The Lincoln cheer team has set up a large, close-knit community, with a weekly partner system, where teammates give each other a little gift like a favorite candy or note of encouragement before each game to motivate and support each other.
According to the Lincoln Athletics roster, the number of girls on the cheer-leading team has tripled in just one year, from nine in the 2022-2023 school year to 27 this year. The previous two years, the team was also relatively small. In 2020-2021, five girls were on the team. In 2021-2022, 11 girls were on the team.
This season started strong with approximately 18 girls on the team for the first football game. After that, more girls wanted to join, and so the coach, Megan O’Malley, organized another try-out session.
“I chose to join the cheer team this year because I have been at Lincoln for two years and I didn’t want to join [in my first year at Lincoln]. We also have a huge cheer team this year so I thought it would be fun to do it,” said senior Anabel Hausenauer.
Team members try to have the biggest spirit for the football team by inspiring and communicating with the student section.
“I think that we are more energetic this year thanks to the number,” said Jocy Escutia, a senior who was already on the cheer team last year.
Escutia noticed the impact of the number of girls on the team and described the difference between her experience last year using three words:
“There is a lot more energy this year and the [increased] number too [it’s] more positive and there is more leadership and good organization,” she said.
