Published Wednesday, November 12, 2008 9:54 AM
Updated Wednesday, November 12, 2008 9:55 AM

 

Gator cheerleaders thinking about Death Valley, too

As the Goose Creek football team begins its quest toward Clemson, the site of the 2008 championship games, the school’s cheerleading squad is behind them all the way.

It’s a commitment that began back in May with tryouts and continued through the sweltering heat in summer. They worked nearly every day on all those pyramids and tosses football fans like so much.

“We practice four and five days a week, four and five hours a day (in the summer),” said second-year cheer coach Elizabeth Phillips, a sixth grade Social Studies teacher at Sedgefield Middle School. “They’re just like every student-athlete who makes a commitment to their team.”

When the season begins, the cheer squad cuts back to two power-packed days a week of practice. If there is a pep rally during game week, they have four practices.

The squad is headlined by a large group of seniors.

“We’ve got 10 seniors graduating so that’s a huge amount,” Phillips said. “They all step up with different things whether it’s calling the rest of the team or calling the cheers.

“They all play a vital role in the leadership of this team.”

Currently, Goose Creek’s cheer squad is a spirit squad. They want to get into competitive cheer in a couple of years and go for state championships of their own in the fall.

“Our goal is to become competitive in the state of South Carolina and rival any significant competitive cheer team in the state,” Phillips said. “We’re looking (for that) within the next two years.”

But for now, they’re happy to be cheering on an exciting football team. The Gators enter the playoffs with an 8-3 record and recently captured the school’s first-ever outright region crown.

Now, it’s up to the Gators to take the cheerleaders and the rest of the community where they want to go.

“It would be a phenomenal experience to these girls,” Phillips said. “To make it to Death Valley would be great for them … the whole experience and to be a part of that.”

Goose Creek opens the Class AAAA playoffs at home this Friday night against T.L. Hanna before hosting either Greenwood or Lancaster in the second round if it wins.