Cheer coaches across the district will have the 2019-2020 school year to plan the logistics of a cheerleading class that could begin as soon as the 2020-2021 school year.

“After engaging in deep conversation with principals, sponsors and community members, we are excited to take the first steps towards the successful implementation of a cheerleading class period in Frisco ISD,” Frisco ISD Fine Arts Coordinator Paige Hoes said. “We know that this endeavor will allow for increased student opportunities as cheerleaders will be able to pursue their passion within the school day while also bringing our practice into alignment with surrounding districts.”

The addition of a planning period and eventually a class period is good news to campus cheer coach Kandy Stevens.

“I’m excited about a planning period because of exactly how much time outside of the school day that I have had to, to utilize for that very reason,” Stevens said. “I think when we start filtering the girls into there you’re going to see, I’m going to start seeing that these girls are actually athletes because you can actually utilize the time better, and in a higher concentration on the skills that are necessary.”

For freshman cheerleader Alyssa Murphy, a period dedicated to cheerleading means a chance to improve her cheer skills and possibly grow the program on campus.

“I found it really important to get as many practices in before we had our big [UIL] competition,” Murphy said. “We learned after our first year that like having a lot more practices and having a lot more opportunities to meet together, increase our chances of winning. I think this class is a really good opportunity for our whole squad to get to know each other better, and to have more chances to improve on our skills.”