that includes a jump section, a pyramid section, an elite stunt section, a dance, tumbling, and a cheer. It’s fast. It’s at times chaotic. Cheerleaders must be on the same page at all times and they must have faith in one another to pull off such an intense routine. “Last year, our comp team learned a cheer dance routine on top of all of their responsibilities that came with being a football cheerleader on Friday night, and we’re also pretty active in the community,” Sytsma said. “It was a lot, and I learned a lot as a coach.” Sytsma opted to make the change and up the ante, so to speak, because of the talent she saw on her team. Looking back now, she knows she made the correct decision for the 2024 team and for the program moving forward. “Cheer dance is 100 percent the preference of the girls and I wish we would have made the transition sooner,” Sytsma said. “It made the most sense last year because of the kids we had and the strengths they had. Plus, it’s a lot more fun for the girls when they’re being challenged.” Gilbert place fourth in Class 3A at the 2024 state compe- tition, and while that wasn’t exactly what the Tigers were looking for, Sytsma was proud of everything the team ac- complished in the new venture. “Class 3A in cheer dance is a gauntlet,” Sytsma, who led Gilbert to Game Day state titles in 2019 and 2021, said. “It is extremely competitive and there are a lot of schools that have a great tradition. So for us to place in the top four in our first year, I was very happy.” The comp cheer team added to its 2024 season by learn- ing a Game Day routine — a complete separate routine from what they’d learned, practiced, and competed for months — and taking it on the road, as the Tigers com- peted at nationals in Dallas, Texas. Sytsma thinks that experience and exposure to high-level competition will only benefit the squad this fall.
“The experience we gained is huge because you don’t get many opportunities to recreate that atmosphere,” Sytsma said. “We have a lot of confidence, too ... the skill level on this team is just very high.” Sytsma will lean on her senior duo of Riley Lempiainen and Saya Funaba O’Brien for leadership — two talented cheerleaders who are four-year members of the squad. “Both of those girls are very well-respected on the team because they’re such strong leaders on the floor,” she said. “Riley will demand excellence, and that’s something I love about her. And I rely a lot on them because there is no coaching during a performance. I surrender everything for 2 1 ⁄ 2 minutes and hope it works out.” The other returners include seven juniors — Anabelle Wen, Estella Castro, Genevieve Lamm, Kendall Wakefield, Mai-Anh Nguyen, Malia Higgins, and Paige Skelton — and two sophomores — Brooklyn Banning and Reagan Craw- ford. “We have a ton of great juniors, and they’re all girls we’ve had for three years,” Sytsma said. “I had such strong fresh- men last year, too, and I’m excited to see them as sopho- mores.” It all has Sytsma chomping at the bit to get started. The Tigers will compete twice in October, and then the state competition is scheduled for November 1 in Des Moines. Can Gilbert compete with the teams that have been com- petitive in cheer dance for a number of years? Sytsma thinks so, but she’s not about to get caught up in the ex- pectations game. If her student-athletes work hard and dedicate them- selves to the team, then the results will speak for them- selves. “Placements are so subjective in cheerleading, so it’s really hard to hang your hat on those,” she said. “The ex- pectation is just to go out and perform the routine at a high level of excellence. That’s always the goal.”
FALL 2025 | GAME ON 63
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