked to step in as a flyer for Brenda in a stunt that has taken the collective team months to perfect.  Even the coaches think this will be a challenge.  They even contemplate Plan B to downgrade their stunts if this one doesn't pan out.  Stephanie also has two new stunts to attempt in Brenda's place.  What happens in the next few days is nothing short of 110% pure grit and determination.  By the Friday before competition, it is clear that the team is more than ready to perform and "leave it all on the mat."  All that is left is to do it. 

April 3rd, 2010

Competition Day-

What starts off as a parade of athletes, continues in a loud roar of support from each respective school's crowds chanting their colors, letters, and mottos:  "WE ARE... ARGOS!", "SHS!", "RAAAAAANCHO!", "LET'S GO LOBOS!", "AZTECS!"  It is as if the ground is shaking beneath them as the rumbling and cheering gets louder and more intense.  The sense of competition is palpable but the overwhelming support of all of the teams in attendance is massive.  This is the stage where all of the Argo cheerleaders' hard work will pay off.  This is the place where their dreams of winning their first championship will be realized.  This is where GGHS Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors put their reputations on the line for one collective performance in front of hundreds of onlookers.  In two and half minutes, it will all be one foggy memory, gone all too fast.  One entire year of hard work will all come down to these two and half minutes. 

The Argo cheer team takes the mat.  Their new uniforms are a symbol of new beginnings in GGHS cheer history.  GGHS ASB, parents, friends, and family are in attendance by the truck loads.  Signs, red shirts and pom poms sprinkle the crowd in multiple large droves.  "WE ARE... ARGOS!" can be heard as far back as the parking lot.  The team is set, ready to give it their all.  Coach Jones sits in front of her team, camera in hand.  She is excited with nervous energy.  She knows they have been working their hardest and can make their dream a reality.  She takes a deep breath, exhales, and then presses the record button.  At the same moment, on the other side of the gym, Coach Shay puts the CD in the stereo.  She glosses over at the team that she believes are winners no matter what the outcome.  She looks them all in the face moments before they stepped on the mats, "You are going to win" and she fully believes that they will.  She takes a deep breath, exhales, and then presses play.   

Two and a half minutes of pure excitement commence. The team hits every single stunt.  Their energy is overflowing.  Their voices are a thunderous roar, as if there are 100 people, not 22 on the mat.  They look as if they are enjoying every second of their time on the mat.  They have just accomplished what no other GGHS team in the history of this competition has done- performed the best routine of their cheer lives so far. 

Minutes after the performance-

The rush of adrenaline subsides and the remaining nerves and sense of accomplishment rush together, and like a shaken up soda bottle, every emotion explodes from each of the cheerleaders' and coaches' faces.   Tears of pure joy.  They knew what they had just accomplished...

Final Scores

1st Place- GGHS
2nd Place- Santiago High School
3rd Place- Rancho
4th Place- La Quinta
5th Place- Los Amigos

Jump Competition:
GGHS Clean Sweep
1st Place- Rachel Kang
2nd Place- Nicole Hupp
3rd Place- Kaylee Simmons

 

Written by Ms. Shay

  Ms. Shay is the Varsity Cheer Coach at GGHS.